Successful “Pay What You Can Bike Sale” hooks-up 57 youths with new-to-them bikes

Successful “Pay What You Can Bike Sale” hooks-up 57 youths with new-to-them bikes

by Essex Free Press Staff 

For youths, having a bike means adventure – and depending on their age – a sense of independence and freedom.

With summer weather here, area youths without a set of two-wheels to call their own were able to tap into the “Pay What You Can Bike Sale” on Saturday.

  During the course of the four-hour event, 57 youths and youngsters in the community were able to get their hands on a new-to-them bike.

  That made the event a success.

  At the bike sale, residents had the opportunity to pay what they could afford for a gently used, refurbished bike for their children.  

  Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy teamed up with Bike Windsor-Essex and its Bike Kitchen to host the event from the parking lot at Essex Home Hardware.

  Leading up to the event, those with a bike or two collecting dust in the garage were able to drop them off and donate them to the cause. From there, staff and volunteers from the Bike Kitchen completed needed repairs before displaying them during the event.

  Bondy noted they started the day with 67 bikes, leaving just ten unclaimed by the end of the event. The Bike Kitchen will make them available through its shop or at another similar event hosted throughout the region.

  Kingsville Deputy Mayor Kim DeYong hosted a similar event in Kingsville and forwarded her contact at the Bike Kitchen to Essex’s Mayor, so Essex kids could benefit from the program.

  Ron Drouillard, Executive Director of Bike Windsor-Essex, noted events like these not only provide families a chance to get bikes for their youths at a reasonable price, but they also ensure the bike is the right size for their kids. They were also looked over and even worked on by Bike Kitchen staff, ensuring they were in working order.

  Bike Windsor-Essex hosts a myriad of programs for the community to teach youths bike safety, and cyclists the opportunity to learn how they can repair their own equipment, Drouillard noted. It also hosts a valet program at certain events, where staff and volunteers look after bikes for cyclists as they enjoy amenities.

  Those who have bikes to donate to the program can connect with the Bike Kitchen, located at 862 Walker Road in Windsor. There, its shop also sells refurbished and new bicycles to those looking to tap into the hobby that promotes physical activity, connecting with nature, and what Drouillard said contributes to improving mental health.

  Interest in cycling has increased, Drouillard noted. The Bike Kitchen started the spring with 300 bikes to sell, and is now down to 17 currently.

  He said those involved with Bike Windsor-Essex love cycling and find it to be an honour and privilege to fix them up.

  Leading up to the Essex event, he said the Bike Kitchen received a sizable donation from Canadian Tire West Windsor, which allowed its volunteers and staff to fix them up and get them into the hands of youth who need them.

  Bondy extended a “thank you” to Essex Home Hardware for use of the parking lot, to the Essex County OPP for helping children find the right-sized bikes, and to Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais for providing the coffee and Timbits.

  Those who would like to donate their bikes to the Bike Kitchen can drop them off locally at 255 Wellington Street Harrow, 12009 Ducharme Lane McGregor, and 15 Iler Ave Essex.