Stolen bikes might be common in Kootenai County, but thefts this past week took on a more abject flavor.

Robert Edwards is the second Special Olympics competitor in the past several days to find his bike stolen.

An employee at the Hayden Walmart, Edwards was harvesting shopping carts as usual on Wednesday when he spotted that his bike lock had been cut.

The $700 Globe bike, which he uses for summer transportation and competing, looked to be long gone.

"It made me angry," said Edwards, a mentally disabled Hayden resident, who said he has another bike specialized for winter travel. "It made me sad, too, that somebody wanted to do it."

The bike was tracked down on late Friday at Pawn 1, where it was released to him.

Fortunate, as Edwards needs it to race in the state summer games next week.

He had never lacked for transportation, however, as Walmart coworkers had chipped in to buy him a new travel bike immediately after he discovered his stolen, he said.

"I want to tell Walmart thank you for being very nice," Edwards said.

Store manager Jeni Roesner said Edwards has been with the store since it opened.

"He's a great associate. He's very dedicated to his job," Roesner said. "We all care about him very deeply. That's why everyone wanted him to be able to get home safely."

Edwards, 46, said he has competed in the Special Olympics since the '70s.

He has more than 100 medals filling two trophy cases, he said.

"I love bike riding," he said. "It makes me feel happy, and I get to see my friends at the Special Olympics."

He doesn't harbor such warm feelings about the individual who took off with his bike.

"It was very mean," Edwards said. "One of these days it's going to come back on them."