The bike was one of a dozen stolen from the Geard Cycles workshop at the weekend.

“Since I’ve been riding mountain bikes I have been riding with dad and I got his bike obviously when he passed away and it means a lot to me,” Beau said.

“Everytime I pick it up it reminds me of dad and I am really upset that I have lost it.”

Beau said he had a lot of fond memories competing against his dad “doing wheelies” and when he heard the news of the theft he just wanted to know “why?”.

“Why would they do that sort of thing? They don’t know the circumstances of other people’s bikes, it’s not just my bike, it could have been a bike that someone’s grandfather gave to them and now they’re not here,” he said.

Beau’s mother Tach said riding was a big part of her husband’s life and who he was.

“He rode a lot before he got sick, and even when he was sick he still tried to ride [with Beau] even towards the end and the bike just holds a lot of significance,” she said.

Geard Cycles owner Ian Lee said even being able to physically replace Beau’s father’s bike could not replace its sentimental value.

“It’s frustrating because at the end of the day if they had taken my stock, which I physically own, then I could get that back from insurance, but because these are customers’ bikes … I’m having an issue dealing with the insurers over how much they are going to pay and cover,” he said. 

“At the end of the day they broke-in on a Sunday morning and there is no trauma to our staff like at the Trevallyn Bakery where there was an armed hold-up, but there is a bit of physical damage to the building.”

Detective Inspector Darren Hopkins said there had been a small trend of break-ins across the Invermay and South Launceston areas, but other offenders had recently been charged for burglaries at George Town, Scottsdale and Lilydale.

“It’s a good reminder for people to make sure that your premises and delivery doors are locked and secure when you close your business and we certainly recommend good quality alarms systems and good quality CCTV,” he said. 

“It might not necessarily prevent the crime but it helps us to identify who the offenders might be.”