Community Rallies Behind Bike Centre

The Good Life Community Bike Shop, which learned earlier this month that it was no longer welcome in its Eau Clare Market storefront, is getting a hand up from the community as it searches for a new home.

Two fundraising events are planned to build up a fund for the non-profit centre, which repairs donated bikes and teaches community classes on bicycle maintenance.

The Good Life Goodbye Show will take place Saturday, January 28 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Good Life Community Bike Shop (B05, 200 Barclay Parade S.W.) and will feature local musical artists and DJs.

A benefit concert will also be held at Broken City (613 11 Ave. S.W., 403-262-9976) on Thursday, February 2 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. The show will feature performances by The Gooeys, Sorry, The Folsoms and Extra Happy Ghost.

Good Life founder Jackie Mann says that donations and tips for possible locations have been pouring in since the group made a public appeal for assistance this week.

“We have some money in the bank," says Mann. "People have been amazing.”

According to Mann, Eau Claire has agreed to extend the deadline for The Good Life's move by two weeks. The store will close on Saturday, February 25 to pack up shop before moving out on February 29.

The centre, which has been in Eau Clare for three years, was originally given a month to pack up after it learned that its lease would not be renewed.

Mann says the extra time gives them breathing room as they try to find a benefactor willing to subsidize their rent in a prime downtown location.

“We’ve met with our members, and we’ve got a very clear ‘This is what we want’ list.  That way, we’ll make sure we find the right place,” Mann says.

So far, the City of Calgary hasn’t stepped in to offer any support. Alderman Dru Farrell, whose ward includes Good Life, said that council may be able to help if the group identified a city-owned location where it wanted to move into.

“I don’t think anyone wants to see them close, but the onus is on them to start pounding the pavement,” Ald. Farrell said.

On a quiet Thursday afternoon, Good Life’s volunteers and patrons expressed concern about what would happen it the centre had to move its collection of bikes and equipment into storage.

“It would be a big loss for Calgary and for people who ride bikes in this city,” said Jai-Lynn Zimmerman, 13, while working on a set of brakes in Good Life’s workshop.

A youth volunteer at Good Life, Zimmerman earned a bike through Two-Wheeled View, an after-school program that teaches young people about bike repair.

She finished the six-week program more than three months ago, but keeps returning to Good Life for the social community it offers.

Liam Gordon, a paid staff member, says Good Life was discussing the possibility of opening a location at the downtown Drop-In Centre, since homeless Calgarians are frequent users of the service.

He noted, however, that the group also wanted to be in commercial location so that homeless people wouldn’t feel segregated from the rest of the community.

“This is one of the only places where people of different socioeconomic backgrounds can meet where one isn’t serving the other,” Gordon explained. “Here, it doesn’t matter if you have $1 or $1 million. All that matters is whether you want to work on bikes.”