Some hardworking Calgary teens are getting set to help people wheel into action this spring.
Students at Crescent Heights High School are preparing to set up a temporary bike shop outside the school, calling it Crescent Wrench.
“We’re just going to invite members of the community to come in and we’re going to fix up their bikes,” Grade 10 student Riley Friesen said. “It’s great, because it will promote people to use bikes instead of cars.”
Twenty students and five teachers at the school have been receiving training as bike mechanics with Two Wheel View, a Calgary charitable organization that provides kids with bikes and teaches them how to fix them.
“The experience here at Crescent Heights has been fantastic,” Two Wheel View’s Kevin Dalton said. “I’ve loved coming here and working with the kids because they were so enthusiastic.”
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The students trained as part of an extracurricular group, also receiving instruction from professional bike mechanic Brian Schmidt.
“This experience has been incredibly valuable for me, just to share my knowledge and skills,” Schmidt said. “Hopefully these kids can take it forward.
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“It’s amazing how far you can get on a bike when you know how to fix it.”
Jenna Seagrove, the teacher who organized the project, says she’s proud of what the students are accomplishing.
“The kids have been working for about 20 weeks now, learning their bike maintenance skills,” Seagrove said. “So they’re really excited to share with the community and also give back.”
The first Crescent Wrench outdoor bike shop will run from 3:45-5:45 p.m. on May 4 and continuing at that time for the following four Wednesdays.
The students will be accepting donations, but charging no set fees for their services.
“It gives us an opportunity to work with other people in the community, so they get to know us and we get to know them,” Friesen said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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