Although it wasn’t all that long ago that electric bikes were first introduced to Ontario, you’d now be hard-pressed to go out for a walk and not see a few cycling past you.
Part of that growing trend can undoubtedly be attributed to Angella and Verne Windrem, who opened Green Street 15 years ago. Aptly named, Green Street is a shop in downtown Peterborough selling electric bikes and related accessories that also offers repairs on both electric and traditional bicycles.
While still working their day jobs, Angella, a holistic esthetician, and Verne, a mechanic, decided to pursue their dream of opening their own business. At the time, Ontario was only just beginning to pilot the use of e-bikes on public roads. Though the province was behind both Quebec and Alberta, which had already allowed them following their own pilot program, starting the business was still a risk for the husband-and-wife team.
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“We really didn’t know how it was going to shake out, so it was very much a gamble,” Angella recalls. “But we absolutely just fell in love with [e-bikes].”
Angella says one of the largest draws was just how environmentally friendly the bikes were compared to gas-powered vehicles. Fifteen years ago, people were becoming increasingly aware of the state of the planet and the need for environmental activism.
“When we were thinking about a business, we thought it needs to be something that’s part of the solution and would not just perpetuate the problem,” Angella explains. “Definitely from an environmentalist perspective, it just seemed like such a win because I felt like e-bikes could actually, if not replace a car, replace a second car.”
Their goal was to introduce people to the accessibility of e-bikes as something beyond a recreational practice.
“Definitely there were people using [traditional] bicycles as their main mode of transportation — and that’s fantastic — but it’s not as accessible to such a wide range,” Angella says. “Whereas I saw the electric [bike] being a little more accessible to even everyday people that perhaps hadn’t been cycling really strongly all of their lives.”
The couple first started selling e-bikes out of their own garage and at farmers’ markets, while the two were still working full-time in their previous careers. Once they opened their storefront location in downtown Peterborough, they had some traditional bikes in stock to pair with their popular e-bike conversion kits. Speaking to their eco-conscious values, they even used to upcycle and repair used bikes, allowing them to “divert a bike from the landfill.”
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During these early years, Angella says there were a fair number of “nay-sayers” who objected to the new transportation devices. Even the municipality was against them, and the couple had to make their case for why e-bikes belonged on the trails and on the streets of Peterborough.
One of the largest misconceptions, according to Angella, was one the couple continues to hear to this day, despite the growing demand for the product: the idea that an e-bike doesn’t offer the same amount of exercise benefit that a traditional bike does.
“That’s really just very false because, with electric, there are different levels of assist,” Angella points out. “So if you’re a very physically strong person and always biking on a traditional bike every day, and you want that strong workout, then you just ride in the lowest level of assist. It’s a little heavier with having a motor and a battery, so you can still get that strong workout if that’s what you’re looking for.”
Fortunately, the Windrems no longer see this same amount of backlash and objection to e-bikes as they had at the start of their business. Angella explains that the COVID-19 pandemic really rocketed the demand for e-bikes, so Green Street stopped selling and upcycling traditional bikes, since the “really great bike shops” in Peterborough were already meeting that demand.
“Everybody wants an electric bicycle now, and there’s so many people selling them too,” Angella notes. “We were among the first in Ontario, but now all our traditional bike shops are all selling them. It’s just become so popular. I think a lot of people who have travelled to Europe or Asia realize how significant electric bikes are in other cultures, and then they come home,and they’ve changed their mind because they got to experience what [e-bikes] could be.”
In alignment with their 15th anniversary, Green Street — “Peterborough’s Electric Bike Hub” — has launched ‘Shop Talk’, a series of in-store events that help people get educated in using their e-bike. These events are free and give customers the opportunity to get exclusive deals, learn from experts, and connect with other e-bikers.
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The next event in the summer series takes place on Thursday, August 24th and will educate riders on how to deal with a flat tire while they’re out on a ride.
“We’re essentially just trying to create that community and bring that community together,” explains Angella, adding there are also lots of e-bike products and accessories that people may not be familiar with. “For a lot of people, it’s very new and they have so many questions, so we’re helping people kind of go through that,”
Though Angella says their personal lives are “completely entwined” with their business, to the point where they “don’t know where one ends and the other begins” (especially since the duo live above their storefront), she and Verne — who recently celebrated 33 years of marriage — still make time to hop on their own bikes every now and again.
“There’s just nothing like that feeling of being on your bike and that sense of freedom,” says Angella, adding that her love for it gave her both a job and business she loves as well.
“I love the values that we had to start,” Angella says, referring to launching Green Street 15 years ago. “It just attracted so many people that have those same values and introduced other people to have that excitement too.”
Green Street is located at 237 George Street North in downtown Peterborough and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays (the shop is closed on Sundays). To make repair appointments or browse their selection online, visit www.greenstreetonline.ca and to keep up-to-date on upcoming hub events, follow Green Street on Instagram and Facebook.
