The Pasco bicyclist was wearing the wrong shoes. He’s in jail now

Whoever swiped a Cervelo P2 from a West Richland garage wasn’t stealing a normal bicycle.

Costing several thousand dollars, the racing machine is made for serious cycling enthusiasts. The maker bills it as one of the most successful triathlon bikes in history, helping to win two Ironman world championships.

Which is why Pasco Sgt. Bill Parramore thought it was strange when he spotted Dustin E. Kuykendall, 38, of Pasco, riding it in street clothes near the intersection of 14th Avenue and Henry Street.

Kuykendall also didn’t have a helmet, and what struck Parramore, a cycling enthusiast, as odd was Kuykendall was wearing normal street shoes.

The small metal pedals on the Cervelo are designed to be ridden with special shoes with cleats that snap the rider into the equipment.

“Treating a high-end piece of equipment with such indifference is a clue that the operator may not be the owner,” Pasco police commented on the department’s Facebook page.

Parramore soon learned about the burglary and contacted the true owner of the bike.

When Kuykendall was stopped, he allegedly offered police several explanations for how he happened to be riding the machine.

Parramore and Officer Jason Griffith didn’t think any of them were believable, and booked him into the Franklin County jail on investigation of possessing stolen property.

The evidence is in a secure place until it can be returned to its owner.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 10:56 AM with the headline "The Pasco bicyclist was wearing the wrong shoes. He’s in jail now."