Community bike repair shop opens, making cycling affordable

If you are looking to learn about maintaining or repairing your bicycle, La Bikequerie is the place you want to visit. 

This community bicycle repair shop has recently opened in La Broquerie. 

Jacinthe Wiebe and her husband Wade recently opened the shop and are inviting the community to be part of their dream. 

"We're trying to make bikes available to members of the public regardless of their cultural or economic background,” says Jacinthe. “So that if they can't afford buying a bike, we try to get bikes in everybody's hands. And on top of that we want to provide instruction so that you can maintain and repair your own bicycle.”  

She says this is a nice gathering place for anyone to learn about bicycles and making repairs. 

“We'll show you how to repair your own bicycle which is the beauty of it,” she adds. “Later on, you can fix it at home, or you can come back to our shop and use our tools.” 

They are just getting started and are still collecting bicycles and parts. But Jacinthe says they can help with minor repairs at this time, until they get a larger collection of parts. 

“We are at the beginning stage so we're trying to build our stock of parts for bicycles and so if anyone has any used bikes sitting in the back of their garage that they don't know what to do with, we would be happy to take them in,” she says. “They can be brought to our location which is the old Rona, La Broquerie Lumber in town. And you can drop it off on Tuesdays from 5pm to 8pm and we're also open right now for very small repairs.” 

The ultimate dream for the couple is to get more people cycling. 

“We hope to see more bikes on the road, more bikes on more bike paths, creating a bike community and making it accessible to people who can't necessarily afford it,” Jacinthe says. “And re-empowering people with knowledge.” 

For now, La Bikequerie is open on Tuesday evenings with the goal of extending those hours. 

"If you need to make contact with us by phone, you can call 346-1515. There's no one there to answer, just leave a message.”