Neither Shon nor Janis Neufeld had ever intended on opening up a bike shop.
Fixing bikes was just something Shon loved to do and had been doing for years.
“When I moved to Kaslo I wanted to do something as a hobby and hopefully make a few bucks doing it,” he said. “I rented a space near downtown just solely to do repairs. More and more people were asking me if I could sell stuff, and I ended up selling a lot of product that first year.”
What started out as a hobby soon turned into a business, Kootenay Mountain Sports. Though the Neufelds enjoyed living in Kaslo, they saw more opportunities in Nakusp for their business.
“Nakusp gets more tourism than Kaslo, and it draws from a larger residential base,” said Janis. “We serve a community here of about 3,500 if you include people from New Denver, Hills, Burton, and Fauquier.”
Shon’s Bike and Ski officially opened in May 2013, with Shon living in Nakusp and running the business and Janis staying behind in Kaslo to sell their home and allow their seven children to finish up the school year.
Over the years Shon’s Bike and Ski has gotten bigger and better. Shon and Janis now operate the business out of what was once Nakusp’s opera house, something they pay tribute to with pieces of the original wall hung up advertising plays and events that happened almost a century ago.
Along with being business owners, the two are very active in the community.
Janis is one of the founders of the Kootenay Sufferfest Society (KSS), an organization that hosts various racing events over the spring and summer, while Shon is president of the Nakusp and Area Bike Society (NABS).
“Both of us feel very strongly about having people be physically active,” said Janis. “He loves riding his bike, I love riding my bike, we’re both very active in promoting outdoor activities, and physical fitness and physical activity.”
As things have been growing with the shop, they’re also growing with the KSS and NABS.
At the moment the KSS is working on Sufferfest to make it more accessible to people of all ages and abilities, while NABS has been working on the Mount Abriel mountain biking trail system, which is hoping to hold its ground breaking ceremony this spring, as early as March.
Besides being part of several societies and helping to bring in tourists through the various events and activities from those societies, Shon and Janis also work to help employ students in the area.
They have been able to do this through various wage subsidy programs, like the Summer Works Program, and the School Works Program, both of which are funded by Columbia Basin Trust.
When asked if they see themselves staying in Nakusp, the pair immediately answered yes.
“We’ve made the conscious decision that we’re here long-term,” said Janis. “Right now we have no intention of ever leaving and we’ll probably just retire here and live out our days, and hopefully our kids will be able to stay here, and those that want to will be able to figure out a way to make ends meet, because the kids don’t really want to leave either.”
