The goodwill of the community - dropped-off pastries and well-wishes a plenty - carried Ross Taylor through a tough week.
Dealing with a Tuesday night break-in was difficult but Taylor, owner of Ross' Bike Works, can breath a sigh of relief with two stolen E-bikes back in his store.
"People are beautiful. A lot of good people out there," Taylor said of the Stratford and area community.
Taylor got a call from Stratford police noting they had found the Liv E-bikes.
A 37-year-old male was located downtown at about 5 p.m. on Nov. 29 and arrested without incident. Later that night, information led police to one of the stolen bikes at a business on Erie Street. Shortly before 3 a.m. on Nov. 30, a 45-year-old female resident of Stratford was observed riding the second stolen E-bike on Norfolk Street. The female was arrested and charged with possession of property obtained by crime
The second suspect from the break-in, age 60, remains at large. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The security system at the store did it's job, Taylor said, with loads of tips from the community, based on video and still images captured by the store camera.
In between, Taylor had a couple of late nights, a lot of cleanup from a smashed window, and numerous interactions with community members trying to assist and keep Taylor's spirits up. He also spent some time at the police station providing a report.
Taylor said on Friday morning there is some damage to the bikes, among the more popular brands of E-bikes.
The combined value of the new bikes is more than $9,000.
"I am having a look this morning. One has a broken tail light. There is a nasty scratch on the crossbar on one of the bikes."
He will decide whether to discount or have them fixed up.
E-bikes account for more than half of Taylor's revenue, he said.
Taylor has been in the bike business since 1975 when he started working at Wheel Goods of Stratford, a company he bought four years later.
He sold the business, later re-named Totally Spoke'd, currently still in operations on Ontario Street.
Taylor opened Ross' Bike Works at 38 Wellington Street in 2011.
