♪♪
I remember coming through this way as a young,
younger person and not a silly yellow house,
but not knowing what it really were just thinking.
It was a bike shop per se.
So it's funny in that sense how I think from back around
I was like, ‘Oh, I'm actually working for that one place.
I thought that was just the yellow house.’
-Started in this location
20 years ago, and as far as I know,
was this room a set of tools and a workstation and a group
of kids.
-I'd say it would be worth considering
booking it in for that work. -Yeah.
-Can we just do the tire today?
-Yeah, yeah.
-Great, thank you.
-I mean, I think, like works like first
and foremost is a community service
for the people that live in South Seattle.
-I bought this bike because I'm always
working on it, very knowledgeable,
and if I ever need something done, I can do it myself.
And they let me have tools and stuff instead of,
you know, they're not so hesitant.
I love riding.
So that's the whole thing. ♪♪
-(Phone conversation) Bike Works. Hello! -Hi.
-Mostly what we do is make bicycling more accessible.
-That looks like a better fit to me -For youth.
-I wanna try.
-For adults people that are, you know
traditionally marginalized by the bike community.
-I mean, the bike shop is, in my opinion,
like any other bike shop in the city.
It’s what’s attached to the bike shop
that makes a big difference.
Altogether, looking at $310.17 (unintelligible).
All the revenue we generate, um,
maintaining and selling bicycles, (background conversation)
that goes to fund our youth programs,
our adult programs.
-There are so many different departments
and-and areas of Bike Works that that make it amazing.
-Our warehouse is the heart of our organization.
It's where all of the bikes
that get donated come through and we refurbish
and then put out into the world.
-We sort of pick through
donations and try to choose whether or not to go
to adults, children back into recycling or re
donate it to organizations that will send it off
to Africa or other places in need.
-Just absolutely insane
how many usable bikes and parts are just thrown away
every year
because so many of these parts are still just as usable
as the day they were made.
-You see everything that comes in every day,
kind of like treasure hunting.
Um, but the treasure comes to you.
-Can I give you guys Mad Kat
2000?
Our youth program is 9 to 17 year olds,
we do everything from beginning bike repair.
-I see what you're talking about.
-And youth being able to do
community service projects to earn their own bicycle
all the way up to riding camps and weekly activities
for youth.
-I learned I'm about to take an intermediate class soon
and I've learned like
taking apart the whole bike, stripping it down
and putting everything back together.
-I've never actually went hands-on with something
and fixed it,
and especially
that we're
giving back to the community and not just keeping it
to ourselves. It feels even better.
-Once youth are in here and kind of see
the opportunities for leadership
and the opportunities for them to get more engaged.
If something in that stuck for them
there, they're here lifelong and a couple of
of the youth know
I've known them since they were nine years old.
So I have like
really been watching young people grow up here and
and that's not an anomaly.
So we've had people
that would come here every week and come here
every week from the minute they start until they're
18 and they've aged out.
-I've been involved off and on for 12 years.
-And when did you start?
When I was nine years old.
I can remember taking classes here back in the day
and coming here after school to hang out at the bike shop,
even though I wasn't supposed to be.
And I just
fell in love with bikes and I know we're looking at $13.15.
-And now he's a staff person here.
So yeah, it's really it's really exciting.
-Okay, thanks. -Yep.
♪♪ -We also have low barrier
ways for people to get access to a bike
like our Bike-O-Rama for children
and our Bikes for All! for adults.
This is one of our twice a week volunteer repair parties.
If it's rusty in here, then the cable's not falling.
We offer bike repair 101,
which is our most popular adult class.
-I first was looking for a place I could learn
how to fix bikes. (background conversation)
And after that,
I was looking for a place where I could practice
the skills I've learned.
And also a chance to give back to the community.
And Bike Works was a perfect fit for me. ♪♪
-Bike Works is a place that empowers
the people that come to it and interact with it.
-I watch the amount of things we give back
and I'm out there daily giving back.
So we have a really passionate
group of individuals who actually believe
that in their heart.
Bike Work is fun.
Uh, Bike Works is a place where everyone belongs.
-Each person you talk to, they have different
perspectives and like,
It's quite enjoyable to talk to all of them.
-And Bike Works is a place where
we hang out and talk about bikes.
-No, definitely not just a bike shop. Definitely not.
It's much, much more than that.
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on demand and podcast anytime at seattlechannel.org.