Event planned for South Korean bike tourer victimized by theft in Portland

Portlanders are rallying to the aid of a man whose bike — and all of his belongings — were stolen last week.

Kim Minhyeong is from South Korea and was passing through Portland on a once-in-a-lifetime bike tour from Canada to Argentina. Just a few weeks into his trip he stopped into the Fred Meyer on Southeast Hawthorne for supplies. On Friday (6/30) he locked his fully-loaded touring bike to a rack and went inside for 10 minutes. When he came out, everything was gone. “Laptop, a tent, clothes, panniers, camping gears, and food. Someone cut my lock and stole my bicycle. I couldn’t believe, I thought that I mistaken for a different entrance. I got a shock, and I got into a panic,” Minhyeong wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

He called 911 and talked to the store managers about security camera footage. So far he has no leads.

“I really regret why I couldn’t be careful, and I have cried and I felt guilty, anger and sadness, I haven’t slept well so far,” he wrote. “I had worked and saved money for 1 year for this journey… My dream has gone.”

As his story spread on social media, Portland’s bike theft avenger Bryan Hance of Bike Index got wind of the story. Hance immediately swung into action to help find the bike and support Minhyeong. Local television news reporters from KGW and KATU picked up the story.

As more people heard about the situation, more people wanted to step up and help. Now Hance has organized an event to make that happen.

“As a Portlander and cyclist, this kind of theft drives me absolutely crazy,” Hance wrote in the event description on Facebook, “and I want to help Kim get back on the road! A lot of other people do too!”

Here’s more from Hance:

“There’s not a lot of time to run a Gofundme or similar effort, so I figured the easiest way for people to help Kim would be to come do it in person. Let’s show Kim the real Portland – the one that takes care of fellow cyclists and bike theft victims. (Also, beer. Yay!)

So: Come help support Kim Minhyeong and help him get back on the road for his epic journey!”

The event will be Thursday (7/6) at Apex Bar (1216 SE Division) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Check out full details on the BP Event Calendar or on Facebook. Show up to show Minhyeong that Portland isn’t a place where bike dreams die — it’s the place where they can be restored.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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