Regeneration and Hope: Scenes from Off Course Bike Shop’s “Fire Sale”

Words and photos by Finn Mollison

Fire. It is, and always has been, an integral part of the Australian continent’s landscape. It is cultural lore and ecological law. It is an essential tool in First Nations’ management of country. It is apocalyptic and the most primal of regenerations. We don’t expect to see it in the middle of our cities, though. The catastrophic fire that destroyed our beloved Off Course Bike Shop in May upended our lives.

When the smoke had both literally and figuratively cleared (petrochemical fumes linger… hard), it left us with a lot of thinking to do. Thinking about what remains of a shop once the building is reduced to rubble; thinking about what a hub of the cycling community really is, without the bikes, the gear, the workstands. Hell, even a floor pump. As we sifted through warped Tumbleweed framesets and charred Rohloff tooling, we were thinking—all of us. What had really been built on this site in Brunswick, since Huw opened the doors 18 years ago?

With the outpouring of love we received following this tragedy, it was heart-wrenchingly evident that our place here in Naarm was (and is) something more than a functional nexus of bike-nerdery and an esoteric set of tools. Something was still budding up out of the ashes. Something green.

With its long, long history in pre-(un)settlement Australia, adaptation to fire is an evolutionary necessity. Many of our most distinctive trees and most beloved landscape formations depend on fire. They cannot release their seeds without it. The understory of our forests becomes stiflingly suffocated in its absence.

It burns, but in doing so, it clears and stimulates new growth. Following fire, along with all the grief and devastation, shoots begin to emerge from beneath the ash. Verdant tussocks of kangaroo grass sprout up. In the raw, scorched emptiness of post-fire terrain, much that was previously invisible takes shape. Life, however it looks in this crazy world, can be seen anew.

At our little shop in Brunswick, Naarm, we always knew how loved we were by our community. We knew because we loved them back. We love our community. Our staff stay late after work to run group rides, slide nights from recent tours, and to organise libraries of bikepacking gear.

We ride with many of the folks from this community, and have slept under the stars with them after long days in the saddle. Those seeds of love and community connection have always been there. As we all pick our way through the wreckage of what this fire left behind, it is a blessing to watch these seeds germinate, and for shoots and saplings to bring a touch of green to this ashy landscape.

Only a few weeks after fire ripped through Off Course Bike Shop, we hosted our annual garage sale or “Fire Sale” (we couldn’t resist, sorry). Hundreds of people came down to drink a coffee, have a chat, admire (and try) each other’s bikes, and, above all, smile. All those thoughts we had these past weeks, all those questions about what remained, were answered.

In a world that is increasingly downcast, angry, violent, and divided, many folks live in the midst of one big fire. Now, we are fortunate enough to see what comes after. These pictures from the day with our beautiful community tell the story better than I ever could.

Editor’s Note: We’re heartened to see these scenes after the tragic fire, but Off Course still has a long way to go toward full recovery. We’ll be sure to keep you apprised on future developments as the storied shop rebuilds. Thanks to Finn for this piece and to Huw, Will, and he rest of the Off Course crew for showing us what a truly inspiring response to tragedy looks like. All the best from our team. You can follow Off Course on Instagram and at OffCourse.Bike.

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