Canadian Politician Wanted To Decrease Bike Theft But A Bandit Had Other Plans

A Canadian politician who wants to see less bike theft in his city is now hoping for his own two wheels back.

Rick Shone, a mayoral candidate in Winnipeg, broke down his “cycling-infrastructure plan” – a plan that also looks to crack down on bike theft – during a press conference on Wednesday, CBC reported .

Shone left the bike in the back of his truck as he entered a store around noon, just 90 minutes after he discussed his plan.

But when he returned, the bike was reportedly nowhere in sight.

“I feel so stupid,” Shone told CBC.

“I was inside for two minutes. I got distracted by a question.”

After the reported bike theft, Shone sent out a tweet calling for his pedal-friendly transportation back in his possession.

Shone allegedly left the bike’s wheel locked via a cable to a truck rack while he was in the store, the Winnipeg Free Press reported .

The efforts were reportedly enough, however, as the newspaper described a pair of thieves – who were on bikes themselves – stopping for the bike, snapping the lock and taking it.

The reported theft comes as Shone hopes to “fast-track” biking and pedestrian infrastructure in Winnipeg as he hopes to tack on more protected bike lanes and bike racks in the city.

He also said he wants to integrate the city’s bikes into a Canadian-wide bike registration network in an effort to decrease theft.

The mayoral candidate isn’t alone in reporting a theft this year, too, as Rana Bokhari reported a theft of a catalytic converter from her campaign’s RV in early August.

Shone told the Winnipeg Free Press that someone hasn’t stolen his bike in roughly 27 years.

“Normally, I’m really good [with anti-theft measures] – I understand the benefit of quality locks, I was just rushing [on Wednesday],” he said.