We know we have particularly excellent skills when it comes to bikes, and we know there are already a number of wonderful programs using bikes to reach out to people in the Greenville area and beyond. We offer free bike maintenance to a number of these programs to help stretch their grant dollars further. Exactly how and where we work with these programs looks a little different for each, but generally, we “diagnose” and fix problems on site, if possible, which reduces transportation costs. And since Velo Valets does free pick up and delivery, we will transport bikes that need a little more work to our shop and bring them back when they’re ready to go.
Bike Maintenance
Bike-related Initiatives
VILLAGE WRENCH
We staff a Village Wrench site in front of our shop on the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon. Here, we do free safety checks and fix (for free) bikes for people who can’t afford our services otherwise. We also work with a number of neighborhood children who can earn a new (to them) bike as well as develop skills to fix their own bikes as needed. In the process, we have developed relationships with these children, many of whom seem to like our bananas-for-pushups program.
MOMENTUM BIKE CLUBS
We provide maintenance to the Momentum Bike Clubs, which are scattered throughout the county. There are more than 100 bikes, and we do annual maintenance on them as well as fix acute problems. The maintenance is free — we just charge for parts. Carlo also provides bike maintenance classes over the summer to Momentum’s summer interns. This helps the children learn some basic bike maintenance skills and an appreciation for how a bike works. In addition, for two years, Sarah provided some basic nutrition classes to the summer interns, who were very receptive — even if they weren’t quite ready to give up on candy.
GREENVILLE HOSPITAL SYSTEM
We work with two Greenville Hospital Systems’ programs. The Bike Skills Clinic has 75 bikes in three trailers. These bikes are taken to schools and community centers, where they are used to teach kids bike safety and how to ride a bike. Again, we provide the maintenance for free, and we fix anything that breaks when needed. We only charge for parts.
Roger C. Peace’s adaptive cycle program is a wonderful way for people who have different bike needs to learn what type of cycle fits them. It also gets people out and can be an invaluable way to improve fitness, coordination, and even outlook after a major life/health event. RCP’s bikes include three-wheeled bikes, hand bikes, bikes where you lay flat … almost 20 different types. We provide all maintenance for free and have helped RCP gain some new and different bikes at cost — which really stretches their dollars. They ride twice a month or more during the late spring/summer/early fall, and if you like to ride, I urge you to get involved. This is a great program, and one of my favorites.
SAG
Carlo and Nate have provided SAG (following riders to support them if they need maintenance or other assistance) for non-profit rides in the area when needed. This isn’t a huge part of what we do, but it is something we offer occasionally. We will also sometimes provide maintenance before charity rides, just to make sure everyone gets rolling on a safe machine.
FIRST AID PROGRAM
We are working to develop a first aid program for cyclists. We don’t want anything fancy, but we are very aware that sometimes bad things happen and not everyone knows what to do. Some simple tips and tools can make a huge difference in an emergency. And a triangular bandage can make a neat sling.
HELMET VENDING
One project that we’re just starting is a kid’s helmet vending machine, which we hope to have placed on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. We would like to build a machine that carries kids’ helmets where parents/guardians can choose a helmet for their child for a nominal fee. The helmet would be coupled with an app that would allow these parents/guardians to register for a “cool” kids’ helmet — a helmet that the child will WANT to wear. The helmet will then be ordered for that child, with pick up at Velo Valets or another location, to be worked out with the parent/guardian.
We’re looking for someone to help us with the app, sponsors for the helmets and vending machines, and possibly a researcher to analyze whether this approach gets and keeps more helmets on heads.