Gresham Repair Hub 2023

***UPDATE 8/12: The August 15th Repair Day is cancelled due to the excessive heat forecast***

It’s summertime and that means we’re back at Gresham’s Main City Park! For 6 summers running we’ve provided free maintenance and repairs, mechanic workshops, and a spot for folks to donate underutilized bikes for us to fix up and rehome.

We’ll be posting up by the Coho picnic shelter just north of Tsuru Island and Johnson Creek, 11am-2pm on the 3rd Tuesdays and 2nd Saturdays through September (August will be the first saturday fyi). Here’s what we’ll have to offer:

• Volunteer opportunities: learn about bike repair, help others, and enjoy a nice day in the park.

• Learning opportunities: want to learn how your bike works, and how to keep it running? Come on by and stay to fix other bikes!

• Donation opportunities: need to pass on a bike you don’t need? We can take most donations, but please let us know ahead of time if you have more than 3 bikes as we might not be able to accommodate

• Bike resources: we have a good collection of parts, a solid line up of tools, and most of the materials needed to get some work done on your bike.

We hope to see you at the park this summer! You can call/text 503-496-6941 with any questions, or email info@b4hpdx.org

The following Tuesdays and Saturdays 11am-2pm, Main City Park 219 S Main Street, Gresham, OR 97080, by the Coho Picnic shelter just North of Tsuru Island.

Saturday, June 10

Tuesday, June 20

Saturday, July 8

Tuesday, July 18

Saturday, August 5

Tuesday, August 15

Saturday, September 9

Tuesday, September 19

Free Bikes for Portlanders in Need

[Note: July 5th, 2023, we have wrapped up this program and hope to offer similar programming in the Fall. We currently are unable to offer free bikes.]

We’re excited to announce that Bikes for Humanity PDX was selected to receive funding to grant free bikes to folks in Portland in need through the City’s Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund. By the end of Spring 2023 we will have given 100 bikes to Portlanders on low incomes, with disabilities, in recovery, in foster care, or otherwise in need of support to get a quality bike as a tool for fun, exercise or transportation.

Who is eligible?

We work with over a dozen organizations that provide housing, recovery, rehabilitative, and other social and medical services to identify individuals who can benefit from a quality bike as a tool to increase their quality of life. Are you an advocate, case worker, or individual in another capacity hoping to connect an individual with a free bike? Please reach out to sign them up on our waitlist.

Our program gives priority to People of Color, women and gender non-binary individuals. Are you a low-income individual that fits any of these categories without a caseworker or advocate? We would be open to considering you for a free bike as well.

Reach out to info@b4hpdx.org for more info!

Why free bikes?

We proposed this program for funding as an example of building climate resiliency from a few perspectives:

• We need bikes as a carbon-free option for transportation: expanding access to bikes increases the amount of trips made by bike and can decrease the amount of trips made by cars.

• We need systems, skills, and resources that get more use out of quality used bikes: the more materials we get out of the waste stream the less reliance we have on new materials, most of which are manufactured abroad and transported with a large carbon footprint. In particular, new bikes affordable to folks on low incomes are not built to last, creating a cycle of waste that systems of reuse could easily replace.

• Low-income individuals deserve a positive bicycle experience: too often folks who cannot afford good quality bikes have a negative experience of cycling—riding a bike is a low-cost transportation option, and a low-quality bike or one in need of repair will still get you there. We are here to have that experience be safe, satisfying and fun. If someone cannot afford the gas they need to make it to work, we want the choice to ride their bike to be an easy one by providing good quality, well-tuned bicycles.

• The worst effects of climate change will impact Communities of Color, low income populations, and other historically marginalized groups: we want those who have not been included in the bicycle community to be at its forefront—proud of their capacity to get where their going by their own pedal power, of their quality, lovingly refurbished bike, and of their carbon-emission-free form of getting around.

With your support we can grant more bikes to folks in need. We hope to get more than 100 free bikes to folks who need them and can do so with your support. Quality u-locks cost $15, and each bike we grant is one we can’t sell (which are priced around $150-300 sliding scale. You can see our current roster here if you’re looking for a bike for yourself or a loved one.). Please consider contributing to or sharing our year-end fundraiser here!

A quick bike ride... to Tennessee!

Steve Park is one of our weekly shop volunteers. We’re always impressed at how far he rides his bike, and how unpretentious he is about it.

Two weeks ago he set off on a bike he put together at B4H… headed for Tennessee! Along his journey, he is spreading awareness about the #savesoil movement. Here’s a word from Steve :)

08/26/2022

I got inspired to start a bike tour from Sadhguru who rode his motorcycle across America. I've been longing to go to Sadhguru's yoga center but also wanted to travel and explore instead of taking a flight and missing out on the ground beneath the plane. I am thankful that Bikes for Humanity was also able to fulfill this desire of mine to cycle from Portland to Sadhguru's yoga center in Mcminville, Tennessee.

The people at Bikes for Humanity were amazing at getting me the best bang for the buck. Aleida helped me choose a used Cannondale bike to work on which only cost me 80 dollars. Dan was also a huge help to build the bike. He helped me find all the right parts and fix up the bike. Dan sacrificed his time to working on the front derailleur when it wasn't working smoothly.

