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We love when you bring the whole family. /Courtesy of The Spoke Folks
It’s a Tuesday night down at The Spoke Folks and the shop is relatively quiet. Jay and Cari Niewiek, early members, are working away on small projects to liven up the garage and Keean Mansour, the volunteer head, is fixing up an old donated bike. We like to keep things simple down at The Spoke Folks and our doors are open to all those who want to learn, volunteer or just hang out.
The Spoke Folks was envisioned to develop a stronger bike community in Grand Rapids. Last Fall, Grand Rapids cyclists came together through a series of meetings to pursue a co-op based idea beginning in December 2011. The numbers at the meetings were small, but the passion was overwhelming with a variety of cyclists in the surrounding communities.
Simultaneously, the Niewiek’s were on the search for a space to rent and wound up at 221 Logan Street SW. They decided on the location because they wanted to be accessible to various surrounding neighborhoods and engage a broad demographic.
The shop is open every Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 12-5 p.m.
Ultimately, Spoke Folks would love to pair with other shops and organizations to be open more days to accommodate patrons. The shop wants to continue adding more educational aspects about basic repair and maintenance for cyclists. We hope to entice more families to come in and learn together, more importantly, bike together.
Upcoming Events:
- Active Commute Week May 17th 4:30-7:30 p.m. We will be debuting our Bike Explosion Diagram
- Ladies Night: Beginning in May we will host a ladies night once a month, with a co-ed ride after the ladies take over the show. Ladies Night will involve learning basic repairs and safety tips for the solo woman cyclist
- Open House: April 13, 12-5 p.m.; community meeting from 4-5 p.m. about what people see for the Grand Rapids bike community and what the goals for The Spoke Folks are in the next year.
Come and check us out and let it be known The Spoke Folks is here to support the enthusiastic biker, not just the bike enthusiast!
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