Posted Mar 16, 2014, 1:46 AM
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Ham-burgher
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Hamilton
Posts: 6,515
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Bike shares, bike paths, bike lanes... all good and worthy of discussion as important issues for any city. But this is a little different, and it matters a lot in terms of the impact it makes.
To the people that made this happen: 
What a great thing to do.
Giveaway keeps bikes out of the scrap yard
(Hamilton Spectator, March 15 2014)
Downtown Bike Hounds doesn't sell kids' bikes. They just give them away.
"We don't want to sell kids' bikes, we just want kids to have bikes," shop owner Sean Burak, 36, says. "We want to keep every bike out of the scrap yard."
On Saturday morning, Burak and friend Robert Iszkula, 30 — who opened his own bike shop on Locke Street last year — parked dozens of pint-sized bicycles at the corner of Locke and Herkimer Streets for their first annual giveaway.
Burak has been giving away kids' bikes here and there since he first opened shop in 2008 (first on Cannon Street East, now located on John Street North).
But this year, the cyclist-enthusiast pair decided to save up their bikes and give them away all at once — offering tune-ups and test rides on the spot.
Anyone riding by was invited to bring their own bikes, too, for a spring tune-up.
"It enables people to get biking again," Iszkula said Saturday morning, wrench in one hand, coffee in the other.
"People bring in bikes with, like, one flat tire that they were going to throw in the garbage," Burak says. Nine times out of 10, he says, they're perfectly good.
As families came by to scoop up a free bike Saturday, many ended up returning with old ones — outgrown or broken that had been collecting cobwebs in garages and basements.
Jeff Tessier brought daughter Maura, 7, who picked out a sparkly purple number. A half hour later, they returned with three bikes Maura and her brother had outgrown.
"We have no use for them anymore," Jeff said. "They can give them to kids that can use them — it's really awesome what Sean and Rob are doing."
Another family stopped by was the Vanderkwaak gang — avid cyclist couple Heidi and Reuben made headlines back in 2011 when they headed out on a year-long cycling journey around the continent with their two young kids in tow.
While neither young Eden or Harper needed a new bike, they are happy to support anything cycling-related. The family is heading a 'Kidical Mass' group ride on the second Sunday of every month.
"It's part of a global movement… designed to get kids out biking, on streets," Reuben said.
There's this tendency, he says, that kids need to ride their bikes in the park.
"But you can ride your bike to the park, safely," he says.
When they started the ride last year, they got between five and 20 riders each month. Now, with flyers and a Facebook group, they're hoping to see it grow. The rides start in Corktown Park and end up at a destination such as Gage Park or Bayfront Park.
For more information on the ride, visit the Kidical Mass Facebook group.
Anyone with old kids' bikes looking to donate them are welcome to drop them off at Downtown Bike Hounds (19 John St. N., 905-525-9497) or Bike Locke (246 Locke St. S., 905-769-4320).
At final count Saturday, they gave away almost 20 bikes and had another 10 donated in return. Burak says they are planning another giveaway for early spring.
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