BUTTE - A junkyard is where old cars go to die, but there’s a place in Butte where old bicycles go to get new life.
The Bike Lab is a community-based bike shop where people can restore their old bikes. Several volunteers came out recently to restore bikes for the Kiwanis Club’s annual bike giveaway set for next month.
“It’s been great, just an outpouring of support. You see all these guys helping wrenching and all the donations of bikes, yeah, it’s a wonderful community,” said Bike Lab owner Dave Hutchins.
Volunteers were eager to grab their tools and help out.
“Kids need bikes and I think it’s great to keep them off … I should say, on the streets on their bike on the street doing good things,” said volunteer Jim Ward.
Some donated bikes required more work than others, but the crew was ready to make each one roadworthy.
“This is a great one. This lady just dropped it by 10 minutes ago. So, we just aired the tires up and gave a quick adjustment on the brakes and the gears and it’s ready to go. Some young girl will be able to ride it,” said Ward.
Butte Kiwanis Club members are excited to give away these bikes.
“I actually used to go to these when I was young, and so it’s kind of really neat to see this as an adult and being able to be a part of it,” said Kendra Carlson of the Butte Kiwanis Club.
The owner of Bike Lab says he would like to generate more interest in the sport of cycling because to him he sees a lot of positives in this activity.
“It addresses a lot of the problems we’re facing right now from the biggest issues like climate change and obesity to the most basic like people need transportation to their jobs and their medical appointments,” said Hutchins.
The Bike Rodeo will be on June 4th from 10 am to 12:30 pm at the Butte Civic Center.
DIGITAL EXTRA:
MTN's John Emeigh shows us where the cool kids (and adults) bike in Butte:
