'If anyone offers you one of my stolen bikes, kick 'em in the nuts' says owner of Cairngorms centre
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The owner of a Cairngorms bike centre has vented his anger at thieves who have stolen more than £50,000 of equipment.
Eight Polygon Siskiu T8 mountain bikes, estimated to be worth around £12,800, were stolen from Laggan Wolftrax Visitor Centre overnight on Friday.
In addition, the thieves also struck next door at The Wee Bike Hub.
A further 12 mountain bikes, of various makes and models, estimated to be worth around £39,500, were stolen along with £3100 of clothing.
Posting online, Duncan Bailey, said: "After trying our best to survive this storm of Covid, lockdown and virtually no business since October, I get a huge kick in the balls.
"I am absolutely raging.
"If anyone is offering you a cheap bike, kick em in the nuts and steal it back."
The outward bound attraction was launched in the spring of 2015 and went on to boast more than 25,000 visitors a year.
Mr Bailey said: "We have worked so hard to build up the business and then to survive all the bad news of the last few months.
"We have two young kids at home but I've hardly seen them in recent months because I've had to work so hard to keep the business going through all the tough times.
"Now, when new stock was in and bikes were just ready to go out to the customers – many many thousands of pounds worth of bikes – we find them all gone and the place smashed open."
The centre is in the Strathmashie forest – from which a wide network of forestry roads and walking trails interconnect the area between the village of Laggan and Loch Laggan.
Power to the centre's broadband network was apparently cut shortly after the thieves struck.
First evidence of the break-in was spotted early on Saturday morning by a local woman walking her dog.
The Baileys were then alerted.
Mr Bailey said: "We want anyone who heard or hopefully saw anything to come forward as soon as possible.
"We are probably the third bike hub to be hit in a spate of attacks in the north of the country.
"It's definitely an organised job with a team going round taking the pick of the equipment.
"It's exactly what we didn't need after all we've been through."
