About two weeks ago, I mentioned finding a Bike Library in Shirley Chisholm State Park. Until then, I was aware of only one bike library, in Iowa City, which I learned about by chance.
If the idea is spreading, I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, when I first encountered Recycle-A-Bicycle in my hometown of New York, I thought it was the only program of its kind. Now I see that the concept—which involves fixing bicycles for sale or to distribute to kids and people who can’t afford them—has spread all over the country. Those programs often involve classes in which kids learn to fix, and earn, bikes as well as volunteer opportunities.
One thing I have always loved about such programs is that they bypass the elitist racer mentality that intimidates people when they walk into shops. I was once one of those cyclists who believed that if you weren’t pedaling what Grand Tour riders used and didn’t live on and for your bike, you weren’t a real cyclist. I now realize that riders like me were a reason why the US didn’t (and in most areas, still doesn’t ) have a cycling culture. On the other hand, programs like Bike Recyclers show people that bikes can be a viable form of transportation and that you don’t need to have the newest, latest and most expensive, any more than you need a Formula One car to drive to your family’s holiday get-together in another state.
Folks like Ross Willard are the reason why at least some people understand that new bikes aren’t the only good bikes and, most importantly, how tomake cycling practical and safe. Best of all, he started Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg in a city that, while it’s Pennsylvania’s state capital, has faced economic challenges. Also, because it’s more spread out than, say, Philadelphia, and lacks public transportation, residents rely heavily on cars.
Like most worthwhile change, the shift toward bicycling and other forms of non-automotive transportation has come slowly. But Ross Willard got the wheels rolling, if you will. He, who passes away last weekend, should be remembered and honored for that.
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