An introduction to getting started in bike mechanics, from OCB’s recent Gear-Up graduate.
The cycling industry’s workforce and target market lacks diversity. There are numerous examples of inequitable opportunities for underrepresented groups in sales and mechanics roles, as well as in purchasing cycling attire or riding itself.
Lack of representation within bike shops can feel intimidating or unwelcoming, posing a barrier for those interested in cycling. This exclusive access culture can perpetuate barriers for a host of people to engage with the cycling community, and can contribute to creating a toxic, exclusive industry.
Our workplace and programming is low barrier and offered through an anti-oppressive lens in order to create an inclusive space. The equity and justice framework prioritizes a more diverse pool of people in the cycling industry as well as the broader workforce. By hiring and training people underrepresented in the field, our staff reflect the community we serve and create a safer space to learn skills and build confidence.
OCB’s Gear Up program, in partnership with YWCA Metro Vancouver, offers a free 13-week mechanics program equipping youth ages 15 – 30 with the skills, certification and employer connections necessary to work as a bike mechanic.
Aimed at individuals who may not stereotypically enter cycling, or face barriers to employment in the sector, this course provides a supportive space, nurturing new talent.
Ever thought of getting into bike mechanics, but don’t know where to start? We spoke to a recent Gear-Up Graduate, Bird, who provides the low-down on all you need to know!
bird
They/Them
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Hey, I go by bird and my pronouns are they/them. I’m originally from Edmonton, Alberta and I got my BFA from Concordia University in Montreal. I kind of have half a classical music degree and half a visual arts degree (long story). Right now, in terms of creative focus, I’m an oboist and hand poke tattoo artist. With the oboe I do stuff in the realm of noise/free jazz/free improvisation, and with tattooing I like doing abstract drawings based off things like crackling paint or dappled light through the trees on the pavement.
I generally always have a lot of creative projects going on. I like to make things and I’m always tinkering on something.
What is it about bikes and bike mechanics that interests you?
Maybe eight years ago in Montreal I decided to bike through the winter for the first time, and I think it made a significant positive impact on my mental health. All that time I’d previously spent on the bus or metro doom-scrolling under the fluorescent lights on a daily basis, was replaced with a fun, challenging, chaotic outdoor activity.
I found myself among friends who were also cycling and with whom I felt politically aligned. That was when I started to get excited about bikes and to more deeply appreciate what they can do and what they can represent. I started doing some of my own simple/uninformed maintenance, and appreciated the anarchist and DIY values held in bike community spaces.
I think it’s cool that bikes can kind of become an extension of your own body because all that energy is just coming from you (side note: e-bikes make cycling accessible to more people = two thumbs up). You can get really attached to a bike. They can basically be as inexpensive as you want them to be.
All the systems are right there out in the open for you to see. I really like taking things apart and learning how they work. I get really excited about learning a new concept or process. I like looking at what I have in front of me and seeing what I can do with it.
How did you hear about Gear up?
I found out about it through OCB, when I brought my bike in for some repairs!
What motivated you to apply to the course?
I tend to be quite motivated to try things that are scary to me at first. Many things that I really enjoy doing now, used to be some of the most terrifying things in the world. Like, improvisation. Or driving. Or working on bikes. I’ll find myself feeling extremely interested in learning or trying something new, but still needing quite a lot of time and support to get started. I did a little bit of work on my bike in Montreal at the community drop-in stand nights, but being an anxious creature meant it was challenging for me to feel comfortable enough to show up and to get into it as much as I wanted.
Seeing how Gear Up seemed to be a way to learn and get connected to the bicycle world in a more structured way, I thought that had a lot of potential to help me gain confidence, knowledge and sense of belonging to jump off later on into more self-directed work, learning and engagement in the community.
What were your concerns/anxieties beforehand?
Since getting on disability in July 2023, I’ve been focusing heavily on rest and re-orienting my life away from “work” in the capitalist sense. However, for several years prior, I’d already been aware that full-time work, school, or anything, was beyond my capacity as a long-term way of existing. So, I was facing Gear Up as an opportunity that I really, truly felt motivated to do, after quite a bit of time with just “existing as a creature” being my full-time job.
