Bike Clinic 2025 Debrief
Hi everyone,
We are still sore and tired from last Saturday, but we’re so glad that we met so many new people and were able to accomplish something amazing together: we cleaned and maintained 51 bikes and raised $2,362! This has dethroned our Makers Market for highest amounts of funds raised in a single event. Our fundraising total is now just under $79k, absolutely incredible.
This event had a much bigger scope than the previous year, but we had much more support. We had three cleaning stations, all run by volunteers as a part of The Way Church’s Serve Day initiative, and we’re so grateful. We also had four repair stands, one of which was loaned to us by a very kind local bike shop - Mactalla Cycles. Our volunteer mechanics Josiah and Todd did excellent work under pressure, and were helped by Evan, Jacob, and Sam. I also pitched in wherever I could, but there were times where everything was under control in their very capable hands. The Way Church also provided some tables and a tent for us to use, which was great. Sandy did the lion’s share of check-ins and check-outs, which kept everything moving very smoothly and allowed us to get through those dozens of bikes. We are also very grateful to the Woodland Park Community Garden for allowing us to use their hose spigot for the event.
This year, I had sent off some emails to Vancouver City council, and I was very pleasantly surprised that Councillors Pete Fry and Sean Orr were able to take the time out of their busy schedules and visit the event. I was very glad for the opportunity to tell them about what we were doing, and what other bike shops were doing about cycling and refugee advocacy in the city.
I’d also like to highlight Kinbrace, which is a refugee settlement and support organization. Their resource developer Laura connected me with bike shops and other groups that helped us get the material resources that we needed for this event. If you or someone you know are excited to help refugees in a tangible way, please contact them or consider participating in their annual Ride for Refuge charity event, hosted this year on October 4th.
If you are interested in developing bike maintenance skills so you can help out next year, please reach out to Our Community Bikes- their training program is excellent and they do incredible work to increase access to bikes in the city.
Thank you so much everyone,
