Since we had to cancel our spring classes and riding clubs in response to COVID-19, our Programs Team have been working behind the scenes to get services to our community back online.
Free Bike Repair
Our BikeMobile is now out and about, offering free bike repair services at select sites around the city. We have social distancing & sanitation procedures in place – feel free to track us down for air, chain lube, other minor adjustments, or even to say hi (from a safe distance!)
Check the BikeMobile calendar for the regular Tuesday – Saturday schedule, and follow the #BikeMobile hashtag on instagram to track its movements around the city.
If you receive bike repair from the BikeMobile and would like to support our ability to keep providing this free essential service to the community, consider making a charitable donation online.
The BikeMobile stationed at East Portal Viewpoint offering free repair services to anybody in need!
We’re also hustling to get free bikes into the hands of those who need them most – whether you’re an essential worker in need of free, reliable transportation, need a bike for a youth to enjoy some solo fresh air time, or representing an organization that serves families in need of bikes, we’re hooking up as many youth & families with free bikes as possible.
Check out the videos up on our YouTube channel, filmed & edited by Bike Works Senior Program Coordinator, Ricky, and Youth Advisory Committee President, Sam! Learn how to fix-a-flat, and sew your own face masks from home. More videos to come, stay tuned!
Check out the rest of our bike education videos on YouTube!
The Bike Works store front is currently closed to the public.
Please read through the following before coming by.
Our bike shop is open for repairs by appointment.Please call the shop to secure an appointment. Leave a message for a call back if we don’t answer. Please DO NOT come by the shop without an appointment. In order to maintain social-distancing best practices, we ask that you come by only with an appointment for bike repair or to pick up a bike you’ve purchased online.
We’re not able to allow test rides at this time, but we will honor our 30-day return policy if the bike doesn’t work out. You’ll pick up your purchase at our shop in Columbia City! We will disinfect all bikes before handing them over to you – we’ll share more details about our social-distancing and disinfecting practices when we confirm your appointment. Check our size chart to help find a bike that will fit you.
Our Warehouse is currently closed to the public until further notice. Twice per month, every first and third Saturday, you can browse for used bikes at our “as-is” bike sale.
We are offering a 50% discount off bike repair (parts & labor) for medical personnel and grocery store employees – we recognize that you are on the front lines keeping us all safe, healthy, and fed! We love & appreciate you and want you to be able to get around safely!
We are still accepting bike donations. Please bring your donations by the warehouse between 11 AM – 5 PM on Mondays, or to one of our partner transfer stations. Don’t forget to fill out the bicycle donation form!
On March 23rd, 2020, Governor Inslee declared a Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order in the state of Washington, ordering that businesses close except for those deemed “essential services“. We are fortunate to live in a state that acknowledges bike repair services as essential – many workers commute by bike in order to provide us with things like medicine, food, and electricity. Opting to commute by bike allows for better social-distancing practices than riding public transit, with the added benefit of some exercise & fresh air while we’re ordered to otherwise stay at home.
Community is the most important thing to us here at Bike Works. We feel that we have a responsibility to take care of each other, and we try to embody that in our work.
In light of recent public health concerns surrounding COVID-19, and with developing recommendations from Seattle King County Public Health about minimizing your contact with groups of people and working from home if you can for the time being, we have decided to cancel our programming, volunteering, warehouse, and bike shop hours here at Bike Works through the end of March.
Currently, our bike shop plans to reopen on Sunday, March 29th pending public health recommendations. We do ask that you refrain from bringing bike donations by the shop during this closure. Check out this page on our website for a complete list of bike donation sites around the county – or feel free to bring your donation by on the 29th!
We’re currently selling parts on ebay! Check out our page to shop remotely, and stay tuned for more online sales coming soon.
Our offices and warehouse currently plan to reopen on Monday, March 30th, with bi-weekly Volunteer Repair Parties scheduled to resume on Thursday, April 2nd at 6:30 PM.
All youth programming has been canceled for the month of March. Our April Earn-A-Bike class is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 21st as planned, RIDES Training Club starts April 25th, and April Street Burner activities (open to any youth who have completed a Bike Works class) including bike repair community service drop-in sessions are a go!
Our adult Bike Repair 201 class begins on Thursday, April 23rd, and our new Bring Your Own Bike class begins on Tuesday, May 12th.
Bikecitement!, our annual fundraising dinner & auction, has been postponed to Sunday, October 11th. Get in touch with our Development team for questions about tickets, sponsorship opportunities, in-kind donations, and volunteering.
We are working remotely and are available by email to answer questions – please get in touch with one of our staff members with any questions or concerns! Not sure who to talk to? Email our general account to get redirected to the right person or department.
Thank you for being a part of the Bike Works community. Want to support us during this uncertain time? We always accept online donations through our website.
We hope you’re enjoying the fresh air, independence, and freedom that riding your bike still provides during this uncertain time.
Bike Works Board Member Jess Kim is a Bay Area transplant, a multi-modal engineer for the Seattle Department of Transportation, and plays in local pop-rock band Coach Phillips. Jess and her SDOT team are responsible for designing roadway infrastructure in the city’s Bicycle Master Plan and building connections to existing and future bicycling facilities in Seattle.
