It was a gift he received from his parents on his 21st birthday, and for the past 72 years an elderly Gqeberha man has taken meticulous care of his bicycle.
But on Wednesday, 93-year-old Neville Vimpany’s beloved bike was stolen as he drew money from the ATM at Builders Warehouse in 17th Avenue, Walmer.
“I was at the ATM and put the bike behind me while doing my transaction.
“When I turned around it was gone.
“The person who took it must have been standing there watching me,” a distraught Vimpany said.
He said the bicycle had great sentimental value and had carried him around for decades.
It was one of the few possessions he still had to remind him of his parents, along with some of his father’s old clothes.
“It was 1950 when my parents gave the bike to me for my 21st birthday.
“My mother died in 1964 and my father in 1974.
“I have some photographs and some of my father’s clothes, but the bicycle means everything to me.
“I’ve had it with me everywhere I’ve been, whether it’s Cape Town or Durban, or when I’m on the farm,” he said.
Not only has Vimpany’s bicycle been a reminder of his late parents, but it has helped keep him fit for years.
His son, Richard, who posted about his father’s ordeal on social media, said the bicycle was his father’s most used mode of transport because he was too old to drive around in his car.
The post received much attention on social media, being shared multiple times with calls for assistance to try locate the bike.
Vimpany said: “I use it to go to the shops in Walmer Park and sometimes Greenacres.
“When I need some exercise, I hop on my bike.”
The thief also made off with Vimpany’s house keys, gate remote, glasses case containing his home address, and the bicycle’s lock that were in the pannier.
Richard said: “That is a major safety risk as the person can easily access the house.
“That’s why we’re changing all the locks and getting the remote controls reprogrammed.”
Because of its sentimental value, he said the bike was irreplaceable.
And though it may not be worth much, the family has put up a cash reward of between R1,000 and R5,000 for its return.
A complaint of theft was reported at the Walmer police station.
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