La Bikequerie is kicking off the cycling season with a community barbeque.
La Bikequerie was founded in 2022 by Wade Wiebe, who says the idea came after a memorable bike trip to Ottawa with his wife.
They had invested a lot of time maintaining their bikes and wanted to get involved in Steinbach’s cycling community.
“We were inspired by The Wrench in Winnipeg, which is one of the main community bike shops that serves the public there and basically the idea is that people don't always have access to the tools and expertise that it takes to work on their own bikes.”
Wiebe recalls noticing how many of their clients were making long trips from communities like Mitchell and Steinbach.
“We thought if people are driving to downtown Winnipeg to have their bike serviced, then I think there's probably a need for it in the Steinbach area. And La Broquerie is where we started actually.”
That realization led to the creation of La Bikequerie.
“The idea is that we provide the workshop space and tools and expertise to work on your own bike. We're not a bike repair shop, so you can't bring your bike and just drop it off to have it repaired. But there's always a volunteer around to give you a hand and walk you through your bike, you're not on your own,” he says. “We have access to parts, obviously the used parts that get donated. But also new parts. We can get them wholesale and so we can get them a little bit cheaper.”
Among many impactful stories over the years, one stands out for Wiebe. A family new to Canada moved to the area with their children, aged 8 and 12, who had never ridden bikes before.
“The parents didn't ride a bike either, because it wasn't part of their culture and never really had the opportunity, so they couldn't teach them.”
The family reached out to see if their children could try biking.
“We said sure, and we ended up taking them out over a couple of weekends, just giving them the opportunity to get on a bike and ride around safely and have an understanding of what the rules of the road are and just get used to being on a bike. We've all been through that experience. Some of us earlier in life and some of us later, but there's a lot of people actually that age and older even than that had never been on a bike.”
Wiebe explains that one of the core values of La Bikequerie is creating the rediscovery of the joy of cycling, no matter a person’s age or background.
Looking ahead, he hopes to see continued improvements in local cycling infrastructure.
“Sometimes we get a little shared lane, but if anybody has ridden with young kids on public roads, it can be quite unnerving. And it's difficult to get from one place to another. Some areas are great,” he explains. “But if you want to cross, say, Main Street or the number 12, it gets a lot more intimidating and dangerous.”
In partnership with groups like Strong Town Steinbach, La Bikequerie hosts community bike rides during the summer. These events help cyclists learn the rules of the road, discover safer routes, and how to become a confident cyclist.
“That's one of the best ways I've found to experience cycling in Steinbach, or really anywhere is to bike as a group and so you're more of a presence on the road and especially when you're traveling with kids, they buzz around and it's nice to have a swarm of adults with them, all having a good time.”
La Bikequerie’s season opener BBQ takes place on Saturday, May 3, from 10 AM to 5 PM, at their shop on the corner of Highway 52 and Hirschfeld Road.
There will be free hotdogs and drinks, kids’ activities, bouncy castles, and complimentary bike tune-ups and instruction.
“If people want to bring bike that maybe they haven't had out of the garage all winter or maybe even longer than that and want to see if it's ready for the road and just tune it up, tune the brakes, pump the tires, grease the chain, that sort of stuff, we will be there to do that.”
La Bikequerie will also be giving away 12-, 16-, and 18-inch kids’ bikes. Used bikes will be available for sale.
With files from Carly Koop