Building on Community and Service

This all started back in 2011 with two girls from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. Those two girls, along with teacher Ken Woodward, would come out to King Farm a couple times a week to help us load containers to be shipped overseas.

This was part of their school wide Social Action program and over the years the popularity of working with Bikes for the World grew and grew. We continued to open up space year after to year to accommodate more girls during each session. They are now a crew of a dozen.

Several things have changed over the years to make this partnership beneficial for them, us, and especially our partners around the world. As the Stone Ridge team grew so did our need to find more work to keep them busy. It was also during that period that Bikes for the World really started focusing on the quality of our shipments going overseas.

If a main function of our mission was to create jobs through our donated bikes we needed to make sure those rural mechanics had parts to immediately start working on the bikes in need of repair. So we put wrenches, bottom bracket pullers, and chain breakers in the hands of these capable young women, and viola! mission accomplished.

We now had a regular team of students visiting our warehouse removing parts from marginal bikes we didn't want to ship overseas. While the frames may have been unsuitable to terrain we were shipping to, the parts would be invaluable to the mechanics. This allowed us to not only increase the value of the bikes we were shipping, but also include the necessary parts to fix and maintain the bikes already there.

And now that we finally settled into a comfortable warehouse and we know we are sticking around for a while, Operations Manager Bob Leftwich made it his priority to optimize our space to give this activity a permanent home. We now have half a dozen dedicated work spaces for our visiting 'mechanics'. Our parts wall is neat and organized. Whether you are stripping parts or building a bike no one is wasting time looking for the bin for that specific part.

With the addition of Executive Director Taylor Jones to our team, we can now open this activity up to more groups having both Bob and Taylor mentoring the youth around the more intricate bike parts and tools needed to strip down a frame. This is allowing us to be even more selective in what we ship as a full bike in our containers, cutting back on sending bikes that simply cannot be put back into use.

It's also giving school groups a more rounded experience when they come visit Bikes for the World. Just last month, our first group came as part of their bike mini-mester session. Georgetown Day School (GDS) is no stranger around Bikes for the World or our warehouse. In the past they have hosted many bike collections at the lower school and this past fall the upper school came out to load their first container.

Then the Dean of School Life, Quinn Killy, approached BfW about doing something a little more involved. His vision was to take two days and have a group of kids learn more about the importance of bikes around the world. They would then collect bikes and the kids would fix them up to be donated locally. The City Bikes mechanics came over to give a quick mechanics lesson to the teens and set them loose on repairing some of the donated bikes.

The following day the GDS students arrived in our warehouse with a truck full of bikes left over from the day before. They then helped us load a container of bikes heading to Wheels of Africa in Kenya. While the loading team worked with Bob to fill the container, Taylor worked with another group of students in the workbench area, stripping parts for the next shipment.

In the end the students learned a lot about what we do, and now have a better understanding of how valuable a discarded bike in the US can be to someone struggling to feed their family in Africa. A bicycle not only serves as affordable transportation, but it's a source of income and pride to many families. GDS also repaired and donated 15 bikes locally, to a group called No One Left Behind. This non profit was established to help Afghan and Iraqi combat interpreters with Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) resettle safely in the United States.These war heroes put their lives in danger to help our soldiers. Many of them were forced to escape to safety in the US, but without the proper resources to succeed. No One Left Behind lends a hand to make that transition smoother.

From Student to Teacher: Kadiatu, a Local Trailblazer

Kadiatu is a teacher at the Maria Inez Vocational School in Lunsar, Sierra Leone. She started working with Village Bicycle Project (VBP) several years ago and is one of the few female mechanics in the country.

Kadiatu is part of VBP's Learn to Ride program that started in Sierra Leone in 2009. Kadiatu trained to be a mechanic and she now keeps the bikes around the school in good working condition. She is also an inspiration to the girls at the school.

Kadiatu manages VBP's Bicycle Library program within Maria Inez School. This library was established to ensure that girls had bikes to get to and from school. For students who cannot afford to buy a bicycle this lending system allows them to borrow a bike to get to school. They are able to check out a bike much like a library book.

VBP initially formed in Ghana and when they tried to give bikes to girls they were faced with a problem. The boys kept stealing them. For years they continued to give bikes to boys while training girls to ride. The hope was that the girls could borrow their brothers' bikes. 

