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