A bike ride led to Jess eventually joining the Bike Works Board. This Sunday, July 29, she’s bringing together bikes, bands, and (cold) brews for Bands for Bike Works at Conduit Coffee Company on Westlake Ave N, just south of the Fremont Bridge.
As she told a former coworker, “My bike life trifecta has finally come together: I work in bikes, I ride bikes, and I volunteer for bikes. Everything has somehow come together.”
Ted Cox (left), Jess Kim (center) and friend Lisa Choi (right) hanging out at Bike Works Eleven Winery event on July 22
How did you get involved with Bike Works?
I went on a bike ride — stopping at all the donut shops — for a friend’s birthday the first year I moved to Seattle. One of the people on that birthday ride works at Bike Works — Mike Buendia, he works at the warehouse — and so we got to talking. I was looking for opportunities to volunteer with an organization that worked in bicycle advocacy and education, similar to Bike East Bay in the Bay Area where I helped draft preliminary plan proposals.
I was immediately drawn to Bike Works and their mission to empower youth through bikes and foster strong communities.
My initial thought was to be a volunteer at Bike Works’ Volunteer Repair Parties and learn some grease monkey skills while helping a good cause, and found myself sitting among the Bike Works Board — a role I have no previous experience in, but figured why not give it a go. While I haven’t been able to make it out to a repair party just yet, I have been an active Board Member getting involved with different committees and organizing a cultivation event which is Bands for Bike Works!
Tell me about Bands for Bike Works.
I got the idea, I guess, because I’m in one of the bands that’s playing. We’re called Coach Philips. I love planning events and bringing people together. When I was in Oakland I helped organize a local festival down there and part of my role was to book and manage the entertainment.
And so an event like Bands for Bike Works seemed fitting. I just figured I’d bring in the music community with the bicycling community into this ultimate event.
And coffee on top of that.
And coffee! Exactly! Yeah, a lot of different communities coming together all for Bike Works.
What else should people know about this Sunday?
There’s going to a bike drive where you can bring us your old bikes as well. And a bike valet, too. Conduit Coffee Company is right on Westlake Ave N next to the Westlake Cycle Track, so we’re hoping to pull some Sunday strolling families in to learn all about the amazing programs at Bike Works and listen to some music. It’s a family-friendly event.
We’re getting donated beer from Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery, that’s up in Greenwood, cider from Seattle Cider Co. in Georgetown, bubblies from DRY Soda Company, and cold brew coffee from Conduit. Neema’s Comfort soul food truck will be on-site and there’s also going to be a raffle. And live music. And all the bikey people. There’s a lot happening that day.
Bands for Bike Works
Sunday, July 29
12 p.m. to 4pm.
Entry for $5, or $20 for entry and a bag of Conduit coffee beans.
This month, Deb Salls, the Executive Director of Bike Works was honored in the Superhero issue of ParentMap Magazine. Read the full article here.
Deb moved to Seattle just for Bike Works in 2011 and she truly embodies Bike Works’ mission- building sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling. Her whole career has been dedicated to youth empowerment & building community. Not only does Deb serve as the Executive Director of Bike Works, she volunteers her time and expertise on the boards of numerous Seattle organizations like the Rain City Rock Camp for Girls, which is dedicated to building positive self-esteem in girls and encouraging creative expression through music. She is a connector who strengthens our entire community.
In true Bike Works fashion, when Deb was invited to come in for a head shot for the Superheroes issue she immediately reached out to Youth Programs for inspiration. The Girls’ RIDES Club (Ride, Investigate, Discover, Environment, Society) came to the rescue with the same flair of creativity and leadership encouraged in all of our classes. The result landed these young women, decked out as bicycle superheroes, the cover of the magazine.
RIDES Club is a program designed to encourage youth from diverse backgrounds to get on their bikes and keep pedaling. This is an eight week program for youth who want to increase their road riding skills and get out and explore their communities. Youth explore the urban environment by bicycle and create their own maps of the city.
Bike Works youth programs foster leadership development and critical thinking by providing a safe environment for youth to plan and reflect upon their decisions. Girls’ RIDES Club created their own agenda, which included a hot-cocoa ride to independent coffee shops and a nature scavenger hunt around Seward Park. As a group they learn to ride safely, support one another, explore their surroundings, and have fun!
Bike Works is about building the skills and community so that youth (and adults!) can go out and feel empowered to ride on their own. In the instance of Girls’ RIDES club, two youth who observe Sabbath on Saturdays, Bike Works’ busy day for clubs and group rides, have started their own Girls Bike Club. For almost a year, they have been meeting and riding as a group of 6 on Sundays. These young leaders took initiative, tapped into the core of their community, and are using the bicycle as a vehicle for change. Bike Works is even looking into the feasibility of Sunday programming for 2017. It’s about youth doing it for themselves. It’s about building community & promoting cycling because we are our own superheroes, just like Deb.
To learn more about RIDES Club or to enroll in the next camp, check out the Youth Programs Page.
Ted Cox (left), Jess Kim (center) and friend Lisa Choi (right) hanging out at Bike Works Eleven Winery event on July 22
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