'It's everything': bicycle ridden across Canada stolen from downtown Windsor
Don Martel says the loss of his bicycle is devastating
"It's got a few miles on it," Don Martel said about his bicycle.
The actual total is closer to about 27,000 kilometres — Martel's the only person to ever ride both east to west and north to south across Canada.
The bicycle he made the trek on? It's been stolen.
Martel discovered his bicycle was gone about 10 a.m. Monday morning. It was locked in a parking garage in downtown Windsor.
"I'd been inside about an hour," said Martel. His stolen bike is worth $2,700 and is pretty close to being one-of-a-kind.
"It's the only bike in Windsor that looks like a bow," said Martel. The handlebars are rounded, like an "old-fashioned" bike from the 1920s, said Martel.
"It's everything. It's my partner," said Martel, adding that the loss is "devastating." He sold his vehicle a few years ago, so the bicycle is his only form of transportation.
According to Windsor police, when the weather gets nice, they get more questions about bicycles.
"We get a lot more inquiries and questions about bicycle safety and prevention of theft with bicycles this time of year," said Sgt. Steve Betteridge with the Windsor Police Service.
Betteridge said there are a few things people can do to make sure their bike is safe.
"Use a bicycle lock and use it properly," said Betteridge. "I've seen high-end bikes parked with a bicycle lock on the bike and they haven't even used it."
Another thing people can do is register their bike's serial number online with the Windsor Police Registry.
"Every bicycle should have a serial number," said Betteridge. "Recording that serial number so that if your bicycle was stolen, having that serial number is an incredible asset to getting that bike back to you."
Martel is hoping someone will be seen riding it around town.
"It doesn't look like it's in great shape, but it is," said Martel, describing it as grey with some rust on the seat pole. "I have no idea how I'll get the money to get that bike back."
He hopes to go "around the world" by bicycle next year, including across Russia.
With files from Windsor Morning