25 years and counting: How Working Bikes provides wheels to those in need locally and across the globe

Ever wonder how to route bikes from Mundelein to Malawi? Hampshire to Honduras? Lisle to Lesotho? Chicago-based nonprofit Working Bikes knows how to do just that, shipping more than 9,000 used bikes last year from metro Chicago to countries like those mentioned.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary with an Oct. 5 party, Working Bikes breathes new life into used bikes by redistributing them to local and global communities. Donated from throughout the Chicago area, bikes are either refurbished for resale/giveaway in Chicago or the suburbs or shipped to project partners in foreign countries.

Since 1999, Working Bikes has supplied more than 150,000 bikes, much credit going to suburban donations, according to executive director Trevor Clarke.

“A vast majority of our collection partners are in the suburbs,” Clarke said. “A majority of our bikes, over two-thirds, conservatively, come from the suburbs.”

In 2023, Working Bikes collected nearly 13,000 bikes. Besides 9,000 headed to Africa and Central America, more than 2,300 went to the underserved in Chicago and the suburbs, and nearly 1,500 were sold locally.

Donor diversity

Early years found Working Bikes co-founder Lee Ravenscroft of Chicago paying $5-$10 per bike from scrappers at metal recyclers. The uppermost thought was the environmental value of repairing and reusing bikes while enabling transportation for thousands.

Former board member Eric Wood reported leading one of Working Bikes’ earliest collection events at his church, Elmhurst First Methodist.

“Our mechanics were awestruck by the quality of those bikes. That finally convinced them it was worth paying for the truck and fuel to collect at events,” said Wood.

From April to October 2024, more than 25 suburban collection events were driven by historically diverse sources: Scouting groups, municipalities, sustainability committees and nonprofits, including churches.

In Addison, Kay McKeen, executive director of School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education, said SCARCE has collected for Working Bikes for many years, including helmets, trailers, baskets and tools.

Kane County Recycling Program coordinator Clair Ryan said Aurora’s Hesed House homeless shelter program coordinated bike donations at July’s Recycling Extravaganza in St. Charles.

Originally, residences constituted website drop-off locations; more than 15 remain listed. An early collector, Gary Gilbert, Arlington Heights Bicycle Club ex-president and former Working Bikes board member (2007-12), estimated “hundreds of bikes” have packed his garage and basement from both owners and “repeat curb pickers.”

As Gilbert’s space dwindled, Working Bikes or Schaumburg’s Alan Lloyd offloaded the accumulated bikes. Lloyd, an ex-board member, received fewer donations at his listed home than Gilbert, so as early as 2004, he’d load Gilbert’s bikes, plus those at Northwest suburban bike shops, onto his Tacoma pickup, balancing up to 40 at a time.

For mileage reimbursement, he began tracking bike cargo in 2013, totaling over 15,000 delivered through August 2024. Among other shops, Lloyd stopped at Wauconda’s Main Street Outfitter. Manager Tammy Harmon said they’ve collected bikes over eight years, mostly from customers facing costly repairs deciding to purchase new and from curb pickers.

Bartlett’s Spin Doctor Cyclewerks is another of the 15 shops accepting donated bikes. Owner Aaron Stephens supplies about 60 bikes yearly from both pickers and customers buying new. Thirteen other suburban and Chicago shops funnel bike donations.

Transportation workhorses

Ravenscroft stresses how bikes are transportation workhorses in developing countries, hence the name “Working” Bikes.

“Bikes can carry 10 times their weight, are five times faster and more efficient than walking. One can overload a bike with product for market, then throw it atop a bus to return home.”

International shipments have been integral to Working Bikes’ mission since inception. Its first overseas container sailed in 2002. While we may view bikes through a recreation/fitness lens, underserved populations see tools for self-determination, allowing access to employment, education, medical facilities, and more.

Ravenscroft and his wife, co-founder Amy Little, experienced firsthand these developing world workhorses. Little’s Peace Corps years in Guatemala (1981-83) and Ravenscroft’s mid-1980s volunteer work in Nicaragua revealed their life-changing value.

Clarke estimates 70% of bikes go to international partners.

“We do a cursory assessment to ensure they’re worth shipping,” said Ravenscroft. “Our partners are able to fix 95% of bikes shipped to them.”

They must also be skilled at taking delivery of shipments, making connections and negotiating any customs duties involved. It’s unwise paying the freight to ship 500-600 bikes if the container languishes dockside.

Volunteerism is key

Paid staff was far from the founders’ original concept.

“But we had to go that route,” Little said. “We really had too many things that needed to get done. Board members still do more work than just fundraising. They get involved in the physical activity: collecting and loading bikes, hosting tabling activities at community events.”

Volunteerism remains a bedrock of Working Bikes. Nearly 800 volunteers logged over 6,400 hours in 2023, pretty evenly split between Chicagoans and suburbanites, according to Clarke.

“We are an organization founded, grown and governed by incredible volunteers,” he said, speaking as a former volunteer himself. “Even though we're turning 25, we're still energized by new folks who get involved each year: total novices learning alongside more experienced volunteers, people uninterested in mechanics who sort parts, schlep bikes around, or keep the warehouse tidy.”

Newest board member Claire Meyers, a Glen Ellyn native, fits that description as a lifelong cyclist who is admittedly not mechanical. She started volunteering in 2022, learning to wrench in mechanics training. She appreciates the cooperative vibe she’s experienced.

That volunteer spirit stands out as a principal Working Bikes value, according to Little. “It’s very life-affirming that so many people want to donate their time to helping others.”

• Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.