By Kari Kokko and Chad McCordic
Published in June 2005
With spring finally here, Recycle Cycles is a vibrant hub of activity as people work to get bicycles ready for summer riding. Every week there are many faces in the shop, some new and some familiar, all busy cleaning and greasing, patching and adjusting. Two days a week are devoted to helping people repair their own bicycles. So far in 2005, over 200 bikes have been worked on in the shop. On the other three days, volunteers fix up donated bikes which then become part of the monthly bike sale. Over 80 bikes have been repaired and sold or donated to members of the community so far this year. Currently there are also 4 hours a week when high school students can come and volunteer to fulfill some of their required community service hours. During this time the students learn about bike repair while working on some of the donated bikes, providing the students with a hands-on learning experience while providing Recycle Cycles with repaired bikes that can then be sold.
Around K-W
Besides these regular functions, Recycle Cycles has been involved in several other exciting projects. Recycle Cycles has offered free bicycle tune-ups at two local fairs. In September of 2004, Recycle Cycles worked on 10 bikes at Car-Free day in Victoria Park, and more recently we worked on 9 bikes at the first annual Non-Violence Fair in Waterloo Park that took place in May.
Another project is happening in conjunction with the Teen Refugee Support program at the YMCA. There are 10 teenagers participating in this program who are in need of bicycles. Over the course of 5 weeks they have been coming in two at a time to refurbish bikes for themselves. This is being done with the enthusiastic assistance of Netami Stuart and Dave Kobak. The project has been extended at the request of St. John’s School, where six new Canadian children in the ESL program are in need of bikes.
Bike Share Hub
A project being initiated by The People’s Car Co-op will allow members to share bikes as well as cars. All of the bicycles to be used in the Bike Share Hub are bikes that have been donated to Recycle Cycles. With much elbow grease and tenacity, Dave Steffler, Dan Unrau, Norman Schultz, and Paul Nijar are spending two days a week polishing and perfecting this fleet of bikes.
Bicycles from Recycle Cycles are also being used to support other community initiatives. One refurbished bicycle was donated to Arts in Ac-tion, a fundraiser for Out of the Cold that was organized by the KW Phil-harmonic Youth Choir. A second re-furbished bicycle made its way to the Twin City Optimist Club, where it was presented to a youth at the Sunnydale Community Centre. Three refurbished bikes were also donated to the special education program at Courtland School, where three teenagers who have never rid-den a bicycle will get the chance to learn.
The summer promises to bring more cycling adventures as the Recycle Bike Camp heads into its third year. This year the camp will be held at two different locations and will in-corporate many of the same elements as previous years, such as lessons in bike repair and safety skills, great bike trips, a canoe trip on the Grand River with the Waterloo Regional Police, and constant fun.
As the shop shifts into high gear for the summer, Recycle Cycles re-mains committed above all to promoting cycling for transportation and recreation. Sitting above the bike stands, the piles of refurbished bikes, and the assortment of parts generously donated, the Recycle Cycles logo continues to encourage all those who enter the shop to “Keep on Cycling”. It’s this simple but effective message that regularly brings energetic volunteers into the shop to get their hands dirty and help make Recycle Cycles an effective community tool.