Kadiatu on the left with the girls in the Bike Library program

When they expanded the project to Sierra Leone they added the Learn to Ride component which was specifically focused on getting girls on bikes.  The Bike Library was added to ensure girls had access to bikes. Now girls had the opportunity to commute alongside their brothers, stay in school, and earn their degrees. They are becoming more confident as they ride and they are learning about mechanics and how to keep a bicycle clean and operational.

After five years, the program was so successful they took it Ghana and now run a Learn to Ride program there as well.

Annie is a student in Makeni, about an hour east of Lunsar (by car). Makeni is the main town near Makomp Bana, the village where Annie actually lives. The distance between her village and school makes her commute long and has negatively impacted many of her friends.

When VBP came to the community, many farmers signed up for the introductory class that goes over basic bike maintenance and includes a bicycle for every participant. The, mostly male, farmers planned to use the bikes to tend to their crops, carry more produce to market, and travel to the town center more quickly.

Annie wanted a bike to get to school. Many of her classmates had to find temporary homes in town so that they could get to school on time. Annie wanted to stay home to help her family but she also wanted to go to school. With her bike, Annie was able to live at home with her family and go to school rested and on time.

Featured Volunteer: Alex Obriecht Race Pace Bicycles

Keith Oberg and Alex Obriecht

Alex Obriecht is the owner of Race Pace Bicycles which just opened its seventh store this past year. All locations serve as drop off points for Bikes for the World.Actually Keith and Alex have been working together even longer than we've been known as Bikes for the World.

Part of the success of our relationship extends well beyond Alex. In each store, there is an employee who champions Bikes for the World...in fact it's probably several.

The Race Pace family is an extension of the BfW family and it shows in their presentation of our program. They know what we do, they follow our progress, and they share that information to donors who drop in their store to donate bikes.

Norm, Kevin, and Keith

And they don't just talk a good game. In 2013 Norman Jacobs, a part time employee at the Columbia location, bought a dozen brand new Kona bikes to donate to our program in Uganda.

Kevin Dolan, store manager at the time, has been supporting us since the very beginning and he's been moving around to the new locations as they open. We can tell he's taking our message with him.

Jon Posner used to work at the Ellicott City location. He LOVES BfW. He even took the collection 'on the road' setting up at the Howard County Green Festival every year. Collecting bikes, mentoring volunteers, and spreading the good work of BfW.

Jon and volunteer Jim Mitchell

It's so important to us to have these partnerships not only in the community but also in the bike industry. Working with bike shops allows us to increase the availability our donors have for a convenient drop off location. It saves us time to do bulk pick ups...some Race Pace Bicycle locations can hold 30 or more bikes at one time.

And it gets riders on better bikes! Often times we wind up with a donated bike because someone has upgraded or decided to buy a new bike rather than repair the old one. And Race Pace Bicycles serves the biking community unlike any other. These guys ride, they know bikes, and they know how to communicate with any type of rider. Their shops are welcoming to any level of cyclist and so is their staff. They were catering to the female cyclist before that was chic.

Alex has built an incredible bike business. They have connected to the community they serve and they continue to listen to their wants and needs and they deliver. It is this commitment that has carried them through rocky times that wiped out many other local (and bigger chain) stores.

They never once turned their back on our mission and continue to help deliver quality used bicycles to our partners overseas. Every year they get more and more bikes and Race Pace has been backing that financially as well. They feel so strongly about what we do and what it takes to achieve our goals that they see to it that we meet our $10/bike donation goal.

Race Pace has also been the drive-chain making possible our donations to the Baltimore Christmas Bike Project over the past decade. Donating bikes back to the community has been the mission of our partner in Columbia, St John’s United Methodist-Presbyterian Church and St John the Evangelist Catholic Church. The hardest part of a donation like this is our bikes come to us in need of repairs. Race Pace hopped in with a solution and has been making those repairs AND finding bikes for the kids in this project. More than 150 bikes since the beginning. Kudos and thanks to Alex and the entire Race Pace family.

Featured Volunteer: Joe Bolandrina

Joe Bolandrina has three container loadings under his belt, all at different locations. He's helped manage and mentor two or three bike collections for us. He's even done shop pick ups and individual pick ups. Impressive but not overly unusual you say?

Did we mention he lives more than 400 miles away?? No lie. This guy is north, north, north of us just outside Boston.

He only makes the trip for Bikes for the Philippines containers, because he has a personal connection to the program. And we only ship there once a year or who knows how often we'd see the Bolandrinas...because he doesn't come alone. And a winter loading doesn't deter Joe in the least.

