WATCH: “Heart and soul” bike workshop flooded

Friday 15 November 2019

The “heart and soul” workshop of a local bike shop has been flooded by the extreme wet weather which continues to soak the island.

Bicycle Workshop Ltd. in the Les Quennevais precinct has had water pouring in through its floor due to the stormy weather.

Express spoke to the owner Andy Horsfall who said that the “heart and soul” of his business – the downstairs workshop – is being worst affected by the constant pouring in of water.

Video: The current state of Bicycle Workshop Ltd. (Facebook/Bicycle Workshop Ltd.)

The team first noticed a problem last week when the carpet in the workshop seemed a little “sodden,” and then the torrential rain over the weekend caused water to start pouring in to where he and his employees work on customers’ bikes, as well as building new ones to sell. 

The culprit? An overflowing storm drain outside the shop – which is causing water to gush up through the floor of the workshop. 

Andy told Express: “[The water] had to go somewhere… and it actually comes from underneath so there’s nothing you can do with sandbags or anything.

“I’m sat here watching water just coming up through the floor. It’s horrible. There’s just nothing you can do.”

As the stormy weather continues, Andy explains, the workshop is increasingly defenceless to the elements as more water pours in whenever the rain gets heavy.

He says that the issue goes further than simply a drainage problem and he believes it’s the actual structure of the building which has left it vulnerable to this kind of weather. To make matters worse, the water is making the entire building stink of damp as it dries out.

Pictured: Andy with his partner Lucy and son Forde with their Bakefit Cargo bikes outside the workshop.

“It’s in the workshop downstairs which is obviously the ‘heart and soul’ of the shop, because it’s not just the servicing and repairs but all the new bikes that we sell are built down there.”

Luckily, Andy has access to a nearby empty lot which he has been using as a storage and a make-shift workshop facility.

Looking on ‘the bright side’, the cycling enthusiast told Express: “It’s not a disaster because at the end of the day we’re not a clothes shop. That could have literally ruined somebody’s stock… We are kind of functioning, just not on all cylinders!”

With this in mind, Andy asked his customers to “be patient” as they deal with the flooding as “things are taking a little bit longer than they should be."

But, he adds: “Luckily all of our customers are very lovely and being pretty understanding.”

'Bicycle Workshop Ltd.' isn’t the only business affected by the rain, with Portelet Bay Café announcing that they will be closed all weekend to sort out their own drainage issues.

This follows news that an old oak tree collapsed by Waterworks Valley, requiring tree surgeons ‘Tree Matters’ to work late into the night to get it out of the road. 

In the meantime, Police are warning islanders to be careful on the roads due to icy and wet conditions.