Thieves target boats and bikes as demand for outdoor gear surges

The soaring demand for outdoor gear like boats and bicycles, plus disruptions in the supply chain, have made them a rare commodity. As prices rise, so do thefts.
Ashley McDougall’s yellow Wilderness kayak was her solace on the water, a way to escape the stress and worry of the pandemic.

When a thief sliced the straps and cut the metal bar holding it in place on her car’s roof rack Sunday afternoon, she was devastated.
“I don’t have much,” McDougall said. “The kayak brought a lot of peace to be able to go out on the water and find an activity away from the chatter of COVID. I know people are struggling with bigger things, but, in terms of mental health, it was a big plus for me as a place to find mental solace.”

The pandemic has people enjoying the outdoors like never before, paddling the capital’s waterways and cycling on the parkways and NCC paths. But the soaring demand for outdoor gear like boats and bicycles, plus disruptions in the supply chain, have made them a rare commodity. As prices rise, so do thefts. Ottawa police say they haven’t noticed a particular spike in boat thefts — they’re still relatively rare — but a report in April showed bike thefts were up 70 per cent from a year ago.
Robert Bell, manager of Full Cycle on St. Laurent Boulevard, said, although he hasn’t noticed a surge this year, bike thefts have always been a problem in Ottawa.

“The used bike market is just crazy. Prices are higher than they’ve ever been. There’s a shortage of bicycles so it would make sense there’s a demand for stolen bikes,” Bell said.

https://zenodo.org/communities/hubungantimbal/
https://zenodo.org/communities/koropakmotor/
https://zenodo.org/communities/rongsokankalung/
https://zenodo.org/communities/jangkrikmaut/
https://www.guest-articles.com/business/thieves-target-boats-and-bikes-as-demand-for-outdoor-gear-surges-05-06-2021
https://www.thewyco.com/news/thieves-target-boats-and-bikes-as-demand-for-outdoor-gear-surges-05-06-2021
https://dadang316564132.wordpress.com/2021/06/05/thieves-target-boats-and-bikes-as-demand-for-outdoor-gear-surges/
https://healthymboa.org/forum-healthymboa/topic/thieves-target-boats-and-bikes-as-demand-for-outdoor-gear-surges/#postid-5024
http://www.shadowville.com/board/buyselltrade/thieves-target-boats-and-bikes-as-demand-for-outdoor-gear-surges#p480098
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/fatetmprea/issues/weekly-newsletter-of-fatetmp-issue-1-644575
https://skiracing.com/sr-members/unprincipledfas/profile/
https://unprincipledfas.tumblr.com/post/653166242058960896/thieves-target-boats-and-bikes-as-demand-for
https://gumroad.com/unprincipledfas
https://muckrack.com/unprinci-pledfas/bio

Replacing a stolen bike can be tough. The new ones have all been snapped up.

“Some of the bikes we ordered eight months ago aren’t coming in until next year,” Bell said. “I can’t just phone up a manufacturer and submit an order. Everything is spoken for.”

Each year, about 1,000 bikes are stolen in Ottawa, according to Ottawa police. At an average cost of $700 a bike, that means the 5,000 bikes that have been reported stolen since 2016 have a combined value of $3.3 million.

On Victoria Day, three men, one of them armed with a knife, stole the bikes of two teenagers at the corner of Byron and Kirkwood avenues. Forty minutes later, a fourth man was seen selling one of the bikes at the corner of Baseline and Merivale roads.

Even bikes stored in secured garages aren’t safe. This spring, condo owners in the downtown core reported locked bikes being taken from storage rooms.
Police have fought back against the thieves, with “Project Hot Wheels” recovering 44 stolen bikes last fall and this spring’s “Project Handlebar” recovering another 72. Registering your wheels with the website 529 Garage can improve your chances of getting your bike back if it’s ever stolen.

And, while a kayak theft like what happened to McDougall seems unusual, Jason Yarrington of Trailhead Paddle Shack said demand for new kayaks and canoes was also through the roof.

“We’ve already received more kayaks than we sold all last year and they’re already gone,” Yarrington said. “If we get a truckload of kayaks — that’s about 120 kayaks — they’ll be sold in three days.”

Most of the kayak thefts Yarrington hears about have been from cottages, but that’s little consolation for McDougall, whose boat was stolen when she was parked for a short hike on the Crazy Horse Trail on March Road at Huntmar Drive. She can’t afford a new one, so she has started a gofundme to help get her back on the water.

“They definitely knew what they were doing. Where I park at work and at home, there are cameras, so I’ve never been worried. The fact that I was on a trail off March Road — that’s a pretty busy road and to see someone taking a kayak off a car would look pretty suspicious,” she said.

“I had it on my car all last summer and never had an issue. To have it out this year for not even two weeks and to get it stolen — it’s heartbreaking.”

Kulkea’s Newest Cycling Ambassador is Ready to Climb 6 Summits in Under 6 Days

WESTWOOD, Mass., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In honor of World Bicycle Day, KULKEA® is proud to announce its first cycling ambassador, Brendan Walsh. The Guinness World Record holder and endurance athlete is focused on helping the community around him and Kulkea is delighted to have Walsh on board. His motivation to keep pedaling forward for good fully aligns with Kulkea’s missions and values.

“It’s great to be a part of a like-minded team,” Walsh said. “The ethics and innovation of fellow Bostonians are exciting!”
“I’m honored that Brendan chose to work with Kulkea not just because he’s a highly accomplished, record-holding athlete, but because he’s motivated by the drive to help others,” said David Abramowitz, CEO and founder.

Walsh plans to begin a new adventure called the NE6 on the weekend of June 19th. The challenge involves six days of cycling and climbing in some of the roughest terrains New England has to offer.

“I will run the highest summit in each state of New England while cycling from mountain to mountain. Starting with Katahdin in Maine, I will cycle over 600 miles between the mountains and climb all six summits in six days,” said Walsh. “The vertical gain is going to be over 31,000 feet!”

For this challenge, Walsh will be fundraising for the Alzheimer Association. “We all have someone in our lives that is affected by Alzheimer and this is to honor them,” Walsh said. Kulkea is committed to helping Walsh reach his fundraising goal. Shop on Kulkea from 6/3 to the end of the challenge and 25% of proceeds will be donated to the Alzheimer Association.

In September 2019, Walsh raised over $10 thousand for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) while breaking a Guinness World Record. In 11 days, nine minutes, and 30 seconds, Walsh traveled from Madawaska, Maine to Key West, Florida; making him the fastest person to cross the U.S. from North to South by bicycle.

If the journey wasn’t impressive enough, Walsh completed it after recovering from an injury caused by a collision with a car earlier that year.

Like Walsh’s past challenges, the NE6 will allow anyone to track his progress through a spot tracker as he makes his way up and across the New England mountain chain.

To learn more about Brendan Walsh’s upcoming challenge, visit his website

About Kulkea
KULKEA was founded by New Englanders with Finnish roots to solve the shortcomings of traditional outdoor gear bags. Their pioneering prototype quickly became the go-to for avid skiers. KULKEA stands for a renewed heritage of cleverly designed, premium gear bags that last for your adventure lifetime. KULKEA (cool-ke-ah) is named after the Finnish word meaning “to go” and “to travel,” and its goal is to free the adventurous spirit within all of us. It can be found online at