Joe with Joel Esguerra

This year he found out about the loading date and he scheduled a truck rental. He didn't even hesitate or check the weather report first. And yes, Boston was getting hammered with snow. Nothing will stop Joe when it comes to helping out Filipinos or spreading the joy he gets from riding a bike.

Joe is a force unlike any other. He is almost always grinning ear to ear and he's full of energy and excitement. It's fun to have him around the warehouse. He's quick to jump in where needed, prepping bikes, walking them across the warehouse floor, or hopping up to load third levels.

His first visit to BfW was waaay down at our Lorton location where he also brought his wife and two kids, Lilly and Max. They assisted Stone Ridge and loaded the container in record time. His second trip was our third container heading to the Philippines where he again worked alongside the Stone Ridge crew (and Katie Ledecky!). We had a visit from the Philippine Ambassador that time.

Joe got the word out this year that he was making the trip and had a little mini collection before he came. His rented truck was stuffed to the grill with bikes from friends, neighbors and local bike shops lending a hand to his cause. He brought spare parts and tires, the works! This guy is a true class act, and a huge barrel of fun to be around.

Update from the Philippines: Eunice and Cristy Graduate!

Eunice (left) and Cristy (right) were some of our first beneficiaries in the Bikes for Philippines program started in 2011. Both girls received bikes in their junior year of high school to help them stay in school and graduate.

Both Cristy and Eunice graduated high school in 2013 and both received a free scholarship to continue their education at the university level learning computer science.

Eunice and Cristy, continuing their computer studies, interned at NCR in Cebu, and in 2016 they received their computer science degrees from San Carlos University.

Eunice attended Baclayon High School and was selected to receive a bicycle in part because her house was one of the farthest from the school of all the students.

Her commute was also very steep and rocky and the bike skills she learned through Bikes for the Philippines in school really helped.

Many mornings the trails were covered in mud puddles and her bicycle made passing through them quick and easy and left her shoes clean and dry. Most importantly Eunice would arrive to school on time and ready to learn.

It was very exciting to continue on to a new school (and new island) alongside Cristy, her school friend and fellow bike beneficiary.

Eunice is now a Software Test Engineer at NCR, where she originally interned. Living in Cebu, she enjoys a very active lifestyle and likes hanging out with friends and experiencing new things. She can also be found rolling around on a bike occasionally with her boyfriend.

She is grateful for the trail of success that old beefy Magna took her down with Bikes for the Philippines and is excited to continue this new journey in her life.

Update from the Philippines: Crea

Back in 2014 we introduced you to Crea, who received a bike in the Philippines to help her complete school. This bike was donated through a Rockville youth who earned the bike through the city's Earn-A-Bike project known as TERRIFIC.

At the time Crea was a junior in school and walking nearly four miles to get to school. Her father was a laborer earning a living for his family. Her mom stayed home to take care for Crea and her three siblings. Money was tight but Crea loved school and wanted to graduate and continue her education to find a path to a better life.

Gabrielle Nadler is the generous donor who provided the bike to Crea. She was just 10 when she earned the bike and donated it back to our program. She's soon gearing up to drive and we thought we'd check in to see where Crea is and whether or not she graduated.

You know- she did! Crea is now studying communications in college and is looking to graduate in a couple years. She lives in Cebu, a neighboring island where she goes to school.

She is doing well, still loves school and loves spending time outside with her friends.

Featured Volunteer: Ron Watts

This guy. What would we do without Ron Watts? Just look at him picking up and moving not one, not two, but three bikes...at a time!

It would be understating Ron's worth to focus on him moving bikes, but quite a bit of his time has been spent on just that, moving bikes for Bikes for the World's South Carolina spin off. Not just some bikes, but hundreds and hundreds of bikes.

In the 2017 collection season South Carolina was critical in supplying bikes to our overseas partners as we saw an increase in demand. The crew in Charleston actually loaded three containers of bikes in 2017, some of those bikes coming from collection points in NC as well.

As we prepared to move into our current semi-permanent warehouse in March of this past year we worked to deplete the number of bikes we had on hand in DC to make that move more efficiently. This could have delayed our ability to ship bikes to our partners who were in desperate need of affordable transportation. With the addition of bikes on hand in Charleston we were able to keep our shipments moving seamlessly.

In the spring of 2017, a community of Methodist churches spanning the state joined forces to help collect bikes for our partners around the world. Over a dozen churches set out to make a huge impact in our program with the goal of collecting 100 bikes in each of their communities. The results were staggering; one church actually collected nearly 300 bikes!

