Sunday, July 27, 2008

Rochester's Bicycle Recyclers

There was an interesting story by Kris Dreessenon MPNnow.com yesterday. It was about a group of people who call themselves "R Community Bikes." The group has fixed up and distributed, free of charge, more than 5000 bicycles since it was founded in 2001. Volunteer mechanics get the bicycles in working order, then Dan Lill, director of R Community Bikes works with his volunteers to give the bikes to low-income residents of Rochester, New York. Lill explains, "We’re trying to level the playing field a bit."


Dan Lill, director of R Community Bikes in Rochester
Photo courtesy of MPNnow.com

Community-based bicycle repair is almost always a good idea. It is even better when the bicycles are going to people who really need them as their only form of reliable transportation. And "community" is what this group is all about. Lill talks about the origin of the group's name, "'R' is a big part of the name. The R is for Rochester, and the idea of it being 'our' community bikes... It is part of the community, we are part of the community."

Kudos to Mr. Lill and the rest of the group. Cycloculture wishes you the best of luck. You have given others something to emulate.

Full story here:

http://www.mpnnow.com/lifestyle/x1542100972

2 comments:

jcwinnie said...

There is a similar program in Binghamton, NY called "Fresh Cycles". Bikes are earned through "sweat equity".

Ken said...

Hey. I am one of the founders of Fresh Cycles. (http://sites.google.com/site/freshcycles/) I was googling our name and came across this post. I actually grew up in Rochester and look forward to contacting this program.