Sincerely,

Steve
(Currently south of Stanley, Idaho about to climb up to Galena summit on hwy 75)

Follow Steve’s journey on Instagram here:
@Steve.Park280

More about the Save Soil movement here:
SaveSoil

A shot from Steve’s Instagram (Idaho)

Gresham Repair Hub 2022

We’re back for our 5th summer at Gresham’s Main City Park, 11am-3pm, every 2nd and 4th Saturday through September (list of dates below). Here’s what you’ll find:

• Free repairs! Our mobile bike shop will be able to address most basic issues on a bike, and we’ll have a stock of new and used parts that will allow us to replace things like tubes, cables and brake pads

• Consultation and education! Want to learn about how your bike works, do the work yourself? We’re here for that! The outdoor setting allows for lots of room and fresh air to comfortably share the space with you and increase your familiarity with your bike and confidence maintaining it.

• Donation station! Need a place to donate your old bike or parts? We’ll do our best to find a meaningful outcome for your donations—fixing up and rehoming bikes worth fixing, upcycling viable parts, and recycling what we can.

• Volunteer Opportunities! Want to help run the operation, work on bikes, or greet folks coming through? Let us know ahead of time (info@b4hpdx.org / 503-496-6941) or come on by!

We’re honored for this continued opportunity to serve the communities of Gresham and East County, and grateful for the sustained support from volunteers, donors, and the City of Gresham that makes all this possible. You can find us by the Coho Picnic Shelter, Main City Park, 219 S Main, Gresham, 11am-3pm. Dates below!

May 28th

June 11th

June 25th

July 9th

July 23rd

August 13th

August 27th

September 10th

September 24th

Here's what's going on at B4H!

We've been working hard to get our space ready to re-open to customers and volunteers. We've also continued to accept donated bikes, fix them up, and get them back out to folks with the help of a few remote volunteers and our dedicated staff. We've taken in over 200 bikes and had over a bike a day adopted this year: 40 bikes granted with locks and helmets to folks in need, and 150 bikes sold at affordable sliding scale rates.

What the future looks like.

We want to keep our used bike factory up and running, taking in clunkers and cranking out well-tune machines, but we also want to bring back our educational, volunteering, and community-oriented programming. We need volunteers

• interested in hosting our space, working on bikes, and sorting donations

• curious about board membership and leading a small nonprofit

• who want to help coordinate community engagement

Interested in volunteering? Please fill out this form to let us know what you all are interested in doing and what kind of organization you want B4H to become.

Interested in board membership? Read more here about what that role entails, and fill out our interest form if you'd like to learn more or take the next steps to membership. A few positions opened up over the last year and we weren't able to actively recruit new members--we need your help!

We have the following events set up for the summer--please email andrew@b4hpdx.org to sign up for a volunteer shift! We'll be providing free repairs for folks coming out with their bikes

7/10 **today!*** -- Learn to Ride Workshop at Gateway Discovery Park 3-6pm
7/17 Saturday -- Really Really Free Market at Gateway Discovery Park 3-6pm
7/25 Sunday -- Main City Park Repair Hub noon-4pm
8/1 Sunday -- Teatro Milagro Plaza Activation 9am-noon
8/8 Sunday -- Main City Park Repair Hub noon-4pm
8/22 Sunday -- Main City Park Repair Hub noon-4pm
9/5 Sunday -- Main City Park Repair Hub noon-4pm
9/19 Sunday -- Main City Park Repair Hub noon-4pm

And if you want to volunteer in the space, please reach out to andrew@b4hpdx.org to schedule a 1-on-1 orientation to see the shop on Powell and see what projects there are to dive into.

Fundamental Tips to Consider Before Launching a Nonprofit

Photo via Pexels

Fundamental Tips to Consider Before Launching a Nonprofit

A guest blog from Brittany Fisher from Financially Well with great resources on how to make a project like Bikes for Humanity PDX into 501c3 nonprofit :-)

Nurturing a nonprofit from a small startup to a high-performing organization isn’t easy. Getting off the ground is hard enough as it is, but maintaining momentum and growing a nonprofit is even more challenging. Your nonprofit will need a few fundamental elements in order to succeed—financial stability, strong leadership, and committed volunteers who are passionate about your cause. Thankfully, we’ve listed some resources below to help you achieve these goals!

Build a Strong Financial Foundation

Nonprofits will struggle without a good financial plan. From financial organization to funding, here are some resources that can help you build a healthy nonprofit business.

• Work with an accountant who can help you get your books set up right from the start.

• Automated accounting solutions are invaluable to busy business owners. Free up your time with these batch processing features from QuickBooks.

• Create policies and procedures for financial tasks like receiving donations and creating receipts.

• Review and understand your IRS reporting requirements.

• Regularly examine your nonprofit’s financial reports to ensure you’re on the right track.

Learn How to Be a Great Leader

Effective nonprofit leaders play a key role in motivating and mobilizing board members, staff, and volunteers. Being a nonprofit leader involves making impactful decisions and handling times of crisis with limited resources.

• Essential tech skills will help you leverage technology to save time, engage your community, and compete with other nonprofits.

• Strong interpersonal skills will help you communicate your vision to board members.

• Nonprofit leaders should also be great public speakers.

• A nonprofit mentor can help you build these skills and navigate common leadership challenges as you settle into your role.

Recruit and Train Passionate Volunteers

Volunteers are one of your most valuable resources. Learn how to find volunteers who will support your mission and help your nonprofit grow!

• You can find volunteers through social media, schools and universities, clubs, community groups, and businesses.

• Consider setting up a virtual volunteering program so you can leverage talent from all over the world. 

