OK, work with us on this… we’re still thinking about the details. Junk bikes are all over the place, and, well, they’re junk. They need some work, they aren’t safe or reliable, and they’re really a pain to dispose of. But, there are folks out there who need bikes to get food, to get to their jobs, to, well, get around. That’s where we come in.
We collect the bikes. We teach workshops on how to fix them up and make them safe again. Then, when they’re all nice and pretty again, we give them to people who can use them. Seems simple enough.
What we’re thinking at the moment, is to have a little bike rack in the downtown area with a sign that simply says, “FREE BIKES – Take it or leave it. If you need a bike, take it. If you want to leave a bike that you don’t need anymore, or that needs work, leave it.” The rack is chained to something, the bikes aren’t. We check the rack often, take bikes that need work back, load bikes that are ready to go out on the rack again. We put stickers on the bikes, identifying them as Brickyard Bikes.
It almost seems too simple. Too easy.
Let’s count the ways. We keep a little high-volume junk off the streets and out of the landfills. People who need transportation get to use the bikes, safely. We make a little pocket change teaching our workshops, and people learn skills to help themselves and maybe others. And the cycle repeats.*
Well… stay tuned. Email us if you’re interested in this madcap caper, and let’s see what we can make happen.
*Yeah, OK, who could resist that pun?
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