Late Sunday evening, fire damaged two institutions of Cumberland’s community, both housed in a historic building on the small village’s main street. The fire started in Dodge City Cycles, which suffered significant damage. Riding Fool accommodations, the mountain bike-themed hostel upstairs in the same building, was also damaged.
Dodge City Cycles and Riding Fool are a core part of the Vancouver Island destinations mountain bike community, and have been for over two decades. While there are several bike shops in town now, DCC was the first proper mountain bike shop in Cumberland. Its shop teams have supported young riders for years, including names like Carter Woods in his early years.
Riding Fool just celebrated 20 years of welcoming guests to Cumberland. The hostel-style accommodations catered to cyclists, with locked bike storage and a location just blocks from Cumberland’s extensive trail network. The owners of both establishments have spent years building the mountain bike community, helping lay the foundations for the village as a mountain bike destination. Riders from all over, including your author, have stayed at Riding Fool while exploring the village’s trails, often with route suggestions from co-founder Jeremy Grasby, also a co-founder of United Riders of Cumberland.
The fire started around 9:30 p.m. on 16 August.
Cumberland Fire Chief Mike Williamson told Check News that the fire appeared to start in DCC.
“It started as a small fire and grew fairly quickly,” Williamson said. “Someone heard the alarms and called it in, so the duty officer came to check it out and saw the fire in there so he called out the troops.”
Williamson told Check News that there is damage to the interior of the historic building, but the structure itself seems to be intact.
“We are heartbroken to announce there was a fire at the shop,” DCC posted in an update online. “The extent of the damage is unknown at this time. Our deepest gratitude to Cumberland Fire and Rescue for your dedication and competence. Your skill and experience ensured the preservation of this historic building.”
“We love being part of this community and we are deeply moved by the overwhelming amount of love, support, and assistance we have received in the past 48 hrs. Thank you,” The post continued. “The shop will be closed for the foreseeable future, but we are determined to rebuild. We will be back as soon as possible. Better than ever.”
An investigation and assessment of the damage are still ongoing. We’re all hoping for the best for both businesses.