Running a nonprofit is a wonderful way to give back to your community. As with any type of business, good planning is essential to your success. Familiarize yourself with the startup process, establish a solid financial plan, find a mentor, and leverage technology to make the most of your time. With the right tools and resources on your side, you’ll have the best shot at success!

Helmet Safety

In the work we do at Bikes for Humanity we endeavor to make parts last as long as we can—testing and reusing tubes, chains, tires, and any element of the bikes donated to us that is still safe to use. Often we’ll need new brake pads, tubes, chains and other consumables, but the one thing we know needs to be new (or 5 years old ***at most***) is HELMETS!! And we have been super lucky to receive new helmets to set up our bike adopters with a free helmet, for years from the Northwest Bicycle Safety Council until they called it quits last year.

This past year we partnered with OHSU’s ThinkFirst program to keep getting helmets on the heads of our adopters along with folks in need of a free new helmet. In addition to supporting the community with helmets, ThinkFirst also provides great educational resources to let folks have fun while being safe. Have any questions about helmet fitting, bike versus sport helmet, getting the straps and buckle right? Check out this comprehensive video they put together :-)

Bike Donation Guide

Interested in donating a bike you don’t need? See where it might go if you donate it to us!

Every year hundreds of folks find us to re-home their bikes. Whether cleaning out their garage, moving, upgrading to another bike, or even landscaping in the backyard and finding a bike or two, we have folks bring all kinds of bikes to us. Some fancier bikes allow us to generate revenue through sales, others are tuned up and granted at the organization’s expense, while other dependable bikes are fixed up, sold at an affordable rate and the investment in them and revenue generated essentially cancel out. We can’t take them all, so check out the bikes below to see if we’d be interested and where your potential donation might go.

Huffies

Magnas, Roadmasters, Nexts, Anzas, Pacifics…

These bikes come from department stores (Fred Meyer, Walmart, Target, etc.) and didn’t cost much when they were purchased new. Unfortunately, they are constructed, marketed and sold with a quick profit in mind and don’t have very long-term viability as a fun-loving commuting machine. This is unfortunate in several ways: (1) waste—materials are put into bicycle-shaped objects that end up in the trash (2) bicycle advocacy—if these bikes are the entry point for folks to get interested in riding, the journey’s not going to last very long (3) affordability—these are the bikes folks on a budget can afford, making the experience of biking (supposed to be famously democratic) tiered based on economic class (4) efficiency—from our end, these bikes are timesucks to fix, and ultimately they will be granted to children who will outgrow them before they break. Please consider finding another place for these bikes, or including a monetary donation of $10-30 for us to process your donation

Ye Old Sears Bike

Free Spirit, Huffy, Murray, Open Road…

These bikes are very cute and charming, but highly impractical. The steel wheels are heavy and don’t stop as well in the rain—going uphill is hard and downhill unsafe. Might be great for someone looking to ride a little in the summer—try a free group online or consider a monetary donation along with the bike to us.

Kids bikes!

12, 16, 18, 20 inch wheelers

We get 2-3 times as many kids bikes as we fix up and redistribute ourselves. We try to have a quality kids bike of each 12/16/20/24” wheels available at all times, but folks don’t come to us to adopt one nearly as often as they do to donate. Is it a super quality bike-shop quality bike? We’d love it! Is it in the Huffy category? We’re likely to deconstruct it or store it until enough pile up for a partner organization like the Community Cycling Center to come grab a load for their programs. Consider donating directly to the CCC!

Good ol Bikes!

Skykomish, Motiv, Sherpa, Giant, Iron Horse…

In the late ‘80s/early ‘90s Costcos, sporting goods stores, and other dealers put out ***bunches*** of quality, cromoly steel mountain bikes with aluminum wheels, and good components. This is the bread and butter of our operation—some are adopted for 160 bucks, others are earned through volunteering, and some are granted outright to folks in need. They don’t really generate a profit, but that’s not the point! These bikes have the gear range for Portland’s rolling terrain and are equipped for handling it in fierce conditions. Made for fenders, racks, and big tires, these are commuting machines!

Classics

Specialized, Bridgestone, Novara, Miyata, Univega, Nishiki, Fuji, Bianchi, Peugeot, Trek, Raleigh…

These bikes we are able to do up a little fancier and ask a little more money for, but still have available at a price more affordable than you’ll find anywhere else. These awesome bikes have been blowing minds and breaking hearts for 40+ years, and with some TLC, lube, and a few new parts, are as good as new! If they have some rust or a missing seat, no big deal—we’ll take ‘em!

Bike boomers

classic road bikes

Lugged steel platonic bikes: these classic road bikes from the late ‘70s will always be in demand!

Dream bikes

Surly, Soma, Salsa, All City, Jamis…

Want your dream machine to go to someone who will really appreciate it, and to support a community-focused organization? Consider donating it to us! Bikes like this Ridley allow us to be more flexible in our operations, and to connect individuals in our community with a great deal on an awesome bike! This June we were able to donate the proceeds of this Ridley and another high-end bike to Don’t Shoot PDX, a local nonprofit dedicated to racial justice, while in years past adoptions of high-end donated bikes have been crucial fundraising opportunities.

Have any questions about donating a bike? Email info@b4hpdx.org or call/text 503-496-6941

Bike+Humanity+Portland=🚴Bikelanity, notes from a bike adopter

Bikes for Humanity’s volunteer programming has been drastically limited by the constraints of social distancing. Whereas once individuals could earn-a-bike through helping run the shop, organizing parts, taking in donations, and cleaning, fixing and overhauling bikes, we currently are granting bikes with the option to create blog content about the bike’s impact in the adopter’s life. We are happy to share the following post from Oak, who adopted a bike from us in April after recently moving to Portland.

