General Wolfe students learn bikes to earn bikes

General Wolfe School offers a bicycle repair and maintenance course, where Grade 9 students fix up beat-up bikes and restore them to their former glory.

At the end of the eight-week program – aptly named the General Wolfe Bike Den – students receive their refurbished bike, as well a helmet and a lock.

Shawn Reimer, a math and science teacher at General Wolfe, started the Bike Den program in 2023.

“The idea is to give students an opportunity to use their hands more, providing an experience within school that is beyond what usually occurs in the classroom,” Reimer said.

“Also, working on bikes has always been a hobby of mine, so it was a no-brainer.”

The General Wolfe Bike Den runs in partnership with The Wrench, a charitable nonprofit, bike shop and cycling hub located on Logan Avenue. The Wrench provides the Bike Den with bicycles in need of a little TLC.

“Some of these bikes came from The Wrench just last week,” Reimer said. “This one here didn’t have any brake cables. Sometimes they’re missing pedals, things like that. They are bikes that with a little bit of work can get going again, but they’re usually not in a ridable state when they come to us.”

General Wolfe student Sam Joanette had some prior experience with bicycle maintenance, but the Bike Den program has taught him a lot more about tuning up two-wheelers.

“This class is really fun,” Joanette said. “It’s helped me learn things like how to change tires and how to fix brakes so that I can fix my current bike on my own and not sell it or trade it for a new one.”

“It’s great, because I bike everywhere in the summer. It’s free, it’s easy and it’s more direct than bussing or even driving.”

Shady Weldekidan didn’t have any experience with bike repair a few weeks ago, but the Grade 9 student is quickly becoming a capable bicycle mechanic.

“We’re about to do the brakes on this bike,” Weldekidan said. “It doesn’t have both front brakes currently. We got to do the wire, the housing, the cable. We’re working on it.”

“You would think it’s hard and you do get your hands dirty, but it’s actually pretty easy.”

Weldekidan said the class builds confidence. Call it zen and art of bicycle maintenance.

“If my bike breaks down, I don’t have to worry about it. I got it,” he said.

Reimer said three groups of eight students go through the Bike Den program per school year, with courses in the fall, winter and spring. In addition to bike repair and maintenance, the students also learn about bike safety.

Weather permitting, the course will culminate with a bike ride.

“We have some students that have never actually been on a bike before, so we’ll take them to the school field and ride on the grass,” Reimer said.

“It’s fun to see students with very little confidence on a bike eventually figure it out. There’s so much pride and enjoyment.”