The Good Life Community Bike Shop
July 22, 2008
Since opening the shop doors in Eau Claire Market in early June, public support and attention has been overwhelmingly positive and many people have taken advantage of the shop’s services. Although many women have come in to use the shops resources, an obvious imbalance exists in the ratio of men to women.
“It is a societal norm for men to be into mechanics and to ‘get their hands dirty’ women are not encouraged to learn these same skills”, expresses Jackie Mann, one of Good Life’s founding members and a core volunteer.
“It has always been in the shop's vision to make owning and repairing a bicycle accessible to all Calgarians and we are starting to see a gap that needs to be filled.
Starting on July 23rd the Good Life Community Bike Shop and Education Center will hold women’s workshops every Wednesday hoping to fill this ‘gap’. The workshops will take place from 7-9pm and be facilitated by women in an open and non-judgmental environment. As it is in the Good Life mission not to exclude anyone based on sex, age, race, sexual orientation or ability, men are welcome to join in the workshops. Non-members are encouraged to come 15 minutes prior to workshop to sign up and become orientated. You do not need to own a bike to participate, as shop bikes are available.
This week we will start with the basic skills such as checking overall health of a bike, changing tires, cleaning/lubing the drive train, if time allows we will move on to adjusting brakes.
Additional info
The Good Life is a non-profit, volunteer run bicycle education center. The Good Life welcomes anyone to access its services and aims at being inclusive and accommodating to all Calgarians interested in riding bikes. Membership is open to the public and completely free. Members enjoy free access to tools, workshops, resources and friendly advice. Members are also invited to volunteer at the shop. An initial ten hours of volunteering allows members to attend shop meetings and to participate in decision-making related to the shop’s operation and events.
Regular Shop hours (for drop in repair assistance):
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 10am-6pm
- Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10am-8pm
- Sunday 11-5
- Tuesday workshops 6:30-9pm
- Women’s workshops 7-9pm
The Good Life Community Bike Shop
Website: www.goodlifebikes.ca.
Email: [email protected]
Shop Phone: (403) 984-4727 (please do not contact for press questions)
PR contact: Shannon Woloshyn (403) 466-4752, Anytime.