Bad Luck for Cross-Canada Biker...

My Uncle had, at the age of 57, decided to bike across Canada. He started in April in St. John's , Nfld, had biked through the Maritimes, Quebec and got as far as Ottawa. It was here in the nation's capital that he ran into some unfortunate circumstances. Here is the story as picked up by the Ottawa Citizen and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. He had also been interviewed by CBC Radio 1 in Saskatchewan.

Jennifer Campbell, Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Garry Koop intended to cycle from Newfoundland to
Saskatchewan this spring. Instead, his trip ended in Ottawa
last week, thanks to a thief who cut the lock from his bike
and stole it, along with his custom trailer containing all
his luggage.
By the time Mr. Koop got to Ottawa, he had collected
several heart-warming experiences, including the night he
spent with a Newfoundland trucker he'd met on the ferry.
Then there was the New Glasgow, N.S., man he met in a
restaurant, who told him the ferry to P.E.I. wasn't running
for the following two days, but that he could spend the
time with his family.
The construction company owner took him in, showed him
around New Glasgow and fed him a boiled seafood dinner.
In Charlottetown, he looked up a man he'd met at a bar in
St. John's and stayed at his home for that night, watched a
soccer game with the family and in the morning, headed back
out. "That experience personalized P.E.I. for me," he says.
The cyclist pedalled his way through New Brunswick, Quebec
and along the St. Lawrence River. Then, after cycling 160
kilometres in one day, he arrived in the capital.
"That was my best day yet," he says. "I felt strong,
physically and mentally.
Unfortunately, his "best day yet" was followed by his worst.
It started out OK.
"When I was at Rideau Hall - on the grounds and at the
visitors' entrance - I was just so proud to be Canadian
because of all my experiences in people's homes."
They were feelings soon followed by "bitter anger and
outrage" when, after visiting the National Gallery and
taking in the Voice of Fire and some "400-year-old
paintings," he went outside and realized his touring
bicycle and trailer were gone. A thief had cut the lock in
broad daylight.
"My feeling of Ottawa changed considerably," he says. "It
was quite a shock, quite a loss. For the first while, I was
bitterly angry, upset and outraged."
But the gentle ex-farmer, who retired from the business 10
years ago when it became too hard to earn a living, soon
collected his thoughts and tried to figure out what to do
next. He'd lost his camping gear, all his souvenirs -
including jars of jam from the Newfoundland family - his
camera with all his pictures from the trip, and his
clothing.
So he booked a train home to Saskatoon.
After filing a report with gallery security and the Ottawa
police, the 57-year-old, who currently works as a nurse's
aide, but took two months off to do the epic tour,
continued his Ottawa visit.
He visited Parliament and the war museum before booking
into the Quality Inn. The folks there didn't offer him a
complimentary meal or room, but they did give him a phone
charger someone left behind, to give his cellphone some
juice.
In spite of losing his bike to someone the police suggested
was likely an addict looking for their next hit, Mr. Koop
said he won't hold it against Ottawa.
"Ottawa is a great city - I noticed the multiculturalism
there the most," he says.

© Ottawa Citizen 2007