BIKE WEEK: don’t junk that clunker!

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Yesterday I asked you to tell me where you would be riding your bike this week. Couldn’t help but notice that the only respondents (aside from Raggedy Annarchy, who’s always down for a challenge) were people who ride their bikes habitually anyway.

I know for sure that a lot of people have bikes, they just don’t ride them. Often that means you’ve got a piece of rusty steel with a playafied chain sitting in a shed somewhere.

So, for those of you with POS bikes, I submit a new challenge: FIX IT.

Scene from Troy Bike Kitchen in New York

There are bike kitchens throughout the country, run by dedicated volunteers who will help you work on your bike for cheap or free. I visited the Troy Bike Rescue last summer, and am getting ready to drop in to the Reno Bike Project real soon. Bike kitchens are geared toward amateurs: volunteers understand that you don’t know what you’re doing, and they’re ready to teach you. They’ve got the tools and parts you need; all you have to do is drag that bike in, and be willing to get a little grease under your nails.

Disclaimer: he's only pretending. His dad made him stop.

Troy Bike Kitchen, New York

Here’s a list of bike co-ops (list unceremoniously stolen from thebikekitchen.org). Even if you live in a small town, you might well have a local shop; ask around and you’ll find it. Can’t find one? VWALA: bicycletutor.com.

• Albany, NY: Albany Bicycle Coalition
• Arcata, CA: Arcata community Bike Program
• Atlanta, GA: Sopo Bike Co-op
• Bakersfield, CA: Bike Bakersfield
• Baltimore, MD: Velocipede Bike Project
• Berkeley, CA: Cycles of Change
• Boston, MA: Bikes Not Bombs
• Boston, MA: Broadway Bicycle School
• Boston, MA: Quad Bikes
• Bozeman, MT: Bozeman Bike Kitchen
• Chicago, IL: West Town Bikes
• Chicago, IL: Working Bikes Cooperative
• Davis, CA: Bike Church
• Decatur, GA: Decatur Yellow Bikes
• Denver, CO: Derailer Bicycle Collective
• Houston, TX: Workshop Houston
• Longmont, CO: Spokes Community Bicycle Project
• Los Angeles, CA: Bicycle Kitchen
• Los Angeles, CA: Bike Oven
• Los Angeles, CA: The Bikerowave
• New Orleans, LA: Plan B
• New York, NY: Recycle-a-Bicycle
• Oakland, CA: Waterside Workshops’ Street Level Cycles
• Oberlin, OH: Oberlin Bike Co-op
• Ottawa, ON: re-CYCLES Bicycle Co-op
• Portland, OR: Community Cycling Center
• Portland, OR: The City Repair Project
• Reno, NV: Reno Bike Project
• Santa Cruz, CA: Bike Church
• Sacramento, CA: Oak Park Bike Kitchen
• Sacramento, CA: Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen
• Seattle, WA: The Hub
• Seattle, WA: Bike works
• Troy, NY: Troy Bike Rescue
• Tucson, AZ: BICAS
• Vancouver, BC: Our Community Bikes

Do you have a rusty, dusty bike? Will you commit to fixing it up this week?