Give a Man a Bike…

The Forward Momentum of BikeAthens’ Bicycle Recycling Program

originally published March 7, 2007

Beneath a sagging roof in a warehouse complex off Chase Street, Peter Norris and a group of six mechanics are steadily grinding away on their newest project. Norris heads local nonprofit BikeAthens’Bicycle Recycling Program (BRP), a volunteer group that repairs donated bikes, equips them with helmets and locks, and then gives the refurbished bikes to the underprivileged of Athens.

Lounging in a corner of BRP’s workspace, Norris seems at ease talking - or “schmoozing” as he calls it - with outsiders about his program, and even pretends to be above getting his hands dirty with the rest of the volunteers. When asked when he last saw Norris pick up a wrench, a fellow BRP volunteer laughingly replies, “sometime around our last work session.” Norris’jovial manner while overseeing the weekly work session sets the tone for the half-dozen BRP volunteers who readily volunteer an hour of their time to fix a handful of the 45 used bikes BRP has in its storage facility. The new work space is a big step upwards for BRP, and the crew is in the process of taking a short break from actual bike repair to focus on building out their new digs.

Boasting a newly-enclosed workspace, a publicity intern and more volunteers than Norris can put to work at once, BRP is growing quickly from humble beginnings into a diverse program positively impacting the low-income sector of Athens’population. The largest single beneficiary of BRP is easily the Athens Area Homeless Shelter (AAHS) and its Job TREC program (or Job Training, Referral, and Education Center). Of the 35 total bikes BRP delivered to the community in 2006, 28 went to the AAHS. Andy O’Quinn, director of Job TREC, sings the praises of BRP not only for improving the lives of his clients but also for easing the financial burden on AAHS.

As O’Quinn explains, the Job TREC program provides those who are out of work with whatever resources they need to get back on their feet. Giving their clients transportation is the Job TREC program’s largest expense, and one of the more substantial drains for the shelter as a whole. According to O’Quinn, buying an individual client a week-long bus pass costs $12.50. If BikeAthens donates a single bike and Job TREC passes it on to a client, the bike will save the program $75 over the course of six weeks.

However, BRP’s collaboration with the Job TREC program does more than just keep the AAHS out of the red, it gives those receiving the bikes a sense of normalcy and freedom otherwise restricted by the city’s rigid bus schedules. “Clients will come to us specifically because they’ve heard we help provide bicycles,” says O’Quinn. Although the primary function of the bikes donated to Job TREC’s clients is to help them get to work, the bikes also allow them to go virtually anywhere else once they’ve finished their workday. “One thing about Athens is that it’s not huge, so you can bike nearly anywhere,” O’Quinn points out.

While the homeless shelter may be BRP’s biggest customer, the group also targets the younger generation. In 2006, BRP collaborated with Camp Summer Spree, based in Watkinsville. Developed by Becky and David Lockman at their home, Camp Summer Spree is a free program providing children between the ages of 13 and 17 the opportunity to have a summer camp experience emphasizing educational, physical and personal growth. Participates are recruited through the Department of Family and Children Services and the Athens Housing Authority.

Becky says her husband David was a volunteer with BikeAthens and saw potential for a partnership. The Lockmans’vision of incorporating BRP into their existing program came to fruition last summer. In a letter addressed to Mayor Heidi Davison and the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Commission, Becky wrote that Norris and the rest of BRP provided five campers with used bikes, tools, and instruction on how to perform basic and intermediate repairs, like fixing a flat tire and replacing cables. After completing a five-day course on bicycle safety and maintenance, the campers were allowed to keep the bikes they’d repaired under Norris’instruction.

Norris’ability to hold the attention of a certain young camper throughout the training sessions especially impressed the director. Becky Lockman says the camp participant found it difficult to stay focused on virtually any task throughout the summer but was captivated by Norris’workshops because she so enjoyed what she was doing. Even though Norris and Camp Summer Spree both believe in having fun while working on bicycles, Lockman emphasizes the long-term implications of the skills the campers learn while under Norris’tutelage. “Many of our campers will probably not go to college, but we wanted to introduce them to alternate careers,” she says.

Norris and the rest of the BRP volunteers even managed to lend Santa a hand during the last two holiday seasons by donating bikes to the students at Athens’Fowler Drive Elementary School. As Fowler Drive’s P.E. instructor Mary Lynn Lane explains, the school’s student population is largely Hispanic, below the poverty line, and misses out on much of the Christmas gift-giving taken for granted by most school-aged children. Based on each child’s level of necessity, Lane says she and the rest of the Fowler Drive faculty selected a lucky group of students to receive bicycles from BRP.

“It’s a humbling reaction because they are crying and smiling at the same time,” Lane says, speaking of the parents’reactions after seeing the bikes given to their children by BRP. “They’re overwhelmed that someone would do this for them. Many of them don’t speak English, but this transcends the language barrier.” According to Lane, Norris and his workers do more than just repair a few broken parts and drop the bikes off at Fowler Drive. In addition to the helmets and locks included with every ride, BRP decks out the holiday edition of their bikes with ribbons or Mardi Gras beads. Lane says its an “awesome experience” to see Norris and the others not just say, “Here’s a bike,” but to present it as a Christmas gift to the students who otherwise would not have received such a costly present.

Judging from the scope of BRP’s present influence in Athens, one would not imagine the program had such modest beginnings. Norris says BRP grew out of conversations among a small group of BikeAthens members who saw an opportunity to improve Athens by using existing resources. “The amount of bikes that get tossed away is unbelievable,” he says.

Beginning in 2003, the ACC Mayor and Commission agreed to donate bicycles in the ACC Police impound to BRP. After getting plugged into the county’s resources, the organization began meeting in a member’s basement to slowly repair the 35 bikes initially received from the impound. After finishing 2003 in a basement, BRP went public by moving into a 10-by-10 storage building in 2004 and a 10-by-20 unit the following year, now taking in citizen-donated used bikes (and, where possible, a small financial contribution to help pay for each bike’s new lock and helmet). During this period, volunteers would pull the bikes out into the parking lot to be repaired, leaving members and the cycles exposed to the elements.

Norris recalls that the relatively small group of regulars, roughly six total with only two or three showing on any given work session, would bundle up in the winter and work later in the evenings during the summer to make the best of the weather. Even though the conditions were rough and volunteers not in abundance, Norris said the group continued “banging away” and managed to turn out 67 refurbished bikes during 2005.

In the fall of 2006, BRP finally moved into an enclosed workspace. Located off Chase Street, the current space is “more better,” as volunteer Basil Campbell jokingly describes it. Although the location admittedly leaves something to be desired in terms of aesthetics, BRP’s new space allows members to work regardless of the forecast and will allow Norris to expand the operation to five repair stations. Since the holiday season required BRP to focus on getting out Christmas-gift bikes on time rather than decorating their new home, Norris and his volunteers plan to devote several upcoming work sessions solely to building out the space.

BRP hopes to add orientation sessions so new volunteers can learn the ropes of bicycle repair (presently, new recruits are simply given tools and instructed as the cycles go through various stages of repair). Norris says the pending orientation classes would add needed structure to the program. He also hopes to increase the number of BRP work sessions each week in addition to starting a co-op program this fall in which members will be able to repair their own bikes during work sessions.

Norris is even considering school-aged local kids as his newest batch of recruits. Previously, BRP has worked with the Garnett Ridge Boys and Girls Club, taking used bikes to the children and helping them in the repair process. However, Norris says BRP hopes to develop an after-school program, potentially targeting children in the Athens Area Homeless Shelter. By bringing the children to the work site instead of taking the bikes and tools to them, Norris says the work sessions could be conducted more efficiently while still providing a place for the children to stay in the afternoons.

With such forward-looking ideas and a drive to better their community, Norris and the rest of BRP are sure to be in the limelight again in the not-so-distant future. However, the members of BRP seem more concerned about continuing their love affair with two-wheeled transportation than attracting praise from the Athens community. Although providing a means of transportation to the less-privileged surely does wonders for their karma, most BRP volunteers cite their passion for repairing bicycles, working with other members, and simply having a way to meet new people as reward enough to keep them coming back. For Norris, BRP’s allure is all about helping the less fortunate residents of Athens. He says he enjoys making a “tangible difference to the community. It’s literally a hands-on experience, and by repairing these bikes you allow someone to get out of poverty or experience a joy we take for granted.”

Aubrey Smith

aubreys@uga.edu