This creates a logistical challenge for our drivers...and in South Carolina, that was often Ron Watts. Just this past fall Ron drove over 400 miles ONE WAY to cover a couple collections as far north as Raleigh North Carolina. He had the biggest Penske truck we can legally rent, which we assumed could easily hold the 180 bikes we expected from both events. To our surprise 180 bikes is what ONE collection site ended up with; the other netted nearly 120.

Somehow, someway Ron squeezed those 300 bikes into the Penske for the long drive back to Charleston. Now we have to assume quite a few of those must have been kid sized bikes for them all to fit, but he even had an adult sized tricycle in there so we know it was no easy feat.

In addition to driving and assisting at collections Ron also managed the warehouse space in Charleston and supervised the Navy volunteers who came to help prep bikes on occasion. Ron assisted Paul Keefer, the area coordinator in SC doing anything asked of him: doing big pick ups, individual picks up, going by partner bike shops, mentoring young volunteers at collections, and helping with the loadings.

As we head into 2018 South Carolina will break off and operate independently from Bikes for the World, doing what they have been doing, collecting bikes in the community and changing lives around the world. BfW will continue to offer advice and support where possible but we are super proud to see this effort growing into something that can stand alone and better serve the community at the local level. We know Ron Watts is a huge part of the equation making this all possible.

Creating Jobs and Increasing Wages

As soon as a Bikes for the World container hits the ground overseas its impact on the community is immediate. From unloading bikes, to recording inventory, and especially repairing and rebuilding bikes by a skilled mechanic, the arrival of the container first and foremost generates jobs.

In Guinea-Bissau our container directly affected seven established bike repairers who were called upon by Global Fairness Initiative to help refurbish the bikes donated through BfW in 2015.

Bacar Mamudu is 65 years old and has been repairing bikes for the past 16 years. His bike business boomed when our bikes arrived in need of repair. Bacar charged for repairs and offered his services on loan to villagers who could not pay upfront.

Bacar was thrilled to see so many bikes coming into the community, "Now I receive so many more bikes per month in need of repair. This has had a positive impact on my monthly income." Bacar went on to say he was learning many new skills working on the bikes which are different than other bikes he's seen in the past.

Famta Fati is a member of the local farming association APALCOF. She purchased one of the bikes donated to APALCOF last year through BfW. Now that Famta has a bicycle she is able to commute to her horticulture farm much faster than when she was traveling by foot.

Previously Famta walked several miles a day in the sweltering sun just to get to and from her field. After working all day in her crops, without shade, she often felt worn out and less productive.

She now reports having more time in the fields and at home not to mention more energy to do her work. She feels much healthier and less stressed. She is also using the bike to help transport her produce to a roadside market.

Maimuna Blade dropped out of school before graduating, but is working toward saving enough money to go back to continue her education. She purchased a bike from APALCOF which she uses for work, errands, and social activities.

"My bike encourages me to work harder not only to go back to school, but also in carrying on other community activities which are far apart."

Maimuna works on her family's agricultural farm and uses her bike to collect fire wood and carry animal feed to the farm. She is able to save twice as much money now that she has a bicycle, making her dream of returning to school within reach.

Update From Guinea-Bissau

In 2015, Bikes for the World added a new partner in Guinea-Bissau in collaboration with the Global Fairness Initiative. Over 400 bikes were donated through the Guinea-Bissau Livelihood Initiative, which just came to an end this year.

Many of our newer partners come about through larger projects looking to expand transportation solutions while also increasing capital to help fund the overall mission of the project. Fixing and selling our donated bikes brings needed transportation to isolated villages, helps establish new jobs and businesses, and helps sustain the initial project.

In Madagascar, we worked in tandem with Transaid to help support a multi-year effort to bring better health care to rural areas of the country. A bike component was introduced toward the end of the project to help fund aspects of the health care initiative such as the emergency transport system and health insurance policies for the members of the co-op. The idea is that when the project ends, and in turn much of the overseeing support from the establishing non profit, the program will continue and thrive being sustained by its own community.

In Guinea-Bissau that larger non profit is Global Fairness Initiative (GFI), which helped establish the Guinea-Bissau Livelihood Initiative (GBLI) to support and strengthen local farming associations and their communities. Similarly, as in Madagascar, the bike component was introduced to help support projects initiated through this larger program.

For GBLI, that larger program centered around food security. GBLI implemented a series of interventions tailored to the unique needs of its beneficiary communities. These interventions aimed to strengthen the foundation of beneficiaries’ farming activities so that they could progress from subsistence farming to farming as a business.

APALCOF is a women's farming collective of more than 3,500 smallholder producers singled out by GFI. GBLI worked with APALCOF and its members to strengthen their capacity, increase access to markets, and ultimately improve their livelihoods.

In collaboration with Bikes for the World and GFI, APALCOF distributed our donated bikes in 2016. The bikes and spare parts were sold to farmers in Bafata and Gabu at discounted prices. The money earned through bike sales was reinvested into a bank account to support the micro-credit program, thus increasing access to loans to beneficiaries.

The bikes served as a means of transportation for farmers during their farming activities, often eliminating extra time and energy exerted to travel from the wells to the field or from their homes to markets. Children also used the bikes to go to school, some of which were upwards of 5 kilometers from their home village. Additionally, the bikes were particularly helpful to women and families, who used the bikes to go to health centers.

Featured Volunteer: Ellen Condon

Bikes for the World is blessed with an amazing crew of volunteers who champion our mission at school, work, home...sometimes to strangers they meet on Metro. The reason we are able to affect the great number of lives we do around the world is because of our huge volunteer network. Many of our volunteers have been with us for years, even decades. Some times when they retire we even get to see more of them.

And sometimes we don't. Ellen Condon has been with Bikes for the World for over a decade. She has helped us collect bikes, promoted our cause to the bikers at NIH (where she worked) and even lent us her truck from time to time when Yvette had too many bikes to transport.

But as of last week Ellen retired from NIH and is getting ready to move out of state. While she will no longer be dropping bikes by the warehouse, she will no doubt continue to follow our progress online. But we sure will miss her around here.

Just this past summer Ellen helped put us in touch with the NIH Police Department which had collected over 40 abandoned bikes on campus. They recognized these bikes could be put to good use so they looked for an alternative to scrapping them. The NIH Police coordinated the effort with the NIH Bicycle Commuter Club, which Ellen was a member of, to get these bikes to Bikes for the World.

It's connections like this that have helped grow our organization over the years. Since Ellen found out about Bikes for the World we've nearly doubled our annual intake of bikes. It's our partnerships with bike shops, police departments, condo associations, universities, etc. that have really kept our organization rolling, especially in our slower collection months. This supply of bikes has allowed us to increase our number of donations per year and increase the number of partners we support around the globe. It's invaluable. And it's through dedicated volunteers like Ellen that we often 'find' these sources of bikes.

"I met Ellen, like I meet many of our volunteers for the first time, through email. That probably went on for a couple years until she needed to drop off a sewing machine and we realized we were practically neighbors. Now whenever I was overwhelmed with bikes in my yard I could just call Ellen and she came right over.

"Who doesn't like having a friend that owns a truck? You never know when you might need to move something. But how many truck owners will let you stack 20 bikes in the bed and then drive them cross town looking like the Beverly Hill Billies!?! That's Ellen," says Yvette Hess, Outreach Coordinator.

And Keith Oberg, Director remembers Ellen even further back, "Ellen was always such a cheerful, optimistic, and welcoming presence, whether at collections or at King Farm. She was a joy to work with and interact with other volunteers, she made the social aspect of Bikes for the World so much more positive. I went home smiling at the end of a day. Our loss is Michigan’s gain!" 

My Time, My Ride, My Choice

In 2015 Bikes for the World sent our first container of bikes to the established Moroccan program known as DARNA (Our House). DARNA was started, and continues to operate as a safe home for women and children.

Recognizing a mother's role in a strong, thriving family, DARNA put emphasis on creating opportunities and training for women and young girls. To assist in the effort to keep kids enrolled in school, DARNA introduced bicycles to those students at risk of dropping out due to long, tiring commutes.

From our initial donation, over 400 students received bicycles in northern Morocco. 117 of these student beneficiaries were girls.

This summer Bikes for the World helped place another container of bikes with DARNA through St. Louis Bicycle Works. Bicycle Works operates a youth program in St. Louis and a couple times a year finds itself with an overstock of bikes for their program.

When they approached us this year to place another container we identified the need from Morocco and found St. Louis had the type of bikes requested. It was a match!

This shipment arrived late in September and students have already been paired with bikes. This time, the bikes were distributed among nearly 40 different communities and the kids ranged in age from 8-17.