Just starting to see my experiences through the lens of disability and chronic illness was (still is) new to me. I remember feeling concerned about whether I would need to mask as I have in every other interview, like “yeah I’m just looking for a job, I can do all that, I just want to find a good job 40 hours a week or so as a bike mechanic, that’s my goal, thumbs up, etc,” in order to be considered eligible. But then I was asked, “what do you think would be a sustainable work situation for you?” And I thought, this is the first time I’ve gone into something like this and have been encouraged to consider what really is sustainable for me.
I also have struggled with the automatic thoughts in the realm of “I can’t do this; this is too much to handle,” and those definitely came up as I was approaching Gear Up, being a challenge beyond my comfort zone in more than one way – and a meaningful one, at that. I needed to reassure myself that if it wasn’t a good fit, or the commitment was too much of a load on my system, I could decide to not finish – and that would also be okay! I think that I needed that reassurance in order to fully trust all the moments where I felt engaged, motivated, committed, curious, encouraged and safe.
How do you feel Gear up addresses the cycling sector’s lack of diversity?
So, I can only speak from my own experience and perspective: gender nonconforming, some unique flavour of neurodivergent, disabled, white, under 30. Those are some key words for context, there’s a lot to unpack about them. I’ll focus on a few ideas, but I know there are many more we could touch on.
I think the initial points of contact for a program like Gear Up, or any new situation, are just as crucial as anything else along the way in the question of accessibility. I imagine there are lots of folks like myself who feel our way through unfamiliar territory cautiously, vigilant for red flags or signs that a space may not be safe or accessible, as protective measures – especially if we are entering a space where we might not expect to find “people like me”.
Looking back, the interview process was what gave me some initial green flags. I felt that the type and amount of work I was interested in and capable of was not only respected, but received as normal. I felt that the workload and scheduling for the whole program was well-designed to create some space and flexibility to keep the challenges in a healthy “stretching” of the comfort zone.
For example, having a work placement scheduled in 3-day work weeks rather than being thrown into a 5-day work week (which, in my opinion, needs to be overthrown as a normal amount to be working). It is normal and okay to need space and time to adjust and become accustomed to something new.
Throughout the program, my needs and ways of being were treated as normal. Not special, not “strange but sure, that’s alright.” Just, normal, but still worthy of attention and respect. That felt significant, because even I have had trouble seeing myself this way – so, when someone else does, it’s nice to mirror what they see.
Specifically – okay, it might sound simple to some, but – being asked directly if I had accommodations requests before the course started felt really big to me. I think it was the first time in a learning or work setting where I’d been asked this directly, seriously, and with the knowledge that if I shared my needs, they would be considered and respected. I had to take a few days to reply to that email so I could think about it. This experience encouraged me to ask, of my own accord, for accommodations later on during my work placement at OCB – because I had just been shown that it is normal and acceptable to ask.
This is one example of this process I’ve seen where we are offered opportunities to have positive, supportive, expansive experiences that build our resilience, so we can enter into once seemingly-impossible situations. And once we know that those experiences imbued with mutual respect and understanding are possible, we carry them with us and are less likely in the future to settle for any less.
I think all these experiences in Gear Up acted as scaffolding for me to build the skills and confidence to be able to carry my own weight, to be able to say “I belong here”, to treat my needs as important, and take my own initiative to keep learning and working on bikes. The more of us who are invited into a learning and working culture that values and operates on a foundation of mutual respect, strength in diversity (not the tokenism kind) and anti-oppression – well, the more that culture will expand and multiply.
What was your experience like working at OCB? (feel free to be honest!)
Oh my gosh, it was a really nice time. I’ve grown very attached, to be honest. Any time I said, “I made a mistake!” Someone would be like “heck yeah! You learned a thing!”
I also had a chance to bring up and work through some stuff around one of my bigger “work-related challenges” which is, broadly, time management, speed, efficiency and such. It was refreshing to be able to talk about that stuff in the open. I was reminded frequently that when we’re learning something new, our main goal is to become really familiar with the process, solving problems and getting good at it. Speed and efficiency will come with familiarity and practice.
Like, seriously. Talk about a safe learning environment.
What piece of advice would you give somebody who was considering applying to the course?
Be gentle with yourself. Drink water. Eat food. Take a rest day if you need it. Take notes. Be gentle with yourself (again and again).