Velorution's new location brings cyclists closer to nature (6 photos)

A mainstay of the local cycling scene is going back to nature.

Velorution, the bicycle and ski shop, formerly located near the busy intersection at Old Garden River Road and Second Line East, is now situated at the corner of Fish Hatchery Road and Landslide Road.

“We were outgrowing the space that we had at our old location. This is bigger, it’s close to the trails and it’s ours. We were renting before,” said Jan Roubal, Velorution co-owner and manager.

The shop’s new location is closer to Kinsmen Park and the Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area, a favourite spot for local bicyclists and tourists.

“I’ve had a close tie to the trails out here at Hiawatha and Kinsmen Park. I spent a lot of time out here when I was a kid, growing up mountain biking, skiing and running...it really made sense (to move the shop) based on what’s going on in the Sault with outdoor recreation and a lot of people getting into mountain biking and skiing. It seems like the city’s really pushing toward that outdoor lifestyle kind of city,” said Roubal, who co-owns Velorution with his wife Ngaire.

The move comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has caused bicycle shops and their customers grief.

When COVID struck in 2020, consumers flocked to businesses such as bicycle shops, eager to get out of the house and get some exercise through repeated lockdowns.

The bike purchasing boom led to a shortage of bikes and bike components, the pedalling public buying the two-wheeled vehicles up at bike shops and placing orders for them faster than manufacturers could make them and ship them out.

Despite that challenge, Roubal said Velorution is still well stocked at its new location.

“It's still good to plan for what you want, for sure,” Roubal said, encouraging bicyclists to place their orders for new bikes well before they need them as the pandemic continues.  

“Timing wise, things lined up really well for us. The bikes that we’ve been getting over the last month are bikes that we should have had in April and some of them are pre-sold, and then we got more stock of things that weren’t spoken for yet.” Roubal said.

Plans to move Velorution came about in the spring of 2020, Roubal said.

“We saw this building for sale and, being near the trails, it was a draw for us.”

The building was a school at first, then a church, before becoming Velorution’s new home.

“In May (2020) we put in an offer for it, everything was finalized last August and then we started renovations this spring, turning it from a church to a bike and ski shop,” Roubal said.

The Velorution crew moved out of its old location Sept. 4 and has been busy setting up the new shop since Sept. 8.

The new location is approximately 5,400 square feet in size, situated on three acres of land, the old location approximately 3,000 square feet in size.

The shop’s new location, Roubal said, has more space for storage.

The number of staff members has also increased over the years.

“When I started there in 2008, there were two or three employees including myself, and now there's 11 or 12 of us depending on the time of year,” Roubal said. 

Unlike Velorution’s old location, there will be no pump track outside the new shop, as a pump track will be built at nearby Kinsmen Park, Roubal said.

Neither will there be a spot for bicyclists passing through to rest, as there was at the rear of the former Velorution site. 

However, the new site will have an outdoor bike repair and bike wash station available, along with a new and improved giant bicycle on display outdoors.

“New store, new bike,” Roubal said, the landmark to be clearly visible on the property.

“The old one was pretty beat up. It was made out of wood and it was starting to rot, so we kept the pieces of it we can reuse and we’re going to get a new one built. I’m not sure if it will happen this fall, but next spring we’ll have a giant bike again. A carpenter friend of mine built the last one and he’s pretty keen on building the next one. He’s got some ideas for different materials to keep the new one from rotting out. The old one was about 11 years old. It had a good life.”

“We’re really excited with how the store turned out, inside and out. We’ll be excited to have people in the new space and to start serving our community from a new location,” Roubal said, adding a large amount of winter sports equipment is on its way.

Joe’s Sports & Surplus will be moving into Velorution’s old  location under the name Great Lakes Outfitters, said Steve Meating, Joe’s co-owner.

The current Joe’s Sports & Surplus location on Queen Street East will remain operating under the same well-known name, Meating said.

Great Lakes Outfitters will offer the same merchandise as Joe’s, but the business owners (Meating and Dave Edgar) will be expanding into paddle sports, offering canoe and kayak rentals and an expanded fishing section.

Meating anticipates Great Lakes Outfitters will be open for business by Nov. 1.