We checked back in with several of the students who received bikes from the first donation in 2015. Laila (on the left) loves her bike because she can go to school with her friends. Her mom agrees, noticing that since her daughter received a bike her grades have improved. Laila now has more time to study and arrives to school early and less tired.

Miriem (on the right) uses her bike to visit her Grandmother who lives far away. She can now travel that distance on her own schedule, without needing to wait for public transportation which can also be expensive. "I feel much more independent now."

Miriem also enjoys the physical exercise her bike provides. "I feel like a bird, I love it!"

Update From Morocco

Bikes of the World is excited to announce that we have placed a second container of bikes with one of our newer partners established in 2015.

DARNA (meaning Our House) operates in northern Morocco helping to give a leg up to the under served population of the region. Our bikes were introduced to the program in 2015 in an effort to empower students.

Our first container was distributed among four different school districts to help students remain in school by easing their long commutes which had previously been done on foot.

In August of this year, we shipped a second container to DARNA with the help of sister organization St. Louis Bicycle Works. The bikes were reconditioned and donated to more than 40 villages near Jebel Bouhachem Nature Reserve.

Tarik and Anas

Tarik and Anas live just outside the bustling city of Tangier in northern Morocco.  Both guys received bikes from our first donated container a couple years ago.

Tarik told us that his bicycle is very important to him because he could not afford to pay for transportation. From his home in Ziaten, Tangier is about a 90 minute walk.

Now that he has a bike, he reports better attendance in school. He also said he now signs up for more training programs offered through school because he knows he can get there.

Physically Tarik now finds himself in better shape, which he knows is important to his overall health. He is also very proud to own a bicycle and says, "having a bicycle makes me more independent!"

Featured Volunteer: Nick & Sarah

Yvette, Nick, and Sarah saying goodbye and good luck

We are proud to honor our own Nick and Sarah this month as our featured volunteer(s). It goes without saying that Nick gave so much to Bikes for the World over his four year tenure with us-and even from St. Louis, he's still giving.

When Nick started at BfW back in 2010 we were still operating under the umbrella of WABA without an official board. Nick's position didn't even exist before him. And look at us now!

When Nick came on board, he took over operations, managing the loadings, pick ups, and covering nearly every weekend of collections. It felt like the guy never had a day off...until August when we wouldn't see him for a month.

Shady Grove haul with Stone Ridge students

Nick helped establish our relationship with Stone Ridge back when the school first joined forces with us in 2012 and there were only two students. Nick helped expand that program, tripling the number the following year and adding the mechanic component that allows us to salvage usable parts off otherwise unusable bikes.

Nick also oversaw half a dozen storage sites for BfW, many of them at the same time. He was there when the first Dick's Sporting Goods trailer delivered bikes to our Lorton warehouse and there when the last came into our Arlington warehouse.

Who needs a ladder when you have a table

Nick was the muscle behind our loadings and pick ups. He also helped establish some of the organizational practices we still employ today. More importantly Nick engaged with our donors, supporters, and volunteers with an attitude that never let on that he was overworked and understaffed. Nick always got the job done...with a smile on his face.

He mentored our weekly volunteer night out at King Farm which provided many SSL hours to students in Montgomery County. Nick was also joined by several older volunteers who came every week to help strip parts or exchange the latest beer recipes with home brewer Nick.

Sarah with her students from Eastern HS

And we cannot overlook Sarah who came with Nick to the DC area and ended up marrying him. Sarah also loves bikes and is passionate about our mission at BfW. On several occasions, even after Nick left BfW, Sarah would bring her students to a loading for service hours and to provide an important lesson about community and helping on a global level.

We also appreciate the support Sarah gave Nick while he served as Operations Manager for BfW. She sacrificed quite a bit, with the long hours and sometimes seven-days-a-week schedule Nick often held.

"I was very impressed with Nick's work ethic and dedication to the organization and its mission," said long time volunteer Ken Woodard of Stone Ridge. He added that Nick had a great knowledge of bikes and how they work and could relay that expertly in language that made sense to any new 'mechanic'.

 Last year the Nick and Sarah Combo took off for a great adventure in St. Louis. They would soon be two of the founding members of Arcana Distilling which is starting to really take shape. Instead of hauling a trailer full of bikes Nick is now moving antique cathedral windows for their new warehouse.

They are firming up architectural plans on the old 1950s American Legion Hall that will soon hold their barrels filled with locally grown and produced Whiskeys and Brandys. If you are ever in St. Louis, you should stop in for snifter.