🚲🚲🚲🚲On a recent misty 🌫 Friday evening, bicyclists wearing blinking safety lights formed a spontaneous, festive parade across the Hawthorne Bridge. The impromptu peloton flashed⚡ by like a line of flickering fireflies.

Careening through streets on a bicycle in Portland, Ore., this time of year can be an easy weekend adventure that mixes showers💦, sunbursts, cafes and a robust bicycle culture. And equipped with a sturdy rain jacket,🧥 booties, fenders and a bike map (a waterproof version that folds to the size of a credit card is handy), visitors can enjoy the city the way locals doIt helps to have a Bike here! maps, published by the regional governing body known as 'Metro’ are available at bike shops and the downtown visitors center. A mapping program, found at byCycle.org, can help visitors pick the best biking route to markets, galleries, museums or other destinations.

Bikes can also be very helpful during a global pandemic. Such as Covid19.

With the "new world order" in place at 6 feet apart that doesn't stop us bikers from getting place to place safely while maintaining the "New World order".

Bikes for Humanity has changed my life drastically with this wonderful bike they have passed on to me it beats my old 2007 car / bucket 🚗🚘 that gave me problems every other day. This Bike is outstanding saving me time, money, and headaches.  

People were amazingly generous and trusting, of their trip, adding that it helped me gain a new appreciation for the commitment to bicycling in Portland. It’s not unusual to see women riding through the winter in skirts and knee-high boots, followed by athletes training in winter riding clothing, ahhh it's Portland they’re "Weird" THANKS BIKES FOR HUMANITY YALL ARE THE BEST!!!    

Bikes for Humanity Partners with The Street Trust to Donate Bikes

The children who arrived at Whitman Elementary were entirely undaunted by the torrential downpour pounding down and creating little lakes and streams just beyond our little shelter. The look on every child’s face was priceless as they walked down the row of 11 refurbished bikes to choose the one they would take home. Each had a sheepish grin, and a whole lot of excitement as they handpicked, test rode and outfitted their chosen bikes with a bell, light, and lock. The Street Trust’s Education Programs Director Jordan and Bike Safety Instructor Mike joined our director Andrew and intern Ana in connecting Safe Routes to School Bike Safety Education program students with bikes refurbished by Bikes for Humanity volunteers and staff. The Portland Safe Routes to School program run by Portland Bureau of Transportation saw many of these students go from not knowing how to ride—just weeks before!—to learning at their school and going on a community ride with their peers, teacher, and Street Trust volunteers and staff, to finally picking up a bike of their own along with a helmet, lock, and light.

This is a memory that will be hard to forget, seeing this four-way partnership between the City of Portland, Portland Public Schools, and two local non profits come to fruition and spread the simple joy of biking with nearly a dozen youngsters. Bikes for Humanity is honored to be able to support such an important opportunity, and be part of this web of community. We’re thrilled to have this venue for getting more bikes out into the community and spreading our mission of getting bikes to those who want them but might not have the means or know where to start.

Ready. Staged. Donated!

Bikes for Humanity’s fearless leader, Andrew goofing around.

Intern Ana, helping attach a fancy horn to a newly selected, and test ridden bike.

Bikes for Humanity & Fix it Fairs

With the shelter in place ordinance in effect in Oregon and many other states, Bikes for Humanity has had to shift the way we do things. I am currently an intern, completing my Master’s program volunteer hours with B4H. I am not only excited to help support processes within Bikes for Humanity as we navigate this changing landscape, but I am also happy to be bringing in some fresh new Blog posts! Expect spotlights on volunteers, employees and board members soon as well as online resources on the intersection of bikes and the social justice movements. We want to extend to not only our Portland communities but everyone on a global level, positive vibes, and feelings of support. The state of the world that we are living in today is often dominated by fear, uncertainty, and anxiety. At this moment and always, we would encourage love, support, and partnership to assist each other through a very challenging time. Bikes for Humanity will be doing our best to provide the resources that we can while doing our part to reduce the spread of Coronavirus to protect our staff, volunteers, and more vulnerable members of our community. While our doors are closed, we are still here to help, however, we can. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@b4hpdx.org. Now onto the work I started my internship supporting back in November, and wrapped up on February 29th: bike repair at the past season of Fix-It Fairs!

We are excited to have partnered with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for another season of Fix-It Fairs. For the second year Bikes for Humanity worked with Repair PDX to provide bike repair at all three Fix-It Fairs. This year also saw the addition of the 5-minute tune up presented by Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Portland by Cycle, who shared tips and tricks for folks looking to keep riding through the winter and hoping to maintain their bike themselves. We were able to see an increase in repairs at each event in addition to more bikes served at the Portland By Cycle tune-up station. The results of this quadruple partnership are cool to see, and it is exciting to be back doing work that was previously done but in a new and improved way. A Fix-It Fair was my first experience with B4H, and I couldn’t have asked for a better jumping-off point into my journey as a volunteer. A talented community of individuals surrounded me, and it was amazing to see us come together to support our city, whether by offering advice, repairing appliances, or, in my case, helping with the repair of bicycles from community members.

