Stolen bike a setback for child abuse fundraiser

A woman who is planning a cross-island ride to raise awareness about child abuse may now have to find a replacement bicycle, after someone swiped her mountain bike last week. 

Bev Moore-Davis says the bike was stolen from her back deck last week, either Tuesday night or Wednesday.

She planned on riding across the province on the bike to raise money for Mile for Smiles, a non-profit foundation she started to focus support for child abuse survivors.

However, having take a day off from training to recover from a migraine headache, she discovered the bike was nowhere to be seen.

"Around 7 p.m. I went outside to discover the bike was missing."

"My house is a good way off the road ... so the person would have had to come into my driveway to see the bike in the first place, and then take it."

Moore-Davis took to social media to help locate the Diamondback Topanga mountain bike, which she says is far from common and will not be easy to replace. 

"It was a custom order and apparently the only one in the province … It's very distinguished," she told CBC News. 

Her tweets and Facebook posts have been widely shared, and she hopes someone will recognize the bicycle — perhaps even the thief. She said she would welcome the bicycle back, no questions asked. 

Moore-Davis is planning to cycle from Port aux Basques to St. John's for the Miles For Smiles campaign. 

With only two weeks left before the ride begins, she is worried she won't be able to get a similar mountain bike on such short notice.

"We'll still do it and we'll make it happen," she said.

"It's a wonderful cause and we'll get through it."