A bicycle show and shine is one of many activities scheduled for May 4, when BikeLane celebrates its first birthday with tacos, a community market, a beer garden and a mobile blacksmith. The event will be co-hosted by SoNormal Print.
Mat Hellawell is the owner of the full-service bike shop, “We specialize in e-bikes and we sell bikes.”
“We’re more focused on folks using bikes as transportation, rather than just for leisure.”
The shop is set up to service anything on an e-bike, including motors, batteries and wiring. “We’ve got people sometimes driving down from Calgary. I had someone come from as far as Grande Prairie to bring me a bike to work on because they couldn’t find anybody else,” notes Hellawell.
And because many customers use their bikes as modes of transportation, there’s even a mobile aspect to the shop.
“Imagine if this is your only vehicle and you’re on your way to work or something and you have failure. We can come and meet people at work or on their way. Or for folks that don’t have a means to transport their bike. E-bikes are quite heavy, so we find a lot of seniors that have them, they maybe just don’t have the means to transport them around,” says Hellawell.
Anyone in the Lethbridge area with a cool bike can bring their rides out to the show and shine.
“We’re going to have some racks and security for that. There will be a participant and attendee voting system. You, as an attendee, can come around and look at the bikes and vote for which one you think should win the prizes.” Prizes have been generously donated by local businesses.
Things have just been amazing, says Hellawell, when reflecting on the past year. “It’s been a ton of fun.”
According to Hellawell, BikeLane also hosts community rides, which are posted on the shop’s social media platforms. “When it’s nice weather, about a weekly community ride, where we do a leisurely loop around the south side. The idea is to help connect folks and try to promote exercise and getting people out there.”
Residents can also stop by to say hi to Scout, the shop dog too. “She’s there all the time. She loves meeting all the customers and everybody loves her,” says Hellawell.
The birthday bash runs from 12 to 4 p.m. at the shop’s south Lethbridge location.