VANCOUVER -- Eric Mold swims every morning at 8 a.m., but on Tuesday he noticed something was missing.

“As I walked to the pool, I walked past where the bike was tied, and I noticed that it had gone,” the veteran told CTV News Vancouver.

The bike was locked in his West End building’s underground parkade, right next to his car.

“It was chained with a very heavy chain,” said Mold, “they had to use bolt cutters to cut the chain.”

The 92-year-old told CTV News the electric bicycle is his primary mode of transportation because he has two artificial hips and knees, which makes walking painful.

“I might have to park a block or two away from where I’m going in a car, but with a bike I can go pretty well to the door of where I want to go,” he explained.

Mold has put about 7,000 kilometres on the e-bike.

“I used to cycle to the hospital every day when my wife was in hospital for six years, and I’d sit with her in the afternoon for two or three hours,” he said. “The parking was so expensive that I had to find another way, so that’s what tempted me to get the bike.”

It won’t be much use to whoever took it, he said, because when it was stolen it didn’t have its battery or key installed.

“It’s a fairly unique battery to this particular type of bike,” Mold said, adding he has contacted some bike stores in town to warn them if anyone comes shopping for that particular battery.

“I hope the thief has a bit of a conscience and decides to bring my bike back,” said Mold. “I’d like that very much.”

The e-bike has both his name and driver’s license number engraved on it, so if someone spots that, he hopes they’ll return it.

“That would restore my faith in some people,” he said, adding he’s willing to offer a reward of $500 if returned “in good order in the same way it was stolen.”

He has reported it missing to the Vancouver police, who tell CTV News they are investigating.