New bicycles for children in Kugluktuk
"Will we still be able to ride our bikes?"
That was one of Ali Harper's first questions last summer when her husband Tim - a constable with the RCMP - suggested they move to Kugluktuk, Nunavut.
They did - and it turns out there is a lot of good off-road cycling in the Inuit hamlet - even in winter if you're as hardcore as the Harpers are. You just need a bike.
"I think we all know what it was like when we were a kid, and we got the simple joy and pleasure of riding a bike," she tells As It Happens co-host Carol Off.
"The other day when I got the chance to go riding with a group of boys, there was one little boy who didn't have a bike, and he was definitely very disappointed and he wanted to come," explains Harper, who works as a coordinator at the Kugluktuk Youth Centre. But as Harper soon realized, many of the children in Kugluktuk don't have a bike.
However, someone had left a bike outside her home last fall. It had sat outside all winter, but she decided to see if she could fix it up for him. "It was a little bit too big for him, and the chain was pretty darn rusty but I gave it to him and I have never seen a kid so happy to be on a bike before."
I think we all know what it was like when we were a kid and got the simple pleasure of riding a bike- Ali Harper
She wrote about the experience - and the child's joy - in a Facebook post. Suddenly, people started offering to donate bikes if she could find a way to get them up to Kugluktuk. She called Buffalo Airways, and the company offered to fly them up from Edmonton, Yellowknife and Calgary for free.
Others told her they didn't have a bike to give, but they'd like to donate money; so Harper started a fundraising campaign. It passed its $1000 goal in four days. Extra money will be spent on helmets and bike locks, she says.
Eight bikes have already arrived - they'll be handed out on Saturday - with another 30 to 40 on the way over the summer.
"There's a couple girls who I think know they'll be getting a bike, and they've been in my office every day wondering what colour the bikes are. I think it will be a very positive reaction from everyone."
Harper says having the bikes will also keep the children - many of whom have a lot of time on their hands with so much daylight right now - out of trouble. She can't wait to get out riding with them.
"With how successful this has become, I want to start a Kugluktuk Biking Club with these kids; get a logo made up, get some T-shirts, so they're a part of something they can be very proud of, and continue this for years to come."