Program matches used bikes to riders a little short on cash

  • Sharon Wootton / Outbound Columnist
  • Friday, April 9, 2004 9:00pm
  • Life

Most of us have experienced the thrills and spills of bike riding, first as children giddy with the freedom, speed and parentally approved risk (and a certain amount of risk unknown to the parental units, come to think of it).

Many of us kept the two-wheelers in our lives, whether for an occasional spin, a longer ride or race, or a dash down the mountainside.

Over the years we’ve changed speeds, gears, bike size, brands, handlebar angles, tire styles and definitely sticker-shock levels.

The above applies to just about everyone but my mother, who has kept her three-speed. At 85 (my mother, not her bike), she’s entitled to do anything she wants.

Most of us have forgotten that not everyone has had those opportunities.

Fortunately, Sharing Wheels hasn’t. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to matching unused bikes to people who want wheels, but can’t afford them.

To that end, Sharing Wheels is holding a bike sale 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18 in Everett.

"The good thing is that bikes bought at the sale support Sharing Wheels. We work with low-income teens and adults and give bikes to people who need them," said Sharing Wheels volunteer Kristin Kinnamon, who also is president of B.I.K.E.S. of Snohomish County.

Last year Sharing Wheels recycled 150 bikes into the community, Kinnamon said. Money raised at the sale will be put back into the program.

Sharing Wheels offers earn-a-bike programs, free bicycle repair, bike helmets and other services.

At the sale, buyers can test ride adult mountain, comfort, BMX and road bikes, many about $50. Donations of good-condition used bikes will be accepted.

Sharing Wheels also accepts donations of equipment for its recycling program, including cables and housing, tires and tubes, lubricants and brake pads.

Experienced bikers will be at the sale to assist in bike selection, Kinnamon said, answering questions about bike types, gears, seat adjustments, and fit.

Knobby tires are not, after all, for everyone.

The sale will be held at Red Rock Subs, 3514 Broadway, Everett.

For more information, call 425-252-6952.

Take a walk. Pilchuck Audubon Society continues its family walk series with an April 17 outing to Portage Creek Wildlife Reserve near Arlington.

Meet at 9 a.m. in the employee parking lot of Key Bank at Smokey Point. Allow about three hours.

Whales and frogs are the stars of the next two talks at the Northwest Stream Center in Everett.

Gray whales get top billing during a slide show by Leo Shaw of the Seattle Aquarium.

He’ll do a show-and-tell about the annual spring and fall migrations of gray whales along the Washington coast.

Herpetologist Rob Arlen delves into the natural history of frogs and other amphibians. There will be a live collection of resident eggs and tadpoles taken from the adjacent wetland.

Weather willing and the frogs cooperating, everyone will head out to listen to the chorus.

Both programs start at 7 p.m., whales on April 14, frogs on April 16. Each costs $4 for members, $6 for nonmembers.

The center is in McCollum Park, just east of I-5 off 12th Street SE. Register in advance (425-316-8592).

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.

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