BEWARE!!!

[Ridemyplanet]

Hi All

 

PLEASE PASS ON THIS MESSAGE TO ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT CYCLES!! THE MORE THAT KNOW THE BETTER!!!

 

3 of us were on an off road ride and held up on Saturday morning (2 October 2010) by 2 armed men near Hoekplaats in Centurion / Erasmia area. (GPS coordinates are -25.852456, 28.076946) at about 08h00. They ambushed us and then tied us up face down on the ground and took all our valuables (and obviously the bikes). The men indicated to us that they had been watching us ride there previously and asked us where our other two usual riding partners were. They kept us there for at least 30 minutes and were in no hurry whatsoever to clear the area.

 

We are all fine and diffused the situation by co-operating and remaining calm. Having been through a few hold ups I can assure you this is the best way to respond particularly if you are taken by surprise. They knew what they were doing and made sure they kept their distance until we were well tied up.

 

The bikes that were taken are as follows:

.

1) Scott Spark 15 2009 (with Epic sticker). Black with Yellow and white trim

2) GT Marathon Team Bike 2010. Black Carbon with silver and a bit of yellow

3) GT Marathon Pro 2009. Silver with a bit of black carbon

 

I am convinced that someone has to be behind this as they must be creating a market for these bikes. My bike for example is only one of very few of its kind in South Africa. We must be able to start to track down whoever is ‘redistributing’ these bikes into the market. There are possibilities that these bikes are making their way across our borders, but there is also a good chance that they are staying right here. Please also send to people in other provinces as the bikes may well make there way there too.

 

Should you ever be buying a second hand bike please make an effort to enquire as to the details of the previous owner and somehow make sure it is not a stolen bike. We have to stamp this out and be allowed the freedom to enjoy our riding with peace of mind. We will most certainly keep on riding and not let this affect us, but this vicious circle must be stopped……………stolen……….sold………..claim from insurance……………no arrests…………so it goes on………….stolen…………………

 

I hope that we can put an end to this and start to live a rightfully free existence.

 

Cheers

Steve Ellis

0826003057

[Big J-WP]

Hectic, glad you guys are all OK. Scary stuff.

[SL7]

Damn!!!! So sorry for your losses - makes we think that we should be setting a trap for these m/f...ers!

 

 

[urbanroyal]

hectic , glad you guys are ok , with what was these guys armed..?

[Azi]

Maybe it would help if you could give any details of scratches or other noteworthy features unique to each of the bikes to make them easier to identify (such as the sticker detail).