Her orange disability e-bike attached to a green children's trailer was the primary mode of transport to drop off her toddlers to childcare.
But on Thursday morning thieves allegedly broke into her home in Lyneham and rode the vehicle away, possibly as a cruel "joyride".
Peta Raftapolous, 42, said she was left in "disbelief" and "enraged" after realising alleged thieves broke into the courtyard of her Lyneham home between 1am and 7am on Thursday, leaving behind another bicycle before riding away on hers.
The custom-built e-bike, which Ms Raftapolous bought in 2023 for $7000, was specifically tailored to accommodate dwarfism.
"There are probably only around 20 like it in Australia," she told The Canberra Times, after reporting the theft to ACT Policing.
The bike, along with the attached green trailer, allows her to transport her two-year-old girl and four-year-old boy safely without the physical strain of lifting them.
"The bike is my main source of getting around, and the trailer makes it easy for my kids to get in and out, as I have difficulty lifting them," the graphic designer said.
She was forced to borrow a shared car to drop her children at childcare on Thursday morning.
Spurred on by leads from the local community, Ms Raftapolous spent Thursday searching the streets, nooks, and crannies of Lyneham and Canberra's inner north, but her efforts yielded no results by nightfall.
She suspects the theft may be the work of "joyriders" playing a cruel joke on her. However, with the e-bike's battery running low at the time it was taken, she remains hopeful that it hasn't travelled far.
"The bike is almost irreplaceable. It is very expensive, but it has very little resale value, so there is no guarantee I can get another one," she said.
"This is how I get my children to daycare, so getting it back would make an enormous difference to our family," an emotional Ms Raftapolous said as she continues her search to locate her family's sole ride.
