Free Bikes 4 Kidz

Last Saturday, we repaired some bikes at the Free Bikes 4 Kidz warehouse in New Hope. This year, they have over 9,000 bikes that need to be repaired before December 2, when they are given to low-income kids.

Bikes are collected one day a year, by Allina Health, and they go through several steps before they are ready to be given to a kid. Bikes are organized by size and type and put into the warehouse in neat rows. They are cleaned, a pre-check is next, a mechanic checks and repairs the bike, and, finally, a quality check is done by a senior mechanic. As of today, more than 1,000 bikes are ready to be given to new owners.

Some of the bikes took a few minutes to check and repair, while others took more an hour to get them operational. They need your help, especially mechanics, to prepare the bikes for giveaway day.

Here are a few photos of the bikes in the warehouse and the mechanic's work area: