Cycle Program Is on a Roll ; Group Gives Bikes To Kids in Need
Posted on: Friday, 28 October 2005, 15:00 CDT
By MICHAEL DAVIS Journal Staff Writer
A South Valley bike recycling program is going citywide.
Richard Rivas' Community Bike Recycling Program is preparing to distribute bikes to needy children throughout the city.
The bike recycling program is a grass-roots effort started by Rivas and the Vecinos del Bosque Neighborhood Association. It has partnered with several other neighborhood associations, Albuquerque Public Schools, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, the Albuquerque Alliance for Active Living, and several other public and private groups to get bikes to those who don't have one.
"This is one of those projects that makes Albuquerque a special, special place to live," Mayor Martin Chavz said at a news conference at Rivas' South Valley bike shop. "I was asked to save bikes from the landfill so they could be recycled here. I'm going to do that, but we as a community need to do more than that. I'm here to ask people not to throw their bikes away. Drop them off here; even the worst ones can be salvaged for parts."
During the year or so the program has been around, more than 150 bikes have been donated to needy children and families. Most have been donated in the South Valley. But with the city's support Rivas said he plans to donate 25 bikes to one school a month all over town.
"It's really exciting to see the smiles on the faces of the kids when they get their bikes and new helmets," he said. "We have a list of schools waiting for bikes and we are going to make sure those kids get them throughout the year."
Rivas and volunteers from neighborhood associations and other organizations have been taking rickety, rusty old bikes that haven't seen a road in years and giving them an extreme makeover. While the bikes don't resemble custom choppers, they are all roadworthy and safe.
The proud owners of the made-over bikes also get helmets and lessons on the rules of the road.
Rivas said the program, like many of the bikes he picks up, still needs lots of help.
"We always need volunteers to help distribute the bikes or to help fix them," he said. "We also want your old bikes."
Source: Albuquerque Journal
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