Bike Stolen From Vet Is No Ordinary Bike
By Jeff Todd
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - A Marine veteran is hoping people in Northern Colorado can help find his special mountain bike that was stolen right off the back of his car.
"Yesterday I came out to ride my bike to lunch and it was gone," said Robert Kugler. "It's custom made. There's only one of 10 of those particular bikes that were ever made … it was given to me by a Vietnam veteran and Marine as well."
The bike is part of the Ride 2 Recovery program which helps heal veterans with physical and mental wounds. The bike is black with stickers saying Stealth, USO, United Healthcare, Ride 2 Recovery, and Kugler's last name.
Kugler has been traveling the country for the past year. It's a decision he made after his dog Bella started battling cancer. Kugler has a large following on Facebook, where he went to vent about the theft.
"A letter to a bike thief. "Dear stranger. I'd first like to introduce myself. My name is Robert Kugler, a Marine veteran," the open letter started. It's been shared nearly 1,000 times.
Kugler's adventure had been on hold while Bella recovered.
"We got held up in Fort Collins for a while because cancer came back in her mouth and we went to CSU there," he said. "It took basically six weeks' worth of treatment and now we're ready to get back on the road and get moving."
Instead, Kugler spent Tuesday and Wednesday scouring Fort Collins for his bike.
"It's a really special bike and I'm hoping we can track it down and get it back," said Kugler.
Anyone with information on the bike is urged to call Fort Collins Police.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
