By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

new wheels up for grabs

Red Deer’s recovered bicycles to be auctioned next week

Jun 11, 2020 | 5:34 PM

If you’re looking for some new wheels, next week the City of Red Deer will auction off more than 250 bicycles.

The bikes are all of the recovered variety and will be up for grabs through an online auction between June 18-23.

Bidding will open at 9 a.m. on June 18 and close at 9 a.m. on June 23. The first bike will close at 9 a.m., then every bike will close a minute apart. They can be previewed here.

“We make every effort to reconnect found bikes, whether stolen or abandoned, with their rightful owner,” says Bart Rowland, Municipal Policing Services Manager. “However this can be very difficult if bicycles are not registered or do not have identifying markers such as serial numbers.”

The City says community peace officers recover stolen or abandoned bikes regularly, and stores them for a minimum of 30 days with efforts made to contact the owner.

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Red Deerians are strongly encouraged to register their bike with 529 Garage, which is available as a mobile app or on desktop.

“Bikes registered with 529 Garage deter potential thieves by automatically sending a message that this theft will be recorded and reported,” says Rowland. “If your registered bike happens to get stolen, our peace officers will be able to notify you immediately if it is found.”

Rowland says money raised from the auction helps the City pay for the continued recovery and storage of bikes.

He adds that if a citizen sees a bike in the auction they believe was stolen from them and never returned, they should call the RCMP non-emergency line (403-343-5575) and ask to speak with a community police officer about the bike auction.

The Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre will be registering sold bikes with their new owners during pick-up. In previous years, this annual auction was held in person, however due to the ongoing pandemic, it was moved online.

For more information, including how to pre-register for the auction, visit www.reddeer.ca/bikeauction.