Holiday Bike Drive 2011

Last month I got to take part in the Community Cycling Center’s Holiday Bike Drive. It’s best explained in their words:

Every year, the Community Cycling Center provides hundreds of children with their first bicycles, new helmets, and basic safety education. It is a huge, community-building event that we work toward all year long and culminates in one amazing day in December.

For the past few months I have been helping to repair and refurbish an endless stream of donated kids bicycles at the Community Cycling Center’s shop, all leading up to the one-day event in which they are all given away. This was my first year taking part in it, and was expecting a room full of 500+ screaming kids and families going crazy over bikes, but it was one of the most organized and well thought-out events I have ever been to, especially for the scale. I worked as an escort, in which I walked families and children through the process of getting a helmet and a bicycle. It was really something special to see how happy the kids were to finally receive their new bikes. The previous day I also assisted with transporting all of the bikes from the warehouse to the event space. In all, it was of the best and most fulfilling weekends I’ve ever had. Check out the full set of pictures here and if you’d like please donate to the Community Cycling Center. Every dollar helps and goes towards promoting access to bicycling and its benefits through hands-on programs, volunteer projects, and a neighborhood bike shop.

Click photo for photographer credits.