Crossing Canada With The Maplemusketeer Volume One - An Overview (June 2014) | Page 48

A few years ago while I was going to college in Victoria, British Columbia, my return route home took me past a bike shop that Mike Collins was managing. I’d pop by to share a little conversation and yerba mate while he’d often drink coffee from the shop a few businesses over. One day I came in and he told me of an idea to combine a bike shop and a coffee shop. He explained why he thought they were a good fit, and then proceeded to put together a business plan. I remember reading the business plan prior to his submitting it and getting financing. Next I heard about the space he and his wife had found up in Courtenay and some of the trials they had in outfitting the space and getting everything up to what the building code wanted. It took me over three years to walk through that door, but finally I do, getting to see Mike behind the workbench in a store he’d envisioned a number of years ago. If you find yourself in Courtenay stop by The Broken Spoke http://www.thebrokenspoke.ca/ for great atmosphere, coffee, food, and answers to any bike questions you might have. ;) Mike Collins: Owner/Operator of the Broken Spoke Bike & Coffee Shop Courtenay Victoria – Nanaimo – Campbell River – Egmont – Sechelt – Vancouver – Abbotsford – Hope – Yale – Revelstoke – Golden – Calgary – Didsbury – Edmonton – Farmer’s Field – Kola – Winnipeg – Nivervil e – Toronto – Kitchener – Woodstock – Sauble Beach – Stouffvil e – Newmarket – Orleans – Montreal – Moncton – Halifax 48 49