November 23rd’s event at Parkrose High School was the last Fix-It Fair of the decade. It's a pretty weird thing to say, but we ended strong! We broke several records that I am excited to share. The November 23rd Repair Cafe had a total of 103 customers, being right after Thanksgiving; that's impressive. Thank you for all that came! Of the 103 people that went to the Repair Cafe, 18 were bikes. Bikes for Humanity supported bike repair, by providing needed replacement parts, stands, tools, and volunteers who worked alongside Repair PDX Volunteers and the Portland By Cycle station. We were able to surpass the prior record of 15 bikes served in our first fair of the season. How cool is that?! The record-breaking, and impact on the community didn’t stop there, however.  Moving on to the new decade, January 25th of 2020 saw a total of 96 attendees! Of these, B4H was able to support in repairing 15 bikes! Don't even get me started on The February 29th numbers. We again saw a total of 96 attendees from the community! WOW. Of that 96 B4H supported in the repairs of 22 bikes! A 5% increase over our prior month's numbers. It also broke the previously held record achieved at the November 23rd Fair.

The work Bikes for Humanity does in the community is essential to reducing barriers to folks wanting to get on bikes, and I am proud to be completing my Master’s internship here. I do want to take a moment an to recognize a lot of the other volunteers at the Fix-It Fairs who donate their time to the community. We get to work alongside many talented individuals who assist in repairing small appliances, as well as educating on ways to be prepared for natural disasters, lowering your utility bills, and even how to work on your credit score. We work hard to build a socially responsible and socially aware community. If you have the time, join us, we are always excited to share knowledge and resources. And check out what Repair PDX will be offering in the near term here!

All of the talented, volunteers that we saw at our fix it fairs.

Andrew, educating a community member on all things tires!

Matt educating a future biking connoisseur.

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Volunteering at Bikes for Humanity PDX March 12th-14th, 2020

A broken frame with all its parts pulled

At Bikes for Humanity PDX we let volunteers tackle bike projects from taking in donations to taking the final test ride on a finished bike, or even adopting the bike themself through our earn-a-bike program. We also let volunteers run the shop, manage communications, and even contribute to our blog. With in-person programs suspended, we hope to have more online content available, and more online interaction for volunteers posted. Enjoy this contribution from a volunteer who started his experience on Thursday before the pandemic brought life-as-we-know-it to a stand still, and ended his goal of 24 hours with this blog post:

I started looking for places to give back to the community to volunteer and wanted to do something I would enjoy. I found bikes for humanity pdx online, I gave them a call I spoke with Greg and he was very nice and helpful. He got me scheduled in for the following week. On the first day I learned so many new things about Bikes for Humanity and what they do. The first day volunteering I met Andrew. He is an awesome guy and knows everything about bikes there is to know. I Started off taking a wheel apart and by the time I was done volunteering I took apart a whole bike. Bikes for Humanity is a non profit organization run by great people they are very kind and intelligent when it comes to bikes. They offer volunteer work to anyone, they dont judge you and everyone is super nice and friendly. It is a very comfortable environment. I knew nothing about mountain bikes as when I was younger I always rode bmx bikes. Andrew showed me about the gearing and how to take apart a mountain bike chain, install a new one and test out the gears after. The Bike Shop has all the bike tools you would need to take any bike apart and put it all back together. They actually have multiple of each tool so more than one person can work on a bike at a time. The cool thing about the shop is how they run. They will work with anyone trying to get back on the road again. There was a bike they had waiting to donate to someone in need and it got stolen from outside the shop. Andrew found another bike they donated to the man free of charge. If you have a bike that needs work you can either pay the shop to fix it for the best price in town or you can trade volunteer time for shop time and fix it yourself with the tools. If it is something simple and quick they will just help you fix it real fast free of charge. They do 2 hours of volunteer time equals 1 hour of shop time for you to work on your own bike.

In this picture above is a picture of a bike that a customer found that they liked. As a closer inspection he found there was a nice crack in the frame. This was the bike that I took apart on the last day I volunteered at the bike shop. I had lots of help. There are always other volunteers there and the workers will help you out and teach you anything you need to fix. I helped many customers that came in and had little problems on their bikes. If I didn't know how to do it someone would help and show us the right way to get the job done right and safely. If anyone is interested in volunteering and giving back to the community and they like the bikes in general or if they wanna learn more about bikes and how to work on them this is the place to do it. I am so glad I decided to go with Bikes for Humanity for my volunteering. It was a really fun experience. I learned so much about bikes and got my hands a little dirty. It felt good helping people that needed things done with their bikes as there are a lot of bicyclists in the Portland area. They are located in a nice neighborhood off of 33rd and Powell. You can donate a bike there. You can buy a bike there, get parts or work on your bike there. You can adopt a bike either by buying one outright or volunteering to earn a bike that you want, which is really cool cause if you don't have any money but want or need a bike you can work for them and get a bike. They also offer an educational bike class every Thursday evening from 5pm to 7pm for free. At the class you will learn about important bike things and skills. They demonstrate on a bike how to fix a certain thing. On Thursday night at the class we learned about different brakes and brake cables and how to tell the differences between brake cables and installed some as a team. They will get you in fast and they will get your bike back riding safely very quickly.they have a huge inventory of bikes and bike parts. They do very good honest work and aren't just there to take your money. We need more places like this in our community! I am so glad I got the chance to volunteer for Bikes for Humanity PDX. It was a pleasure meeting all the people that work there, all the other volunteers and also all the people that came in to get work on their bike done. Everyone is so friendly and nice. I give them a thumbs up and would love to do more volunteer work for them in the future possibly. Andrew is a very nice humble guy and I'm thankful I met him and got the opportunity to volunteer for this wonderful establishment.

All of the great services and programs we are offer are indefinitely on hold unfortunately. Stay tuned for a return date, and consider sharing your bike story for others to feel more connected!

Gresham Bike Hub 2019

We are happy to announce another successful season of repair clinics and workshops in Gresham’s Main City Park! Over the course of the summer we were able to provide seven 4-hour free repair clinics open to the public, seven 2-hour workshops for individuals to learn the principles of bike mechanics, one open house, and bike repair support at the June Mount Hood Community College Conservation Fair.

We were able to 

• Fix, improve, or otherwise address 91 community bikes

• Provide 74 hours of volunteer experience for members of the Gresham community and beyond.

• Accept 33 bicycle donations, guaranteeing donors a meaningful outcome for unutilized bikes.

• Educate 17 workshop participants.

Through this summer we have seen this resource grow in popularity, already seeing participants, volunteers, and donors return and express gratitude for this program. Through the support of the City of Gresham, Metro, individual donors, and volunteers, we are able to meet the needs of the Gresham community for free repairs, bike mechanic education, and sustainable reuse of bicycles.

Years ago the City of Gresham and Bikes for Humanity PDX volunteers collaborated on a vision to open up a free repair hub and hold free mechanic classes in Main City Park, just south of historic downtown Gresham. In 2016 B4H was granted to space to hold resources for the program in the MCP barn, and the space was inaugurated. We’ve been able to grow and expand our impact since then, and consistently show up for the Gresham community as a resource for mechanic education, free repairs and used parts, and a place to donate used bikes and parts. Look out for next year and enjoy these pictures from our Summer 2019 season!

7 big days of providing bike repair, reuse, and resources!

Associate Dog Mechanic Bear chilling between repairs.

Volunteer Jon after swapping knobbies out for slicks on a donation.

Our lead dog mechanic Angel. her human brandon came to us interested in learning how set up a mobile bike repair shop. he worked with us all summer to see what tools would be needed, what kind of repairs would be encountered, and what strategies would be required to fix bikes in the field.

1 day, 1 make/model (Free Spirit Brittany), 2 different donors, 2 different bikes

Greg, a B4H staffer, demonstrating the capacity of our mobile repair stand on a tandem bike.

Brandon, Bear, and a workshop student taking a break between repairs.

Jon getting ready fix all the bikes.

Bear, proudly posing after being promoted to lead dog mechanic.

Re-emerging from the Coho shelter after a brief and heavy rain storm, Andrew, Brandon, and Bear pose with a satisfied customer who had a flat fixed.

Volunteer Spotlight: Tino

The following mp3 and transcript is an interview with our wonderful volunteer Tino. In the transcript the interviewer, Darwin (Volunteer at B4HPDX) is identified with an “I” and the interviewee, Tino (valued B4HPDX community member and volunteer) is identified with a “T.” The transcript is as true to the audio as the interviewer was able to make it including punctuation and grammar that reflect the sound and flow of the speech in the interview. Because of this it does not follow traditional grammar conventions.

Picture of Tino standing next to childhood friend Frank. Text on picture reads: Who sold 6 bikes in 4 hours? The badass team at #B4HPDX did!

Interview Highlights:

“I believe in paying it forward and every kind act you do for the right reasons comes back. So in a sense Karma, I believe in Karma. So anybody that we can help, you know, it doesn’t necessarily need to come back to us, we can hope that it reaches a friend or someone that’s really in need, you know?” - Tino.

You can read the transcript HERE.

Volunteer Spotlight - Dave.

The following mp3 and transcript is an interview with our wonderful volunteer and Earn-a-bike participant, Dave. In the transcript the interviewer, Darwin (Interim Director at B4HPDX) is identified with an “I” and the interviewee, Dave (valued B4HPDX community member and volunteer) is identified with a “D.” The transcript is as true to the audio as the interviewer was able to make it including punctuation and grammar that reflect the sound and flow of the speech in the interview. Because of this it does not follow traditional grammar conventions.

Image of Dave standing in the Bikes For Humanity PDX bike-shop in front of a bike stand. There is a bicycle to the right-hand side of the image and one suspended in the bike stand Dave is in front of.

A few quick fact-check notes on the interview: 1. Pricing in the shop is subject to change - currently we have a $20 installation fee and a $40 service fee. Some bike repairs require us to apply both. 2. Some used parts do not have fixed prices and are subject to quality evaluation for price estimates.

The transcript is HERE.

Interview Highlights:

“Imagine you’re on a bike ride and you go over a nail and get a flat, you know, a lot of people are just gonna be scratching their head walking their bikes home or taking it and dropping it off at a shop and saying can you fix this for me please and go back to a $50 bill and so here, we teach you how to take your bike apart and fix that tire and you know, it might cost you the cost of the patches or maybe a new tube, or maybe a tube and tire depending on how bad it is. But it’s so beneficial to you. There is no comparison of the cost and the benefits. Bikes for Humanity really goes out of the way to help and they want people to be self-empowered,” - Dave.

“So there are tons of options and ways for people to get something that’s affordable to them wherever they’re at in their income level which is really great, it’s definitely part of our mission, and something else I think is really important that you mentioned is it does spread joy but it’s also very useful,” -Darwin.

Bikes for vans

by The Ghost In The Machine

Image is of a Grey-blue MinUTE cargo bike with an eighteen inch frame and seven-hundred c wheels. Has two large panniers.

Bikes for Humanity PDX was recently donated two Kona UTE cargo bikes (a regular UTE and a Mini or Min UTE) and the excitement was palpable. Our head mechanic threw out great ideas for how the bikes could be branded and used by the shop to carry everything we need for giving riding/bike route lessons and hauling tools, parts, and inventory to events and community partnership gatherings. Our board members discussed the potential to raffle or sell for fundraising. Our volunteers in-the-know expounded on the UTE’s many qualities and Kona’s general good name. I thought about how someone could even get the things on a bus rack given that they’re essentially the bike version of an SUV (turns out the MinUTE can go on just fine, but you have to take one of the wheels off of the regular UTE to make it fit).

Image is of a Kona UTE metallic orange twenty inch frame cargo bike with seven-hundred c wheels. Has four large panniers.

As someone who values longevity and functionality in my transportation, cargo bikes as a whole are difficult to beat. Most are meant to safely haul heavy loads, up to and including young children. The Kona UTE line, like other cargo bikes, offers everything one needs for regular errands and family outings - it works well with car-seats, can be easily modified to add more storage space (for instance, works well with front-rack installation), and is perfect for large panniers.

I’m not the biggest fan of the side of cycling culture that tries to convince everyone that bike travel is right for them. For one, it’s been my experience that often folks who proselytize like that either have cars themselves or could afford to rent one if they needed it. For two, it’s been my experience that public transportation options get disparaged in those conversations as being more inconvenient than bikes without regards to people’s individual ability levels or transportation access barriers/needs. However, it’s difficult for me personally to think of very many situations in which a cargo bike is not a better option for many people than a large van in regards to purpose of use, expense, and storage/parking options.

We’ll certainly be sad to part with these at the shop. While we can use them for so many things we need, our goal truly is to get bikes like this back to the community. Also, as amusing as it would be to try, I don’t think we’d be able to trade them in to cover rent (but it’s Portland, so who knows?). Check them out to buy HERE.

Adult Bike Riding Lessons at PCC!

Portland Community College, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), and Bikes for Humanity PDX are teaming up to bring you this exciting opportunity to learn how to ride a bike or improve upon your current bike riding skills!

On Saturday, April 13th at PCC’s Southeast Campus located on 82nd and Division, join us for free from 10 AM to 12 PM to gain new skills and practice old ones. Bikes will be provided and are also available for sale at Bikes for Humanity PDX so you’ll have the chance to test-ride a bike you might want to adopt.

Spread the word and we can’t wait to see you there!

Image is a yellow poster with PCC, Bikes For Humanity PDX and PBOT’s logos in the upper right-hand corner. The text on the poser reads: Free adult riding lessons, Saturday, 4/13, 10 AM to 12 PM. Never learned how to ride or feel rusty? This class is for you! Open to all, bikes and helmets will be provided. PCC SE (82nd and Division, Quad near Mt. Tabor Hall.

Why Bikes?

This is a question I have to ask myself a lot working here. As someone who considers myself still a veritable outsider to the bike community in Portland, and as someone with a larger personal mission in the work I do beyond transportation justice, I am constantly asking myself what role bikes play in the social, political, environmental, and economic landscapes I live in.

What needs does a bike meet? Who are bikes for? Why are bikes an icon of transportation and environmental justice? What does it mean to be a bike nonprofit? Who is our nonprofit serving? How are we being of service?

Image is of B4HPDX volunteers helping to fix bikes at the 3rd Winter Fix-It-Fair. Picture is courtesy of Fix-It-Fair organizer Lauren from Repair PDX.

I remember having some conversations with our Program Director Andrew about our mission statement. When I was first introduced to B4H, I remember it being something along the lines of, “Everyone Deserves a Bike.” Not a very concrete thing to build an organization around. There wasn’t much explanation as to why everyone deserves a bike, or how bikes are meeting any primary human right such as access to food, clean running water, safe housing, or medical care. It wasn’t until Andrew started talking about transportation justice and referred me to the work of advocates like Dr. Adonia Lugo [https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/adonia_lugo_phd], that it finally clicked.

In a society where having a home, food, clean running water, education, and health-care are seen as privileges, getting to these resources becomes a barrier in and of itself. Generally, one has to have a source of income to afford these things, so getting to work becomes a necessity. For those who have barriers to employment (such as not having a car, which is required for many occupations) or who are underemployed/underpaid, then getting to resources such as a food-pantry, shelter, sleeping-spot, or free clinic becomes another serious concern.

For some reason, despite having had times in my life where I struggled significantly with access to transportation to do all the things I just mentioned above, it never occurred to me that affordable transportation is also a primary human right we’ve made a privilege. For folks with disabilities, the need for access to personal and adaptive transportation is even more stark [https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/portland-adaptive-bikeshare].

But then what does it mean to be on what is considered a relatively slower mode of transportation in a car-paced society? That, for me at least, is a more difficult question to answer. I won’t lie, commuting on a bike for some of us is a pain and a half. That pain is exponential the further away you live from where you work or get resources. If you’re like me, you can’t really do hills or inclines on your bike. I will unapologetically get off my bike and walk for part of my commute if it involves going up something. If for no other reason than to save myself a fall-down-on-the-sidewalk-gasping-fit that would inevitably come if I attempted a climb on my bike. A slow and long commute then means everything else becomes a slower longer process.

Image of downtown Portland at twilight, taken from a bus going across a bridge. Photo taken by the author of this post.

