GETTING WORKERS ON THEIR WHEELS
Hartford shop provides restored bikes for residents in need of two-wheel transportation
HARTFORD – It’s hard for Richard Dixon to make it from school to his job and then home again at the end of a day. If buses aren’t running or he can’t borrow a car, he could be stuck walking or unable to show up where he needs to.
That’s all about to change for Dixon, a 43-year-old Hartford resident who takes manufacturing classes at Manchester Community College in the day and works at night at the XL Center. Last week, he secured his own two-wheel transportation with a recently repaired bike through the “Bikes for Jobs” program run by the BiCi Co. Community Bike Shop on Park Street.
“I’m about to ride this bike home right now,” Dixon said, chuckling as he swung a leg over the seat and strapped his new helmet on for the first time last Wednesday afternoon.
Dixon’s new wheels are the 61st bicycle the shop has provided to Hartford locals through the Bikes for Jobs program since last June. Right now, they’ve got a waiting list of 42 people in need of a more efficient way to get around.
Charities, churches, parole officers or other support groups will recommend a person they know needs a bike to BiCi Co., and the shop will get that person mobile as soon as possible. Dixon found the shop, which is run by the Center for Latino Progress, through a teacher with the center.
“I first came into the shop last winter, came back, got fitted, and here we are now.
Just three visits,” Dixon said.
He said he likely could have gotten a bike sooner but waited until the weather shifted from cold and snow to a more bike-able climate.
The restored bikes come with a helmet, lock and blinkers on the handlebars and seat for $20, a cost that’s often covered by sponsorship for people who come through the Bikes For Jobs recommendation system. The program is mainly funded through the Fisher Foundation and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Joseph Dickerson runs the program and said he’s seen it become especially helpful for people who work early morning or late shift jobs when public transportation isn’t available.
In Dickerson’s eyes, providing these bikes can also have an impact beyond simply helping people get to work. He sees the the potential growth of Hartford’s biking community as a benefit to the city’s health, traffic flow and carbon footprint. Replacing two or three weekly trips by car with a bike ride can make a big difference, he said.
“It’s our little piece of something we think is important for the city,” Dickerson said.
The BiCi Co. shop on Park Street functions as a repair shop and a training space for locals looking to take bike maintenance into their own hands. Behind the front desk, three workshops stocked full of bikes in varying conditions are home to a crew of volunteers either honing in their own skills or teaching bicycle mechanics to newcomers. The used bikes that leave the shop come out with a personal touch.
“We stand behind it. We’ll stand behind that bike. We want to get you that bike and make sure you’re happy on it,” Dickerson said.
Many of the volunteers working on bikes during the shop’s repair hours each afternoon are high school kids from the area looking for something to do when school’s out.
The day Dixon came in to pick up his bike, Eli Oliveras was working with a team attaching tires and pedals to used bicycle frames.
Oliveras, a 19-year-old from Hartford, has been with BiCi Co. since the beginning. He said on his first day in the shop as an eighth grader, the front windows were still covered with newspaper, and bikes were stacked everywhere.
He started volunteering as part of the shop’s “Earn-a-Bike” program, where people can learn mechanic skills and eventually take home a bike through sweat equity.
“I was just a kid playing sports and doing stuff, but there were places I needed to go, and you can’t just buy a car as a kid,” Oliveras said.
For him, his time in the shop is worth more than the technical skills he’s learned.
“It’s mentoring,” Oliveras said. “It’s the things people tell you about life, the things they just say in the shop.”
Right now, Dickerson said BiCi Co. can provide three bikes a week and is funded for 50 bikes per year. He said he’d like to be able to provide around 100 each year and has hopes for the shop’s future.