Watch as Perth teen and former hater Jaeden falls in love with bikes

Jaeden Singh used to “despise” bikes when he was younger.

But now the 17-year old works at The Bike Station in Perth and is even building bicycles for himself and his family.

So how does one go from hating bikes to them being an everyday part of life?

Bike Week at Perth’s Bike Station

While he couldn’t stand all things two-wheels in his youth, Jaeden admits there was a nagging feeling he was missing out.

He said: “Like most kids, I didn’t like the idea of falling off a bike.

“It was normally quite nasty falls and I didn’t like that.

“I wasn’t too much of a fan of bikes. I didn’t like the idea of them.

“I despised them.”

But curiosity got the better of him and he went to The Bike Station, on Caledonian Road end of the High Street in Perth, to check out a class there.

And he hasn’t looked back.

Well, except when taking corners on the road, of course.

The shop’s Shifting Gears programme offers newbies a chance to try out a bike and take part in some cycling training.

He said: “Now they’re an everyday part of my life.

“I think about them every day.”

Building bikes for the family

The Shifting Gears programme opened a door for Jaeden and he now works part-time at the Bike Station in Perth.

That was only a handful of months ago.

It sparked a desire to build his own bikes.

And he’s getting his family involved too.

He said: “That’s going quite well and they’re all getting into bikes just as much as I am.”

However, his grandmother is a bit reluctant so far.

Jaeden has two projects on the go for himself.

What has cycling given Jaeden?

Jaeden said there has been benefits to both his mental and physical health.

“It can help quite a bit to clear the mind.”

He said it has offered him some great employability skills too.

It has also given The Perth teen a confidence boost.

He added: “I went from not knowing how to change a cable on a bike to being able to build one from just a frame.

“I feel like that’s such a big step just in five months.”

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