When you dream, if you dream of co-op bike shops, chances are that the images that linger behind your eyelids paint a picture of something like Bike Again!. Luckily for Halifax, Bike Again! is a real place located in the Bloomfield Community Centre (2786 Agricola Street). Find the door with paintings of cyclists on it and you'll know you're there.
Inside, Bike Again! is abuzz with activity. The floor bustles, as cyclists work intently on their rides, fixing flats here, greasing bearings there. The walls are hung with gently used bicycles of all uses and sizes, begging to be given a new lease on life. Drawers and containers are everywhere, filled to overflowing with parts---treasure chests that await your exploration. All the tools you need to build a bike, from the frame up, beckon to you from the tool board.
"Come use us," they whisper.
There is no bike-related question too basic, at Bike Again!, nor one too complex. Experienced bicycle repair people intermingle freely with all levels of amateur, sharing instruction and opinion. Projects are completed with smiles and admiration all around. A new ride has been born!
"At Bike Again! people can bring their own bike to work on, and we have a whole variety of tools," says Don McCrimmon, one of the friendly and knowledgeable mechanics who make up the largely volunteer staff. "People can also come and look through our selection of donated bicycles to find a bike to fix up for themselves. The bikes that we've got here range from bikes that are pretty much ready to go, and we look for a donation for those, to bikes that are requiring a fair amount of work.
"Depending on the amount of work we have a sliding scale of the type of donation we're looking for," he continues. "A bike that needs a lot of work might not be very much money and then you have a sweet new bike to take away for yourself."
With spring blossoms come bike tune-ups, and cyclists will once again take to the streets in masses. Bike Again! is expected to get very busy, soon. It's open for everyone on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-9pm. Every Tuesday, 6-8pm, is for women and trans folk. Bike Again! is also always looking for donations of bikes and bike parts, so if you've been staring at that ride in the back of your garage for too many years now, bring it to Bike Again! and pass it along.
