Working Bikes board members and founders Lee Ravenscroft and Amy Little recently returned from a trip to El Salvador and Guatemala, where they visited community bike shops and WB partners CESTA and Bici-Tec.

CESTA, located in San Salvador, El Salvador, is the Center for Appropriate Technology in El Salvador – also know as Friends of the Earth and Eco-Bici. This project focuses on environmental and cycling projects in the community, working with students from all over the area. Lee and Amy also visited a couple of flat coastal towns, where CESTA has several affiliated bike shops. These were very successful projects in agricultural areas, having received bikes from all over the world – including bikes from Working Bikes(!), Bikes Not Bombs, Cycle Nord Sud, and Bikes for the World. Cycling conditions are great in these coastal regions, with a wide area on the side of the road for pedestrians and cyclists.

We’ll be shipping bikes out to CESTA this week on Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th!

Bici-Tec is based in San Andres Itzapa, Guatemala. This is a social enterprise run by the family of Carlos Maroquin. Carlos was busy with Easter Week festivities. 30,000 young people were descending on San Andreas and Carlos and family were hosting about eight of them. Amy and Lee got to see three Bici-Tec owned properties – the main bike shop, a bike machine shop with dorm rooms for students learning how to make the machines, and a warehouse where they store bikes.

We are always grateful for the chance to meet our international partners and see how our donated bikes are serving their communities! Check out more photos from Amy & Lee’s trip!

Good news everyone! We’re about to switch over to Spring/Summer hours! Starting Sunday, April 14th, our shop hours will be:

Wed-Fri: 11am-7pm
Sat: 10am-6pm
Sun: 11am-4pm

Now is the perfect time to stock up on all your riding needs, including your row boats and cocktail dresses as seen in this 1965 ad for a folding bike. What better way to start the season off than by taking your bike on a lovely trip around the lake!

To celebrate the official start of Working Bikes Spring Riding Season, we’ll be giving a free article of cycling apparel to anyone who buys a bike on the 14th! So come by from 11am-4pm to stock up on all your necessary but ridiculous looking cycling wear.

*Also, our shop will be closed on Sunday, April 21st for the Easter Holiday*

This past December, Working Bikes got into the holiday spirit by donating over 300 to local organizations and communities. Our trip to Gary, IN was our largest, with 111 bikes and helmets going to the kids of the First AME Church after school program! The congregation reached out to Working Bikes back in the fall after the nearby library closed down. With the program hosting up to 80 kids a day, the library was a valuable resource for computer access and school work (the church itself only has 4 computers, and of those were recently donated at the end of the year). With the next closest library located about 20 blocks away, many of the students were unable to complete assignments. That’s where we come in! These bicycles donated in December will help students get the library quickly and safely. Working Bikes is looking forward to continue to partner with First AME on more related events, such as a mechanic workshop and a bike parade!
This live-changing donation was made possible by the hard work of our volunteers and mechanics, who helped repair hundreds of kids bikes this winter!

Have you ever walked into the Working Bikes shop and wondered: “where do all these bikes come from!?” Well, a good number of bikes we receive are donated by individuals. Each one comes with its own special story, and today we’d like to highlight one in particular.

On August 4, 2018 bk Elmore was called out to Flossmoor for a donation pick-up. There, he met Edward and Edith Turkington. As a college student, Mrs. Turkington had purchased a pinned-brake Raleigh in the early 1950s as a way to get around Boston. Eventually, her and the Raleigh relocated to the Chicago area. After many decades of riding, the Turkingtons called Working Bikes to give this classic bike a second life. Below is a picture of the couple and the cherished wheels.

It’s always a wonderful surprise when someone not only donates a bike, but entrusts us with a family heirloom. We hope to find a new home for this beloved ride soon!

Devon is joining Working Bikes as our new Community Engagement Manager. She moved from Portland, Oregon less than a month ago in pursuit of new adventures and good hot dogs. A graduate of Lewis & Clark College, Devon is passionate about bringing people together, whether it be for a volunteer event or a chili cook-off. Since graduating in 2014, she has worked for a number of nonprofits, serving as an outreach manager, development assistant, volunteer coordinator, and coffee cup mascot. Originally from Seattle, Devon is excited to explore Chicago on her trusted Surly Straggler, Buffy.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us last week! It was our most successful celebration yet! We had a record 30 sponsors, over 250 attendees, 19 Silent Auction Packages, and buckets of fun!

A HUGE shoutout to Lagunitas Chicago TapRoom & Beer Sanctuary for the beer and the ambiance. We also want to say thank you again to all our sponsors, including Nancy Gerrie, Christopher Burke Engineering, Marcia Bogolub, Jenner & Block LLP, TTX Company, Jim Lindsey, Wheel & Sprocket, Andrew and Gail Brown, Freeman Kevenides Law Firm, Keating Law Offices, Susan Senturia and Frederic Juengling, SRAM, Ken Weissman, Chris Fortune, Howard Epstein and Gay Sigel, Troy Hernandez, Cameron Sutton, IV Ashton, David Weber, CIBC US, Jill Olswanger, Stephen Siegel, Bob Glaves, Alvin Katz, David Williams, West Town Bikes, Active Transportation Alliance, Pete Travnicek, Mutual Federal Bank, Eric Wood, and Trevor Grant.

See all event pictures here.

As of September 19, 2018, Maja Perez will be leaving Working Bikes and moving home to Bakersfield, California. In the last three years Maja has been instrumental in the creation of Working Bikes’ WTF! Night on Thursdays, as well as implementation and development of the Salesforce CRM software within Working Bikes acquisitions and volunteer programming.

“Without getting too much into the weeds, Maja’s work with Salesforce has allowed us to better catalog, communicate with, and serve those who collect and donate bikes. This alone makes our work more sustainable and efficient.”

Maja, along with Trian Alexander, also piloted Working Bikes’ format of two monthly newsletters, one focused at the entire community as well as another which is directed towards current volunteers.

Maja will truly be missed at Working Bikes, but her dedication as well as the systems she has created will long serve Working Bikes in example and deed.

During the transition in hiring a new Communications Manager Maja will work remotely. WTF! will still continue Thursday nights and will be hosted by our very own Mikela “Keke” Pinkney!