'Heartbreaking': Bike used for cancer fundraising stolen from Toronto woman's basement

Plea for return of cancer fundraiser's stolen bike An Etobicoke woman is pleading for help recovering the $10,000 bike she has ridden thousands of kilometres to fundraise for cancer research.

A Toronto woman is looking to recover the specialized bicycle used to raise money for cancer research after it was stolen from her Etobicoke home over the weekend.

Monica Doedens said she returned home on Saturday to find the lock on her door broken, her house ransacked and several valuable items stolen.

The hardest loss to accept was her Pinarello bike, stored in the basement — purchased three years ago.

“I could feel my heart drop,” Doedens told CTV News Toronto. “We have a garage and a shed, and I deliberately do not keep [the bike] in either because I thought the house was safest.”

“The bicycle was an expensive one which I really didn’t think it could afford but because I ride so much I decided to spend the extra money on this bike and it was a little bit heartbreaking,” she continued.

Doedens said the bike was custom-made and will cost $10,000 to replace. She said she doesn’t know yet if her home insurance will cover the loss.

“They don’t make the Pinarello Prince anymore,” she said. “It’s very light and very maneuverable. It just feels good when I ride, and I ride a long way.”

A cancer stem cell researcher by profession, Doedens has taken part in the Ride to Conquer Cancer — a two-day, 200 km cycling event — since its inception for the last 17 years.

“And I’ve been doing cancer research since 1986 so it’s near and dear to my heart to raise this money, and so far I’ve raised $90,000 over those years, so I’m hoping to reach $100,000 next year.”

Toronto Police stats show about 3,000 bikes are stolen a year. Last year, most were taken from outside residences.

Doedens had been riding the stolen bike for nearly three years and misses it. She’s been scouring resale sites, speaking with neighbours and local shops in the hopes someone spots her beloved wheels.

“Going down the hills, I know what to do to handle it, how it breaks, how it turns, that’s what I’m going to miss,” she said. “Fingers are crossed someone is going to see it.”