I have hauled a lot of different things with my bicycle. This week, I set a new personal best. I loaded up my trusty trailer with 2 complete bicycles and 8 mountain bike tires. Now on a normal day, I get quite a few strange looks when I ride by…but riding around with 2 bicycles loaded upright on a trailer…I was actually afraid a couple of times I was going to cause an accident. I think I must have looked like my own little phantom peloton riding home.
The bikes and tires were a donation for an awesome group that I have started volunteering with called The Recyclery. The Recyclery is a used bicycle collective that “…seeks to build community through the restoration of donated and discarded bicycles. [they] share resources and knowledge in order to support and affordable, independent, and sustainable mode of transportation. In [a] spirit of mutual aid, [they] encourage discussion about how our transportation choices affect the health of our communities and our environment.” (adapted from the Recyclery Mission Statement: http://www.therecyclery.org/ )
The Recyclery lives out their mission though a small storefront in Southeast Evanston. The shop consists a lot of workbench space, 6 or 7 work stands with a good array of bicycle tools and A LOT of spare bicycle parts.
I was volunteering to fix up bicycles for a program known as “FreeCyclery” where by collecting discarded or unwanted bicycles and fixing them up to give away through social service agencies, they are able to provide a practical and affordable means of transportation to local people in need. It was interesting, in the relatively short time that I was there, probably a half a dozen people came through the doors asking how much it would cost to fix some broken component on their bicycles. Each time, Jesse (the staff person who was their supervising) would have to explain the mission of the group and that, while we wouldn’t fix the bicycle for them, if they came back, we would gladly teach them how to fix it themselves. Most people didn’t seem to get it at first, and it took a couple times of explaining, but when they started to understand the concept, it was really cool to see them get excited about the idea of being able to learn how to do the work themselves. So the people were invited to come back for “Open Shop” hours, where anyone can come in and work on bicycles.
The Freecycle and Open Shop hours, along with the other programs run through this group, are done with the idea that by providing some education, tools and a space to work, we can empower people in need with a means to bettering their standard of living. By providing a bicycle as transportation, we can offer people a tool to enable access to work, family, community resources, healthcare and much more. I am floored thinking about this amazing work that is being done in my own community. It isn’t a huge national movement, it doesn’t involve a huge budget with tons of bureaucracy…it is a group of people who are simply fighting poverty in a very real way, through simple, generous and sustainable methods right here at home…
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