Bike Works is hosting two neighborhood bike drives in December. On December 5th at the ASUW Bike Shop on the UW Campus, and on Decmber 6th at Windermere Mercer Island. Bike drives are an important part of sustaining the work that we do. Why? you ask. Well, let me tell you.
Bike Works builds sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling. Through our programming and our bike shop, we empower people of all ages and abilities, from varied socioeconomic backgrounds, and from diverse cultures and communities. There are two tools for this empowerment: a bicycle and a community. Let’s start by talking about bicycles.
By the end of this year Bike Works will receive over 6,000 bicycle donations. That number is huge! To put that number in perspective: imagine a line of bicycles end to end, front tire to rear tire- that would stretch all the way across the I-90 bridge over Lake Washington… 5 times!
While that is a cool mental image, what’s more important is that 6,000 bicycles have had the opportunity to empower a youth, to get someone to work on time, to offer viable alternatives to car-centric transportation, to fund our growing programming at Bike Works, and simply to avoid landfills by being responsibly recycled. But where do these bicycles come from? That’s where community comes in.
A solid portion of our bike donations come directly from community members bringing bikes to our door in Columbia City. For many people, getting to Columbia City can be a difficult task. In order to cast a wider net, we rely heavily on partnerships and neighborhood bike drives. Neighborhood bike drives make it easy for people to donate a bike without having to drive it across town. Neighborhood bike drives allow you to do something fun and meaningful with your friends, family and coworkers. Neighborhood bike drives keep bicycles accessible and affordable to a diverse bicycling community. And we are all part of that community.