And speaking of St. Louis...Nick is actually the guy who connected us to Bicycle Works in St. Louis, where he now occasionally volunteers.

Bicycle Works loading crew in August

BWorks works in the community refurbishing old bikes and teaching kids about bikes and tools. They also occasionally end up with a container full of bikes to donate to one of our global partners. This past August they helped us out by supplying over 400 bikes to one of our newest partners, DARNA in Morocco.

For their first container donation back in 2012, Nick went out to St. Louis to show them the ins and outs to loading. Since then they have donated thousands of bikes to our partners around the world. And this last loading was extra special with Nick on hand to help once again. THANK YOU NICK for everything; WE MISS YOU!

We Are Phoenix

What is Phoenix Bikes? In mythology a phoenix is a bird with a cyclical life, that is to say it is reborn, given another life. Not too surprising then that Phoenix Bikes is a local bike organization that is bringing old bikes back to life.

The Phoenix crew assisting at BfW collection in Arlington

Also not surprising that Bikes for the World would be all about supporting Phoenix Bikes. Based in Arlington Virginia, Phoenix Bikes is right within our target donation area, 'the world'. Bikes for the World is proud to regularly donate bikes to this local program and here's why:

Like all of our beneficiary projects around the world, Phoenix Bikes is about so much more than just bikes. Phoenix Bikes works with area youth, teaching them about bikes, but more importantly helps build young leaders and strong community connections. They are learning skills to revive a bike, but also building skills that will take them even farther in life than that bike ever will.

Through their after school programs, Phoenix, in a sense, is also recruiting young mechanics. Phoenix is in more than half a dozen Arlington schools teaching kids how to fix a flat, adjust their brakes, and how to properly shift while riding.

They then work in a team to bring a bike back from the ashes that will be donated to a community member in need. Giving back to the community comes first. In the end, everyone comes to the Phoenix Bikes shop and has the opportunity to build their very own bike. Some like Noe and Robel never leave.

Noe is a guy who knows this program well. He has over four years under his belt greasy mechanic apron. He joined Phoenix Bikes in the summer of 2013 and he instantly impressed everyone with his attention to detail and incredible patience, traits that have served him well behind the bike stand.

Noe has recently taken on a new role with Phoenix Bikes: bike club instructor at Hammond School in Alexandria. He also serves as shop manager during "Youth Run the Shop Days" at the Phoenix compound. He's the captain of Team Phoenix, the racing squad, often leads community rides, and  serves as the Youth Advisory Council President.

There is absolutely no doubt that Phoenix Bikes is helping to build leaders. Noe is very effective in his leadership roles because one of his key missions is to make meetings fun and more importantly, he wants to make sure everyone feels welcome and has a platform to be heard.

Bringing an activity like riding or even mechanics into a school brings with it a unique experience for some kids who may otherwise feel left out. For a student who isn't an athlete on a team, they sometimes miss that camaraderie a team provides and of course learning to work together toward a common goal.

Robel was introduced to Phoenix Bikes at TJ Middle School back in 2014. He earned his first bike, outgrew it, and earned a replacement. He grew into racing, both mountain and road bikes. He is a strong member of Team Phoenix serving as role model to the younger riders coming through the shop.

Robel also participates in the Phoenix Saturday rides where they often incorporate community service within the ride. He has volunteered with BfW during collection events we've had in Arlington. Robel joined Phoenix this summer in an advanced mechanics camp. He proves day after day he is strong both on and off the bike. 

 

Team Phoenix

This year Arlington was home to the National Youth Bike Summit which welcomed bike advocates of all ages from across the country and beyond. Our own Phoenix Bikes hosted the event including setting up key speakers, some, young mechanics from their own shop.

The summit brings minds and passions together to help build a bike friendly future. Involving our youth seemed like a logical step in this process....so began the YOUTH Bike Summit. Involving Phoenix Bikes in that was, well, a no-brainer.

Phoenix Bikes engages the youth around Arlington by giving them one of the coolest after school hang outs around. It's much more than just learning how to use tools to work on bikes however. These young mechanics also learn valuable life skills like problem solving, teamwork, processing, networking and communicating.

Samara is a sophomore at H-B Woodlawn and was one of the speakers this past weekend at the Summit. She hooked up with Phoenix after participating in a school club associated with the organization. She liked learning about bikes and working with the tools so much she continued working with Phoenix through their after school opportunities at the shop.

