In a store full of bicycles it wasn't hard to notice the one that was no longer there — a custom Trek, signed by three of the biggest names in cycling, that had been gifted to the Hobbis family on the occasion of Cap's 75th anniversary in business in 2007.
The bike was proudly displayed in the Cap's Westwood Cycle store in Port Coquitlam, suspended about 10 feet in the air with ropes connected to the ceiling. The store's Chelsea Hobbis believes it was nabbed by at least two thieves who came through the roof.
"It was pretty professionally done — the glass was cut, not broken — it was pretty Mission Impossible," she said. "You would have to be extremely familiar with the building, the location of the bicycle, just our overall security system as well.
"You start to think about who works in the store, who was a past employee…but this is my family business, and I can count on one hand the number of employees who have left on bad terms."
Hobbis said the theft has caught the family and staff "completely off guard" because, while the store has experienced thefts before, it's never been quite so personal.
The bicycle recognized Cap Hobbis' legacy, and the family's 75-year history in the bike business. A gift from the Trek factory in Wisconsin, it was a custom-made 2007 Trek Madone 6.9 SSL, with signatures on the top tube from Lance Armstrong, Gary Fisher and John Burke — making it a significant collectors' item.
Its top-of-the-line components put the value of the bike at about $13,000, Hobbis said.
"These days it's not hard for a bicycle to get to that [price] point but back in 2007, it was a one-of-a-kind bicycle, you just didn't see these kinds of components back then," she said. "But we don't care about the cost right now, it's just the sentimental value."
The bicycle was the only tangible memento of the company's 75th anniversary, and was particularly near and dear to the Hobbis family's hearts because of the recent health struggles of owner Glen Hobbis.
"Whoever did this knows my family and what we've been through, with my dad going through chemo for leukemia and how hard it's been on the family and the business," Hobbis said. "That's the real hurt, that somebody who knows us could hurt us in this way."
But she added that she's grateful for the community support they've received since sharing news of the theft via social media, with nearly 1,000 Facebook shares.
"We're very fortunate for all the help we've been getting," Hobbis said.
• Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550.
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