What an awesome year for bicycle lovers on Salt Spring! Our island is slowly but surely becoming the biking friendly community we all wish it could be. First was the awarding of $1.4 Million in funding and the approval of the North Ganges bike lane and sidewalk plan. Then the CRD Regional Director and the SSI Transportation Commission announced that we were to be included in the CRD Regional Pedestrian and Cycling Masterplan. Next came VeloVillage, a island event that saw hundreds of cyclists from Salt Spring , BC and the world come to Salt Spring to celebrate rural mobility and the glorious sense of freedom we all share when riding a two wheeler. Finally, the announcement that Ganges Hill will get the feasibility study it so desperately needs.
Wow! That’s a big year for our little island. Enormous kudos to all the folks of Island Pathways and local riding enthusiasts who have worked tirelessly for many years to make our community a safer place to ride.
And now, late 2012, a new bike shop opens to cap things off. OutSpokin’ Bike Shop is due to official open its doors Sept 29th, and we could not be more excited. Its been a long two years in our current location – talk about tight! We didn’t want to rush things – we knew we had to choose a new location carefully.
Our new location at 125 RAINBOW RD could not be more appropriate and appealing. A beautiful new building, the brainchild of Martin Ogilvie, gives us ample room to serve the community’s bicycling needs. We feel strongly that a bike shop can not simply be a business, it must serve the community first and foremost. Bikes enrich our lives in so many ways: they give us a sense of freedom, benefit our emotional and physical well being, provide us with the opportunity to do something about causes that mean so much to us (i.e. air pollution and co2 emissions). Bikes and activism complement each other so well, you see.
We want to support the community in any way we can; basic bike mechanics courses, payment plans for low income families, donations to local fundraisers a charitable causes, and much more.
To start, we will be hosting Salt Spring’s first BIKE SWAP and BBQ on our opening day, SEPT 29th, as a fundriaser for the FAMILY PLACE. The Family Place is a invaluable resource for young families on the island. It’s centrally located in Ganges, and provides a refuge where parents and children under six can play, relax, learn, and receive support and community information. Fore more info on the Family Place, visit: www.saltspringcommunityservices.ca/earlychildhood/familyplace.htm
A Bike Swap is a great opportunity for families to save money and simply trade bikes and gear with others. Its also an opportunity for locals to source out that special bike that may be missing from their lives. Our mechanics will be mingling and are more than happy to provide a free diagnostic to any and all bikes. Any unwanted kids / adult bikes can be donated to the bike shop. With you, we will determine their actual worth, and we will donate that amount to the Family Place.
Our BBQ starts at noon – Organic Turkey Dogs will be hot on the grill. Draw held at 3pm – Enter to win one of the following prizes:
1. One of 3 Free Tune Ups
2. 25 Bio-water bottles
3. $200 towards a new Norco Bike
Event Details - Sept 29th, 11am – 2pm, 125 Rainbow Rd. Bring your bikes and gear to trade with others of the community. Outspokin’ Bike shop is not responsible for the state of the bikes being share. This is a non-profit event.
For more info, call 931 BIKE or visit outspokinbikeshop.com. We hope to see you there and look forward to being your island bike shop for years to come.
