Edinburgh BMX rider gets stolen bike back - with a little help from his (Facebook) friends (+ video)

A semi-pro BMX rider whose bike was stolen in Edinburgh last week was reunited with his bike just three days after it was taken from a stairwell outside his flat after fellow cyclists got together on Facebook to help track it down.

Victor Ory, aged 21, a student at Napier University and sponsored rider in his native France, had left his orange BSD TrailorPark bike, worth £1,000, unattended on the stairwell of his flat in Bellevue last Tuesday while he popped inside to get his lock, reports the Edinburgh Evening News.

Four days later, a teenager was spotted riding the bike in the city’s Bristo Square – a location featured in Danny MacAskill’s latest video with the street trials star performing stunts there on, by coincidence, an orange bike – leading to the owner being reunited with his ride.

The Facebook appeal had been launched by the management of indoor urban sports venue Transgression Park, one of whom, John Bailey, sped off to Bristo Square – owned by Edinburgh University and a magnet for skateboarders and other urban sports fans – when a friend told him that a teenager had been spotted riding the stolen bike there.

“I had just got a phone call from a friend who was eating his lunch in Bristo Square near Potterow and saw this kid cycling past on Victor’s bike,” he explained.

“I was in my flat and grabbed my bike and rode around the area for an hour hoping the guy would cycle past again.

“Eventually I saw him and caught up with him on South Clerk Street. I explained the situation and he told me he’d bought the bike from a friend for £50. I said that it was stolen property and I’d get the police involved which seemed to put him off pursuing it any further.”

He said that the episode underlined the benefits of social media to quickly spread information. “It’s just so handy for everything isn’t it? For business, social events and even, it seems, finding a stolen bike,” he said.

Ory, speaking to the newspaper from France, was delighted that the detective work of his fellow riders had paid off.

“I never thought I would get it back,” he explained. “To be honest, when it was stolen my first reaction was ‘Is it a joke?’”

“After a short while I realised that it wasn’t and I stayed out in the middle of the street hoping to see the thief.

“Now, I am so glad to know that my friends have tracked it down and I can’t wait to ride my bike with all my friends in Edinburgh,” he continued.

"“The city’s BMX community is just amazing, more than 80 people shared a picture of my bike on Facebook, and all these guys have kept an eye in the street for three days,” he added.

Transgression Park's marketing manager, Forbes Howie, commented: “I have had my bike stolen before and it’s usually gone forever but it’s amazing that this time around we’ve managed to get it back. The response we had from Facebook was unbelievable and certainly played a huge part in finding Victor’s bike.”

You can see Ory put another bike through its paces at Transgression Park for a video shot by John Bailey for clothing brand Legacy in the video below:

Victor Ory at Transgression Park for Legacy Clothing from George Eccleston on Vimeo.