Your Story; Ben Wong

In small, independent, owner-operated bicycle shops, staff turn-over is a common reality. Oftentimes seasonal, certainly low paying, with crazy owners and customers. If your shop is in a tourist area, affordable housing is often a major issue. It’s no wonder those who stay on for several years or more are so highly valued.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and befriend many of the poor people who have survived working for Kt and Rick at the Bloomfield Bicycle Co. Ben Wong is one of those and this is his story.

Kt can be tough on people, particularly if that person is a young man who thinks he’s going to make a million dollars selling used bikes to university kids. But that’s the man who presented himself to the Bloomfield Bicycle Company looking for a summer job in 2015.

After university, Ben moved from Kingston to Toronto, Ontario, landing himself a job at an ad agency in a progressively laid out big city cubicle. A life-long athlete in need of exercise, Ben only got into cycling when he moved to the City.

The cubicle, however, just wasn’t for him. Replying to an newspaper add, Ben showed up at the Bloomfield Bicycle Company eager to learn. Poor bastard.

In his not-so-diplomatic style, Rick ripped apart the quality of the tune-up recently completed on Ben’s bike. Ben was hooked; “the attention of a true master wrench and the demonstrable difference it made convinced me I had to learn the skill-set. I also wanted to know why my last shop didn’t do all that during the tune-up.”

From the get-go Kt was sceptical, always finding some reason to complain about Ben, to knock him down a peg or two. At the same time, she would mention how smart he was, that he has two degrees and could actually be making a million dollars somewhere else. She put up a tough exterior but I knew that deep down she kinda liked this kid from Kingston with the man-bun. Privately, I was rooting for him, waiting for the day he would show her just what he’s made of. That fall, it finally happened.
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The morning after the final Paul’s Dirty Enduro mountain bike race, Kt decided she just did not want to return to the shop for the day. Rather, she wanted to ride mountain-bikes in the forest with the rest of us. So, she called Ben and said “you’re on your own kid, good luck.” She was convinced Ben would flail and fail.

Instead, Ben owned it. He sold bikes, he did on-the-spot-repairs, he answered the phone, he dished out biting sarcasm while renting bikes to annoying tourists. The store was busy that sunny Sunday in September and Ben just did his thing. When I learned of this I was smug with pride, Ben having shown Kt just exactly what he’s made of.

After three years of abuse, Ben finally left the Bloomfield Bicycle Company. Today, West Point Cycles in Vancouver, BC is fortunate enough to have Ben on staff.

While he may not yet have made his million dollars, Ben certainly has become a quality bicycle mechanic with a great attitude who can take anyone’s shit. That’s Ben and that’s where his story continues…one turn of the pedals at a time.