"First let me tell you how much I enjoyed the course and stay at your lovely property. This was one of the best experiences I have participated in for a very long time. Aside from the course itself I was glad that I had an opportunity to experience “Island Life”. In regards to the course I found it to be well set up to maximize the lessons you delivered. I found the course (and you) entertaining and fun and extremely rewarding personally. I would wholeheartedly recommend your school (already have) to anyone interested in the biking/mechanic community. The course, shop facilities and living accommodations and your beautiful property made this an experience I will always remember and for that I thank you."
- David, 2016
Just wanted to drop a line and say thank you again for the course. I already completed my first week at Velocity Cycle in Edmonton, building some pretty high-end bikes. Our shop mainly deals with Giant and Kona. The boss and the senior mechanic have been very impressed with the quality of the work I've been doing, thanks to you :-) Lee, 2015
I've been meaning to email you for a while now, to let you know that I've been working at a bike shop as a mechanic since January 3! I'm loving it. I'm still learning lots, but am much more confident after 3 months of real mechanics work than I was when I started. My boss is especially impressed with my wheel building and truing skills! Whenever we get a custom wheel to build it comes straight to me.
I've built quite a few of those wheels for fat bikes, with 100mm rims and 4" tires.
– Naomi 2013
"So far the course is amazing. I appreciate Smokey’s teaching style, starting with best practice and moving towards problem-solving. The class size is perfect to allow for different levels of experience
and pace of learning. Smokey’s passion, experience in the bicycle activist/mechanics community, and skill create an amazing container for learning. I’m excited to continue learning, 4 weeks to go..." -Kareno, 2012
Only two weeks in, I’ve learned a ton and am loving this course! Smokey offers a great combination of patient and methodical teaching, passion for all-things-bicycle, a wealth of knowledge and experi-ence, and a beautiful friendly island commu-nity to take part in. The bike shop and student housing connect to amazing forested trails that we go walking, jogging, or biking on every day, and lead to weekly community centre lunch, yoga classes, and island market. There’s so much cycling on this island, I love that we get full-time classes learning so much, plus evenings and weekends free to explore. What a great place for a 6-week ( 5-weeks now) intensive holiday... err, I mean bike mechanics training. So good... - Kimi, 2012
More photographs
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| Working on derailleurs |
There have now been more than 110
graduates from the Quadra Bike School. Many were from western Canada. I've graduated 84 from B.C. and Alberta. At last count there were 6 mechanics working at M.E.C. stores. Several work at Community Bicycle Shops, including one Adelaide, Australia. International students have come here from the U.S., including Hawaii. Also from Germany, Great Britain, the Canary Islands and Croatia. Grads now work as far as Iqaluit, Nunavut and Cape Town, South Africa. Many work at commercial bicycle shops . Several have started their own businesses. Before I moved the course to Quadra, 34 graduated in one year in Toronto.