I can’t be as productive as I’m used to being when I have the money for bus fare and the ability to show up earlier or stay later at work. I can’t do homework or answer calls, texts, or emails when I’m on my bike, either, so everything kind of has to wait until I get where I need to be. It’s an odd and at times very frustrating thing and it strangely supports another case for bikes over cars. You have to admit you’re human and accept your pace - even if that pace means less productivity and subsequently less money. It’s all an inescapable cycle, right? In this case, both figuratively and literally.

Since my conversations with Andrew, our mission statement has become tighter and more focused. We touch on our goals of environmentalism and transportation justice, “Our mission is to substantially increase public access to affordable and safe bicycles while empowering self-sufficiency in bicycle maintenance and commute,” and in some ways it provides a few answers to the very large questions I posed at the beginning of this post. But ultimately, the role bikes play in the world at large and the role they play in our individual lives is ever evolving and our real mission, at the end of the day, is to evolve with it.

Image of a purple road-bike with rack in front of a long display and work-bench that is hosting books, t-shirts, and various bike accessories/parts/tools. Image was taken by the author of this post at our SE Powell bike shop.

It Was Awesome

By Michael C.

Additional commentary by the ghost in the machine.

“Today at Bikes For Humanity it was awesome because I got to do art, clean bikes and make new friends.” - Michael C. 12-yrs-old.

When Michael and his friends came in to B4H last week I asked if they would like to do artsy stuff or bike mechanic stuff (those are the technical terms, okay). Michael said artsy stuff, which is more my wheelhouse personally, so we spent a whirlwind of an hour trying to figure out if any screen-printing or other crafty stuff needed to be done. Michael ended up helping us update our white-board and wrote the above micro-blog-post. He made promises to come back when we were ready for him to show-off his screen-printing skills.

Image Description: A row of t-shirts with the B4HPDX Earth-inside-gear logo printed on them. The shirts are hanging off of bike handle-bars.

We have so many talented, creative, and collaborative community members like Michael here at B4H, and we’re always looking to add more! Whether you like the artsy stuff or mechanical stuff or the paperwork stuff, you’re welcome to come by. We always have things to do and the best part is having people to do it with.

Image Description: Image of B4HPDX Whiteboard. Text reads: To Do For Volunteers - Profiles, Lil’Schwinn. Won’t you be my neighbor shift, Blog Posts, Udate whiteboard, clean & organize, inventory w/ Darwin or Matt, Artsy + Craftsy stuff, Bike Maintenance-y stuff, Brainstorm New Projects!, Help keep me on task w/ Darwin (seriously, help me).

The Bike for Go-Getters and Grocery-Getters

By The Ghost In The Machine

Image by Matt S. [Image description - Salsa Beargrease Fat Bike. Specs: Make - Salsa. Model -Beargrease. Frame Size - M. Size - 18”. Rims - 26x4”, Surly Rolling Darryl. Serial - 22013050690093.]

A Fat Bike is like the Ford F-150 of bikes. It’s the all-terrain off-roader’s dream, it’s the snow and ice cyclist’s necessity. For me - a person who has never been able to  afford a car on their own, a person who’s often been one of only two sources of minimum-wage income for a household of 6, and a person who has shouldered many of the domestic responsibilities that go along with providing for family and friends while below the poverty line - it has a different and slightly less adventurous appeal.

For me it’s an answer to every single time I was unable to catch a bus to work in terrible weather, either for fear of slipping on iced-over sidewalks or because the buses are running at a crawl. It’s an answer to being able to smoothly ride over the broken-up concrete and sketchy stretches of debris that run through the neighborhoods I have lived in. When I first saw the bike at the shop, I was giving it heart-emoji eyes like everyone else but for non-bike-enthusiast reasons.

I was looking at those huge, all-terrain tires and that incredibly hardy frame and I was dreaming about hitching a bike-trailer to it and doing a massive grocery run. I was thinking about how exhausted I’ve been hauling those personal grocery carts full of a month’s worth of food back from the store on foot and/or bus. I was thinking about those days being snowed-in and unable to get basics - how if my dad wasn’t always paranoid about bare cupboards and overstocking them with cheap, shelf-stable food, there would have been times we wouldn’t have been able to go get the basics.

These thoughts from someone who has lived in Oregon my whole life and never experienced a winter anywhere near the levels of someone in the Midwest or East Coast. If I’m dealing with the mild form of these struggles, I can only imagine how someone with a similar background living in less temperate conditions feels.

Of course the bike is well beyond my budget, and probably the budget of many folks reading this. One might even wonder why a non-profit bike shop focused on transportation justice and accessibility, who consistently provides affordable and earned or free bikes to the community, would price something like this so high. It’s because of the next set of thoughts that ran through my head as I listened to my fellow B4H community members talk about how much these bikes usually go for - we could be set for months.

Selling this one bike at this price could pay to keep the store open, our services and free programs going, and our employees employed (which will soon include me and yes that makes me biased - I’ve been both homeless and hungry before and I like both warmth and eating) for at least 2 if not 3 months. Which means that we’ll also be able to provide loads of other grocery-hauling, broken-pavement navigating, my-bus-is-late to-work-getting bikes for under 4% (I did the actual math folks) of what we’re asking for this bike.

So to all adventurous off-roaders, recreational bike-enthusiasts, and community members with big hearts who can afford this bike, consider purchasing it from us. Every cent is going to go back into B4H and subsequently right back into the communities we serve. You’re buying way more than a grocery-hauler or trailblazer - you’re buying us the time and resources we need to continue to make transportation more accessible to everyone.