Now a youth mechanic at Phoenix Bikes, Samara earned her way up the ranks, improving her ride along the way. Students who come through the program have the ability to learn and earn, building bikes. One bike they fix up is donated into the community and the other they can keep for themselves. Samara now does more than ride, she races. A founding member of Team Phoenix, Samara races road, mountain, cyclocross- you name it, if it has wheels she's going to make them spin!

Samara is also very passionate about sharing her love of biking and racing with others so she was a natural fit to speak at the Summit. Besides sharing thoughts on racing Samara is also passionate about promoting cycling for everyone, most especially women.

Usman and Erik are also founding members of Team Phoenix and came up through the wrenching ranks of Phoenix Bikes. Like Samara, Erik joined Phoenix through a school program at Washington Lee High School. Erik knew all about Phoenix through his older brother Augustin.

Erik enjoys sharing his passion for cycling with new youth coming through the shop. He stands out as a leader by helping with repairs and mentoring new youth mechanics during busy days at the shop. Because of his comfort on the bike, he is also a great ride leader for community rides on the weekend.

Usman had a bit of a longer commute to Phoenix Bikes. Usman grew up in India where bikes are very popular, however, Usman never owned one. He definitely understands the connection between access and infrastructure. His father never let him ride further than 30 feet in front of his house because it wasn't safe.

At 13, Usman moved to the U.S. with his family. When he found out about Phoenix Bikes he 'moved in' making it a second home. He quickly earned his first bike through the program and then upgraded and tweaked until he was racing on the team. As more and more kids turned to racing, Phoenix Bikes answered by implemented a points for parts program that allows youth to upgrade their bike parts for work in the shop.

Usman is now racing for the local DT Racing team (as is Erik). He's only a sophomore at Wakefield High School, but recently started working at the local Trek Bicycle shop building bikes.

#YBS17: Shifting Gears

What is a Youth Bike Summit? Last time we introduced you to a local group of young writers who are also learning about bikes and becoming young riders. Some of those Story Riders will be attending the Youth Bike Summit this weekend...but what exactly is a youth bike summit?

Simply put it's the future of cycling. Every year Washington DC is home to the National Bike Summit, where businesses, organizations, advocates, bikers, and the like all gather to talk about ideas, plans, and facilities that worked or needed improvement in the grand scheme of making cycling safer and more accessible to everyone.

The one step that has propelled biking farther and faster than any other component is a change in ideas. And where is there an untapped resource of fresh ideas? The professionals of tomorrow.

In so many of our cities, cycling sat on a back burner when it came to laying out roads and bridges and sidewalks. Bike sharing was something that happened in other cities not our cities. But all of that is changing. People are riding bikes more and because of that our infrastructure must change to meet that shift.

Around the country there are many youth based bike organizations that teach mechanics, help kids earn bikes, and get young people out on our roads and more comfortable on bikes. These kids are the future of cycling and their numbers are growing. They are growing up, living and working in our cities, and they are using bikes on a daily basis. They are passionate about bikes, they are experiencing the challenges put in place by car-centric designers and engineers, and they have ideas. The Youth Bike Summit  connects them to like-minded allies and gives them a voice.

At this year's summit, youth and adults will come together to talk about issues immediately affecting youth and cycling, such as riding on trails, career opportunities in the bike industry, bike facilities on college campuses, etc. There is even a panel about relationships with law enforcement and how the bike can help bridge the gap in communication.

The bottom line is this, our youth will be the next drivers on the road, they may already be there. Educating them about the rights of cyclists will make them better drivers and make the roads safer for everyone. They may also be our future engineers designing our roads and communities. They most definitely will be tomorrow's advocates fighting to have our voices heard.

The Youth Bike Summit comes to Arlington this year and is being hosted by our own youth group Phoenix Bikes. This experience has helped introduce mature concepts to the youth in this program through something they all love, biking. It has brought them together to work as a team, to express their thoughts and ideas and come up with plans and solutions...in just planning the event itself.

Several of them have been invited to speak at the conference. They will create a presentation, get up in front of a crowd, share their thoughts and answer questions. They will meet other inspired minds and share ideas and work together to change the future of cycling and possibility their communities.

This experience is more than encouraging youth to take an active, vocal role in their cycling futures, it's about maturing and growing into themselves. It's about figuring out that their opinions matter. It's also about learning how to effectively express themselves and make change happen. It's learning to come together and work together for a common goal; something we all could use a little more of in our lives.