Cyclist returns to UK after 6,000km ride across Europe… and has bike and possessions stolen outside noodle restaurant in Brighton

A cyclist who took on an epic 6,000km ride to Turkey and back shortly after the death of his wife – only to return to the UK and have his bike, along with several items of sentimental value, stolen in Brighton – has called for local communities to do more to tackle the country’s bike crime “pandemic”.

Phil Gallon, from Saltburn, North Yorkshire, was staying in Brighton overnight at the end of November, on the return leg of his three-month-long cycle trip, when he locked his bike to a metal Sheffield stand to visit a noodle restaurant on Queen’s Road.

However, after returning to the stand, he discovered that his bike, a light green Giant Revolt gravel bike, was gone, along with everything that was stored in his panniers, including items which belonged to his late wife Carla, who had recently passed away from cancer, and £250 worth of presents for his children and grandchildren, such as gin, whiskey, and earbuds.

Phil reported the theft to the police, only for him to receive a text an hour later from an officer informing him that there was no available CCTV footage to aid their investigation, prompting the cyclist to contact local MPs and the area’s police and crime commissioner urging them to review how bike theft is handled by the authorities.

The theft took place on 28 November, as Phil neared the end of his 6,000km cross-Europe ride, which he took on as a rather epic means of travelling to and from a holiday organised by his children following the recent death of his wife Carla.

“After some discussion, we said we’d go to Turkey,” he told road.cc. “I’m a cyclist, and I do quite a bit here in the UK, so I always thought I’d do some cycling. And I decided to cycle there – it was a bit of an unknown quantity, and it was very much a learning experience.”

However, on his return leg, while stopping for a quick bite to eat before boarding a train from Brighton, his bike and possessions were stolen on Queen’s Road.

“I was in absolute shock and horror. All my memories that were in the bike were just gone in an instant. The thieves don’t care,” he said.

“And that’s one of the annoying things, that the bike is linked to those memories, as well as the financial hit. If I were to replace everything, it’s going to cost me the neck-end of £4,000.

“The bike cost £1,500 – and I know it was used, but it was my used bike. And I don’t want to have to buy a second-hand one, as well as all the equipment that was stolen.

“But it’s all the memories of the trip that are gone. I was hoping to have a debrief of the bike when I got home, to see what worked and what didn’t for future trips.

“I spent £300 getting it serviced in Turkey, £100 on a new wheel. The panniers were top notch, waterproof, and I got a Brooks leather saddle – but the thieves won’t have a clue, they won’t give a monkey’s. They’ll sell it for whatever online, and they don’t know, or they don’t care.

“And I don’t even want to face having to go and buy a new bike now. But I eventually will because I’m a cyclist, and I want to do more in the future. But I’ve basically lost four grand – and in the cost-of-living crisis, who can afford that kind of money?”

Along with the bike and his kit, Phil said that items belonging to his wife, which he took on the trip for sentimental reasons, were also taken.

“It’s the sentimental items, too,” he says. “There were three purses that were my wife’s that were carrying my tools and spares. They’re gone.

“And there were a couple of dry bags that were my wife’s, which are gone, and things we bought together back in the 1990s, when were in Nepal. So, along with the bike, it’s those personal, sentimental items that cannot be replaced.”

After reporting the theft to the police, Phil said: “I got a text within an hour, telling me that ‘there was no indication that there was CCTV at this incident’ and that they’re filing the case. But I spoke to the pub next door, I phoned the bus company across the road, and they said they had CCTV and would send it on if the police asked.

“But the police just told me they’d filed it. No way have they got somebody on the case. But they should just be honest that they don’t have the resources, and say that bike theft is lower down the pecking order than other crimes.

“It’s like they go ‘Oh well, we can’t do anything, it’s up to you to be insured’. And I do have insurance, but it doesn’t cover bike theft.”

> “Theft has become legal”: Police close stolen bike case a day after it was taken from outside Scotland Yard HQ, despite CCTV cameras and tracker showing location

Faced with this apparent police inaction, Phil has since written to Brighton and Hove’s MPs, Siân Berry (Green Party) and Peter Kyle (Labour), along with Sussex’s police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne, to highlight the “major problem” of bike theft, which he argues is currently “simply swept under the carpet and by implication one we must just live with”.

“It’s like bike crime is a pandemic in the UK,” he tells road.cc. “If the police can’t deal with this and it’s beyond their resources, let’s look at other ways. We should maybe be looking at how the local community can take it on, and deal with the justice side.

“For instance, if I’d come into Brighton and saw signage that said, ‘Do not leave your bike unattended’, I’d still have my bike. And, as a victim of bike theft now, I keep thinking, ‘how stupid am I to lock my bike up?’

“And maybe as a community we should try to make bike thieves uncomfortable. If I saw something happening, I wouldn’t just pass on by. But I can see why some might be afraid to approach if they noticed something suspicious.

“As a victim of bike theft, the police don’t know how devastating it feels. And when I think or talk about it now, my anger boils over.

“Time will heal, but it’s still a bit raw. The response and support I’ve had since posting about it reminds me that these crimes are committed by a small minority, and that most people are good.”

When approached for a comment, a spokesperson from Sussex Police said: “Police are conducting CCTV enquiries after a bike was stolen from outside a noodle shop in Queen’s Road, Brighton at around noon on 28 November. 

“The Giant Revolt bike is light green with four panniers. If anyone has any information they should contact police online or call 101, quoting CAD 629 of 29/11.”

> Round-the-world cyclist arrives in UK… and has bike stolen outside a Reading Wetherspoons two days later

Unfortunately, with bike thefts becoming an increasingly common occurrence in the UK, combined with the apparent inability of police forces to track down criminals, it is no surprise to learn that Phil isn’t the first cyclist to return from an epic long-distance tour and have their bike nicked upon entering the country.

 Last October, Geordie Stewart completed a 430-day, 22,500-mile around-the-world cycle, during which he was held at knifepoint in Italy, had his bike confiscated by police in China, and was threatened in the Australian outback – only for his bike to be stolen outside a pub in London, after the thief cut through his lock and made off with it seconds later.

And in May 2022, British adventure cyclist Josiah Skeats spent 835 days cycling around the world, “through countries people repeatedly warned were too dangerous to visit” before having his girlfriend’s bike stolen outside a Reading branch of Wetherspoons.

Skeats said he covered over 40,000km by bike during his trip, but was on only his second day of bike touring in England when he arrived in Reading. He was part way through cycling the King Alfred’s Way route with his girlfriend, when the theft happened five metres away from where they were sitting outside the Hope Tap in Friar Street.

The 29-year-old and his partner were inside the branch of Wetherspoons drinking coffee with their bikes outside propped against the window, when the thief pounced. Skeats said that he gave chase for half a mile before giving up.