Fuchsia Dragon | [email protected]
Abandoned at a bike rack or dropped at the dump, all of Jasper Bike Rescue鈥檚 wheels have a backstory.
Rescuers Roy Nickel and Christopher Isbister have taken their passion for parts to the next level and launched a community bike initiative, fixing up bikes to be sold at affordable prices.
鈥淭he demand is incredible - a little overwhelming,鈥� said Nickel.
It all started decades ago, when Nickel built his kids鈥� childhood bikes with parts picked up wherever he could find them.
And in the years that followed, he continued to find rideable bikes and parts left at Jasper transfer station and started bringing them home to tinker with and slowly build, selling the finished products online.
Fast forward to late 2018, and Nickel met Isbister, a former professional bike racer with 30 years experience in the bike business, and the two joined forces.
鈥淚 was just posting them on Buy and Sell [on Facebook],鈥� said Nickel.
鈥淲e thought, why don鈥檛 we start something up? People started to get excited about it and before you know it, people are giving us bikes.鈥�
Nickel and Isbister accept donations of bicycles and bicycle parts. They dismantle everything, recycle scrap metal and reuse the good parts to rebuild bikes and turn them into safe and healthy transportation.
They launched a Facebook page, Jasper Bike Rescue, in March and have been inundated with messages of support since then.
Isbister said: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it to get so big so fast. People are just loving the idea and it has driven us forward to continue it.鈥�
And the duo have taken on a charitable cause too: the Jasper Lions Club annual bike auction.
The auction raises money for the Lions by selling reconditioned bicycles abandoned by seasonal workers
Isbister said: 鈥淭hey can鈥檛 do it any more, they can鈥檛 find people to work on the bikes as much, and we said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 help them out.鈥欌��
Bicycles donated previously to the Jasper Lions Club are stored, reconditioned and will be sold, with a 鈥榮ignificant鈥� portion of the proceeds going to the Lions. These are labeled specifically on the bike rescue Facebook page.
Ten per cent of every bike sale is also donated to the Jasper Skatepark Committee, who are raising money for a new skatepark in Jasper.
Isbister said: 鈥淚鈥檝e been a skateboarder since 1982 and have been involved in many community skatepark projects. I鈥檝e put on fundraisers and built skateparks out of wood - I know what a skatepark can do for a community.鈥�
鈥淲e wanted to help local charities in any way we could,鈥� added Roy.
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