A bicycle Lance Armstrong rode in the 2005 Tour of Hope from San Diego to Washington D.C. and later gave to Marcy DiSalvo, Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo's wife, was stolen earlier this month from the sheriff's West End home.

Courtesy photo |

A valuable bicycle with some serious pedigree was stolen earlier this month from the front porch of Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo’s West End home, the sheriff said Wednesday.

“I’m bummed,” DiSalvo said. “So we decided to do a Facebook campaign (to try to get it back) because it’s so unique and valuable.”

The bright-yellow Trek road bike belonged to DiSalvo’s wife, Marcy, who expressed an interest in cycling a couple of years ago, he said. So DiSalvo asked his friend and part-time Aspen resident Lance Armstrong if he might be able to help.

“Lance said, ‘Let me get you a bike,’” DiSalvo said. “We’ve been friends for a long time.”

Armstrong chose a bike he’d received for the 2005 Tour of Hope ride from San Diego to Washington, D.C., and refurbished it for Marcy DiSalvo, the sheriff said. The Tour of Hope raises money for cancer research.

“Joe and Lance did it for me as a surprise,” Marcy DiSalvo said Wednesday. “I was so excited.”

Marcy DiSalvo said she received the bike two years ago, but because of shoulder surgery and other reasons, she hasn’t taken it out riding much yet. However, earlier this month she felt the urge to ride up to the Maroon Bells, took it for a ride and realized it needed some routine maintenance.

A bike mechanic tuned it up for her, brought it back to the DiSalvo home and left it on the porch Aug. 18. Marcy DiSalvo said she didn’t notice it had been returned and later when she went to look for it, realized it must have been stolen, probably that Friday night, from the front porch.

The thief would have had to walk through the front yard gate and up on to the porch to steal the bike, she said. And the person didn’t steal anything else.

“Joe’s crappy mountain bike was still there,” Marcy DiSalvo said.

Joe DiSalvo said he thinks it will be difficult for whomever stole it to get rid of it because it’s so distinctive, though it may be worth somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000. Still, he said he will probe no further if the thief has a change of heart.

“You drop it off some place, I’ll come pick it up, no questions asked,” Joe DiSalvo said Wednesday.

Anyone who’s seen the bike can call Joe DiSalvo at the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office at 910-920-5300 or the Aspen Police Department at 970-920-5400.

jauslander@aspentimes.com