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French man’s tricycle stolen near Maybell

Patrick Kelly
The greater sage grouse will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act
050815_frenchBike

A young man from France had his dream of cycling around the world deflated on Wednesday morning when he awoke to find his $3,000 tricycle had been stolen near Craig.

Valentin Gevaux, 23, was one week into a year-and-a-half long journey around the world when he arrived at a campground near mile marker 60 on U.S. Highway 40, just east of Maybell. Due to inclement weather, Gevaux locked up his tricycle near the campsite’s restroom, set up his tent roughly 30 yards to the south and prepared to stay the night.

When he woke up around 4 a.m. to use the restroom, he was shocked to find his black Azub recumbent trike was gone.



Gevaux reported the theft and Moffat County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ryan Hampton responded to scene.

According to the incident report, “Valentin said when he looked at the lock after seeing his tricycle missing the lock was set to the correct combination and open.”



There was no damage to either the lock or the cable, and Gevaux said he did not hear anyone throughout the night.

Before the incident, Gevaux was staying with a Stacy Todd in Idaho Springs.

“He had contacted me on couchsurfing.org,” she said.

Todd said she a received a text from Gevaux around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning stating he had a problem with his trike.

“I was like, ‘Oh, maybe it’s only a flat tire or it’s broken’ and then I called him and it was stolen,” she said.

Todd picked Gevaux up from J & R Cycling in Craig and took him back to Idaho Springs where he is currently staying.

Gevaux said he is able replace the tricycle if he wants to, but he is unsure about continuing with the world tour.

The fact that his trike was stolen in such a remote area makes him wary of what might happen when he is in a more populated place, he said.

“I’m hoping he comes around but if he can’t trust leaving his bike or trike tied up in the middle of nowhere, how would it be if he goes to a big city,” Todd said.

Even though he might be abandoning his cycling goal, Gevaux is trying to come up with other ways to continue his journey.

“He’s coming up with lots and lots of other ideas for adventures,” Todd said.

On Thursday afternoon, Moffat County Sheriff KC Hume said there were no suspects in the theft at this point in time.

Reach Patrick Kelly at 970-875-1795 or pkelly@craigdailypress.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_PKelly.


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