July 22,
1999 (during the Tour de S.O.W.)
© Darrell Noakes
It
was a long hill, not very steep, but we had begun to wonder if we
got the directions right. We were relieved to see a very old CCM bicycle
sporting a Norco sign. This was the place: the Nakusp Bicycle Hospital.
As we made our way up the gravel driveway, we spied bicycles and parts hanging from racks between the pine trees.
A fuzzy, grey cat, tail raised in salute, approached from a log house at one end of the yard.
"He's
my welcoming committee", said a man climbing up a set of stairs from the
basement of the house.
We continued staring in amazement at the bikes hanging everywhere.
"That's the morgue."
A
windchime made from cranks and chainrings clanked in the breeze.
"C'mon down to my shop," he said.
In the basement, a dozen or so new bikes were lined up along one wall. Wheels, chainrings and other new parts hung on pegs on the wall or from hooks in the ceiling.
Off to the side, a large, well-stocked workshop was filled with bicycles in various stages of repair. A section of shelves was filled with boxes of inner tubes, spokes, LED taillights, and other accessories.
On
the racks outside, old bicycles hung patiently awaiting new purpose as
organ donors.
Everyone in Nakusp knows Peter Roulston and his bicycle hospital. He's the local expert, and it seems he can fix almost any bike problem that comes through the door.
We first heard about Peter while sipping cappuccino at What's Brewing on Broadway (serving Kicking Horse coffees), a popular coffee shop on the main drag through Nakusp. We had noticed an advertisement in the local newspaper, alongside a weekly column written by Peter. As we wondered aloud about the possibilities of a bicycle shop so far from a major centre, Debra Schiavon, the owner of the coffee shop spoke up.
"You'll
love Peter," she said. "You really should take a trip up there.
Even if you don't need anything, he'd love to hear from you."
The shop isn't actually in the village. We had to take Highway 6 a couple kilometres south of town.
"Look for the green mailboxes at the side of the road, then turn up Crescent Bay Road," Debra said.
The Nakusp
Bicycle Hospital, 516 Beech Road,
(250) 265-4331.
Links to Nakusp:
Borealis
Outdoor Adventure
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