Bicycle Co-Op of Williamsburg April Report!

The Bicycle Co-Op of Williamsburg It’s hard to believe that one year ago, April 1, 2022, the volunteers of the Bicycle Co-Op of Williamsburg held our Grand Opening.  (We had been open – “softly” – since the previous November.)  We’ve learned a lot in a year. We’ve learned to have plenty of bikes on hand in the spring because, as soon as the weather warms up, people start thinking about getting a bike. We’ve learned how many people want to learn how to fix their own bikes, so our “DIY” bike repair hours have been a hit.  Bring your bike in, and one of our mechanical volunteers will guide you through your repair.  There were the twin boys, seniors at William and Mary, who brought a bike in to learn how to fix a flat tire.  There was the veteran long-distance touring cyclist who learned how to overhaul his disk brakes.  The examples could go on and on. We’ve learned how eager social service agencies in our community are to partner with us, referring clients who need a bicycle at no cost.  (We’ve provided more than 100 bicycles since we opened.) We’ve learned how it truly is a world wide web: The father of a William and Mary student, in Australia, googled bike shops in Williamsburg, which resulted in his daughter coming in to buy a bike.  (She was recruited from Australia to play basketball for William and Mary.) We’re very thankful to the Williamsburg Community Foundation and their grants over the past two years.  We have used these funds to furnish our now-fully equipped repair facility in the back of the shop. Many of the folks who come in haven’t ridden a bicycle in years, and think it would be a good way to exercise, but don’t want to spend a lot of money.  They leave with a high quality used bicycle that is in excellent working order.  Some come in because their only bike is a hybrid, and they think they might want to try a road bike, but they don’t want to spend a lot of money.  Conversely, one fellow said, “I’ve never had a bike with wider tires, so I’ve never been able to ride on trails.”  We fixed him up with a fine hybrid bike.  What fun it is for the sales volunteers to help a customer choose a bike that fits his/her body and his/her riding plans! Have you been in to see us?  The Bicycle Co-Op of Williamsburg is in the James-York Plaza on Merrimac Trail. Would you like to join the team of those refurbishing bikes?  (You’ll learn a LOT, under the tutelage of our lead mechanics!)  Or, would you like to join the team of those helping customers choose bikes that fit their needs?  Click: [url] docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbT8S01b7LHWGcUtmIoh3u2m_R2lkbujI7lo506CLR1xUW8A/viewform [/url] Andy Ballentine