Bike Ridden for Charity Stolen in DC

WASHINGTON, D.C. - You hear stories all the time about bikes being stolen, but a recent bike theft in Northwest D.C. is particularly appalling. That's because the bike stolen was ridden 4,000 miles to bring awareness and raise money for a child suffering from a rare disease.

Dick Michaux rode the bike cross country to raise awareness for his granddaughter, who suffers from an incurable disease. So when a thief stole it, he took more than a bike. It was a symbol of hope for children everywhere.

Michaux launched his cross country bike trip last year. It was full of challenges, but focused on a deeply personal cause.

"It was a great road bike, and took me all the way across the country," said Michaux.

His granddaughter Tia lives with phenylketonuria, or PKU, as its commonly called. It's an inherited metabolic defect that makes it difficult for her to metabolize essential amino acids.

"If you have it, you have to immediately start a very restrictive diet that all of the children and adults have to stay on it, at this point for the rest of their lives," said Michaux.

Michaux was driven to raise awareness of this rare disease, so he hit the road, riding 3,700 from Oregon to Virginia Beach his bike.

He raised $170,000 and established the National PKU Alliance which helps kids like Tia. His dream was to one day give the bike to Tia as a reminder of his dedication and fight.

"As she got older I figured she'd appreciate it even more," he said.

But last Tuesday, in less than 30 seconds, that dream was shattered. A thief caught on surveillance tape entered his condo's garage, cut the lock on his bike, and took off.

"I knew that pops would be upset," said Tia, talking about her grandfather.

And not just that his bike was gone, but for the sentimental value attached.

Dick's bike was not the only bike that was stolen. Over the past month, three bikes have been taken from this storage locker. The recent rash of thefts has the condo board there ready to take action.

The condo association plans to add more surveillance cameras to the garage area, but for Michaux family, this has been a heartbreaking loss, not just because of the bike but for what it stood for. And even if they never recover it, they hope their message won't be lost and the trip will have been worth it.

PKU affects about 10,000 people in the United States. If it is discovered at birth, children have to go on supplements and a low protein diet the rest of their lives, and that's not cheap. Part of the Michaux's campaign was to make treatment more affordable for everyone.

Michaux is of course hopeful that someone will return it. He says it has yellow tape on the handle bars, which makes it identifiable. If they don't get it back, then at least they have raised awareness for the cause.