3ride Recognized With Ontario By Bike Friendly Business Award

Story by Kris Ketonen, Photos by Jack Barten

A Thunder Bay cycling shop has been recognized by a provincial organization for its efforts to go that extra mile for its customers. 3ride Bicycle Co. has earned an Ontario By Bike Bicycle Friendly Business Award from the non-profit Transportation Options, an award for businesses that have “gone above and beyond, offering extra services and amenities to cyclists stopping at their locations,” according to a press release from Ontario By Bike/Transportation Option.

But 3ride owner/operator Michelle Scott says there’s something else on offer at the local shop as well: a welcoming atmosphere. “It’s nice to have the recognition, but also just for people to know that we are here. We’re open to anyone that comes through town, or even local residents, to stop and say ‘hello,’” Scott says. “I know some bike shops can feel somewhat cold and intimidating. We’d like to be recognized as a community hub. Whether you ride or not, we’d like you to feel welcome in the shop.”

 

3ride is also marking the opening of its new location in the Goods & Co. Market in downtown Port Arthur (they were previously located across Red River Road from their current spot, but the previous store was heavily damaged in a fire that occurred in fall 2021). The new location, Scott says, is serving 3ride and its customers very well so far. “The response has been unbelievable,” she says. “The thing that surprises me is, we’ve been downtown for  coming on nine years and there’s some people that had never even seen, or had a chance to visit, our shop.”

“It was kind of nice just to gain the exposure,” Scott adds. “When we first opened up our secondary 3ride location here in Thunder Bay [3ride first opened its doors in Vancouver in 2001], we were BMX-specific, so you wouldn’t necessarily have come to us as your neighbourhood bike shop because of that.”

 

Now, though, the product line carried by the shop has expanded to include mountain, hybrid, and electric bikes, among other offerings. 3ride is also a sponsor of the Blacksheep Mountain Bike Club, which supports and promotes the local mountain bike scene.

“We’ve sort of done a 360 in terms of what 3ride represents, and we look forward to facilitating the growth of the cycling community,” Scott says.

 

For more information, visit 3ride.com and transportationoptions.org.