Dubliner who rides round city with his dog on his shoulders has two bikes stolen in two days

A Dublin cyclist who rides around the Irish capital with his dog on his shoulder has fallen victim to bike thieves twice in two days.

Loxi Land and his pup Zai have achieved some degree of celebrity through their bike rides around the city.

The West Highland Terrier has his own Instagram feed with more than 30,000 followers, with many of the photos featuring him perched on the shoulders of fans of the pair for selfies.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Meinzai The Dog (@zai_dog)

But in a post to the social network last week, Land revealed that his black and white Pinarello bike had been stolen.

“Zai and have no bike now,” he wrote. “It just got stolen. I was sitting outside having food with it beside me in Dublin city and someone ran by grabbed it and got away before I could even get up.”

Dublin Cycling Campaign, which Land addressed in September during a session about how different people get around the city on bikes or trikes, said that the theft happened on the evening of Tuesday 26 October.

In a post on its website, the group said: “Loxi then borrowed a very fine bike – an On One with electric conversion – to get himself and Zai mobile again, and the day after the robbery (ie on Wed 27th Oct) at around 6pm, he went into one of the businesses on the street where his bike was stolen to enquire if there was CCTV.

“When he came out, the bike he was using had been completely destroyed through someone attempting to steal it,” with the frame of the bike said to have been “horribly mashed” due to the attempted theft.

“It appears that whoever did this also attempted to steal other bikes at the same bike parking facility given the trail of destruction (and a broken bike lock) left behind,” Dublin Cycling Campaign continued. “The bike that was loaned to Loxi had immense sentimental value for its owner as he had travelled the world on it and much more.

It said that Land was “gutted” by the thefts, and highlighted that “there really does appear to be a chronic bike theft problem on that street and adjacent streets too.”

In conclusion, the group said: “Unfortunately Zai and Loxi won’t be on the streets of Dublin for the foreseeable future bringing smiles to people’s faces – he needs to sort himself out with two bikes, one of which is safe and comfortable for bringing Zai and himself about.”