An Ottawa man living with cerebral palsy is thanking the community for its support in helping him locate his custom-made bike nearly a month after it was stolen from his Alta Vista home. Kevin Shaw says the adapted tricycle was found by a recycling business owner who spotted the bike while picking up trash from a Tim Hortons on Lancaster Road. “Everything happened at once,” he told CTV News Ottawa in a phone interview. Shaw explained the worker found the bike after he started removing garbage from the area. “He found it, and he heard the story or he saw the story play out on TikTok, and he put two and two together that it was the bike,” Shaw said. After confirming it was his bike with a photo, the business owner, accompanied by two Ottawa police officers, delivered the bike back to Shaw on Sunday afternoon. “We are very thankful for everyone’s concern. We’re grateful for the media, and we’re really grateful to the citizens of Ottawa for really taking an interest in this story, it really kind of warms our hearts,” he said. “Most importantly, we’re really grateful to the Ottawa police. They’re out there helping the citizens of Ottawa.” Ottawa police say the bike was stolen from his Alta Visa area home sometime between July 12 and July 14. On Aug. 4, police issued a public call for assistance in identifying the suspect responsible, along with photos captured on surveillance video. Shaw says officers told him the thief has not yet been arrested. The 54-year-old quadriplegic says the bike is crucial for him to get physical activity. Shaw has had his bike for 23 years, getting it custom-built to his specifications by company Freedom Concepts in Winnipeg at a cost of about $3,000. “I have a severe physical disability. I cannot pick up and go for a run or for a swim on my own. I need friends and family to help me,” he said. Shaw says thankfully, the bicycle was returned to him in the same condition as it was before. While grateful to have the bike returned, he still hopes the person responsible for stealing it faces consequences. “Definitely. I hope there are some consequences. I don’t want this happening to anyone. Especially someone that happens to have a disability. It’s like another barrier,” he said. Shaw is asking people who wanted to donate money to him to replace the bike to give the funds to a good cause, including disability support organizations. “We don’t need the money, but we’re really grateful for the outpouring of support,” he said. “I think money could be used better by donating to charity. If we could help some kid with a disability whose family doesn’t have a lot of money to get them active, so much the better.” With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Dylan Dyson
