The grand opening for La Bikequerie is coming up as they recently moved to the former Southeast Veterinary Clinic at the east edge of Steinbach.
La Bikequerie is a community bicycle repair shop where people from the community can come and fix up their bikes.
Wade and Jacinthe Wiebe started up La Bikequerie just last year, and the reason for the move is because the space they were in has been repurposed.
Their grand opening celebration is at their new location on Saturday, May 27, and Wade Wiebe hopes to see lots of people come out to enjoy the day.
“We really want to see families and kids come out and get on their bikes. I think we'll set up a bicycle obstacle course, have some hot dogs and BBQ.”
He says they will also have games for kids, affordable refurbished bikes for sale, and they will be giving away a limited number of used toddler bikes.
Wiebe says the whole point of La Bikequerie is to make bike maintenance easily accessible to the public.
“Not everybody can afford to take it to a bike shop to change a chain or change the cables,” he says. “Bikes require maintenance like anything else, and we're not necessarily taught those skills and we don't know them intuitively, so you gotta learn them.”
He says everybody can learn these skills at La Bikequerie.
“If people don't have the tools or the skills to work on their own bikes, La Bikequerie is the place they can get their bikes fixed.”
Wiebe notes that most of the people who have been to their shop have been women and people with kids.
“And those are the people who actually really have an interest in mechanics and how things work, and just really have never had a place to go to figure it out.”
They take donations of used bikes, so if you have bikes that you don’t want anymore, you can drop them off at La Bikequerie.
“We sell them to people in the community who can't afford them, at as low of a price as we can manage, and also provide the support for fixing the bikes afterward and maintaining them.”
Wiebe says people have told him they are glad to have a place to donate their old bikes.
“Because they don't like the idea of just throwing it out, which is obviously the only other option if there's nobody who's willing to take it.”
He says people also love being able to just fix a minor thing without it being a big deal.
“Like having to take it to a bike shop and leave it there for a week, or have somebody else do it.”
He’s very thankful for all the support and funding they have received.
“And a big thank you to Ron Hamilton, who actually owns the Southeast Veterinary Clinic. He's made the space available to us, we really wouldn't be able to do it without him.”
Wiebe says they really liked being in La Broquerie, but they are excited for what awaits.
“There's no doubt we're going to be able to have an opportunity to serve more people now that we're right next door.”
La Bikequerie’s grand opening celebration is at their new location, 36016 PTH 52, in the old Southeast Veterinary Clinic, on the east of edge of Steinbach next to the Frantz Inn.
Stop by on Saturday, May 27 from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
With files from Carly Koop
Fri, Apr 19, 5:00 PM
Full-time, Skilled Trades
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