Bikes stolen from cancer charity cyclists

PORTLAND, Ore. – Imagine biking across the country for a good cause only to have that good deed punished by a callous thief. That’s what happened to two college students who spent their summer raising money for cancer patients.

But Zach Boyer and Chey Hilsgrove are not taking it lying down.

Through Skype, Boyer spoke about being on top of the world after cycling from coast to coast.

“It’s really emotional, it definitely gives you a push to go up the mountain every day,” he said Wednesday as he headed home to Massachusetts for college.

Boyer pedaled from Maryland to Portland in 70 days for “4k for Cancer.”

“We help raise money for young adults affected by cancer by giving them scholarships to go to school and help them through their treatment,” Boyer said.

But after the race ended over the weekend, things took a horrible turn. After Boyer and his friends finished the event in Portland, they went up to the Seattle area to stay at a friend’s house. It was there Boyer and Hilsgrove locked their bikes on a roof rack on top of a car, and it was from there they were stolen.

Both bikes, Felt Z-100s, were worth $850 each.

“It really ticked me off because we just finished a cross-country bike ride for cancer, and we wake up in the morning after meeting up with some friends and going out in the town, coming to find out our bikes were stolen,” Boyer said.

Boyer said he believes whoever did it knew who they were stealing from.

“It was on the top of a van that clearly had, it was a cancer van: it says ’70 days, four thousand miles, one fight.’”

Boyer has set up a Facebook page for tips, and he’s checking the usual spots where stolen stuff turns up.

“We’ve also been monitoring Craigslist, because a majority of the time they’re just looking to make money,” he said.

Despite the theft, the cross-country ride raised nearly half a million dollars for 4K for Cancer.

This story came to us as a news tip. If you have a news tip, email us at newstips@katu.com. Your email goes straight to our newsroom.

To read the whole story, visit here: http://www.kval.com/outdoors/After-cancer-charity-ride-cyclists-bikes-stolen-165534926.html

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