After more than two years of planning and collecting the necessary funds, later this month the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA) is expected to announce a spring opening date for a new campus bike lab.

The facility, financed by a $2 levy collected from students since the fall of 2009, will be available to all students who wish to maintain or repair their bikes.

“It’s going to be, for all intensive purposes, a full service bike shop,” said John McLeod Arnould, arts director on the UWSA board. “We’re going to have all the tools we need to do pretty much anything to a bicycle.”
McLeod Arnould said repairs might be provided in exchange for volunteer hours, but noted that nothing was finalized.

“That’s something we’ll figure out a bit more as the bike lab gets built and gets going,” he noted. 

The focus is on a sustainable project that will be largely self-sufficient after its launch.

“The operating costs are going to be very low,” McLeod Arnould said. “Purchasing of initial equipment will be paid for mostly through that student levy.”

Robin Bryan, the bike lab coordinator, said many of the finer details of the project – including location, budgeting, design and opening date – will be finalized and announced later this month.

Until then he is focusing on the Ice Riders, a student group he founded in March in cooperation with the UWSA.

The Ice Riders are working in the absence of the bike lab to help those riders who want to continue to ride their bikes throughout the winter.

A number of information and hands-on workshops have already been held, and Bryan said these will continue to happen in the coming months.

“ At this point we are a fringe group, but we’re making the best of it and building an awesome team and having fun with it.

Robin Bryan, bike lab coordinator and Ice Riders founding member

“We’re still recruiting our core member and volunteer base right now,” he said. “Our numbers are somewhere between 30 and 40 for people who are interested in Ice Riders. They will be the leaders and representatives of the winter cycling movement in the University of Winnipeg.”

This will be the first winter of full programming for the Ice Riders.

Caleigh Christie, an Ice Riders volunteer member, said she valued the environmental responsibility of cycling.

“It’s a very sustainable practice,” she said. “There’s no carbon emissions coming out of your bike, which is great and something I really strive towards.”

Christie also noted the financial benefits.

“It’s completely free, which as a university student is an amazing opportunity to take advantage of,” she said.

Bryan hopes the movement will grow.

“At this point we are a fringe group, but we’re making the best of it and building an awesome team and having fun with it,” he said. “It’s certainly not for everyone, but it can be a real confidence-building, solidarity-building thing.”

Christie agreed that a sense of adventure is a must.

“It’s fun, actually. It’s kind of exhilarating,” she said. “I really get a kick out of sliding around corners and trudging through the snow.”

Contact [email protected] for more information.

Published in Volume 65, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 18, 2010)