Written by Gabriel Hurley
On a somewhat overcast Saturday in July, Elliot Sorensen smiles as he welcomes the nonstop flow of customers to the Orioles Bike Bazaar, an annual event that takes place in the hockey rink behind Orioles Community Centre. The Coordinator of the Orioles Bike Cage has been preparing for this event all year, and now he smiles as he deftly moves around the space, greeting visitors and matching children with bicycles. His goal is to get free refurbished bikes into the hands of each young visitor.
“It’s an event that everyone looks forward to because we have kids’ bikes that we give away,” he said. “Usually a trade-in is appreciated for a kid and a family that’s maybe outgrown a bike, and we provide them with a bigger bike.”
This year, he held the event in partnership with The WRENCH, a charity that builds, maintains, and repairs bicycles, with the aim of making cycling accessible to everyone. Thanks to the partnership, Elliot was able to give bikes even to kids who did not have a trade-in. He also had some refurbished adult bikes, which he was able to sell at a discount – around $100. The supply comes from donations of used bikes and trade-ins from last year’s bazaar.
The Orioles Bike Cage brought 35 children’s bikes to give away, with The WRENCH providing and additional 25. By the end of the day, every one of them found a loving new home, and the Bike Cage received between 15 and 20 donations or trade-ins. Twenty adult visitors also bought bikes for themselves. Each second-hand bike received a thorough tune-up before it was ready for the bazaar.
“We spend 4 to 10 hours” on fixing fixing each bike, says Sorensen, “and there’s one bike I sold this year that I put in about 15 hours.” That particular bike came in covered in dirt, and without handlebars or a seat. “We stripped it right down to the bare frame and washed it and cleaned every part,” recalls Sorensen, “we put derailers on, all-new cables, housing, a nice handlebar to go with that, and a comfortable seat.”
Some staff from the City of Winnipeg also joined in the fun, installing bells onto each bike. They also set up an obstacle course in the rink so that the young customers could try out their new set of wheels. Bike Cage volunteers measured each child, making sure that their legs fit, and adjusting the seats and handlebars when necessary.
The result: “a lot of happy people picking up a bike that they’re very surprised about,” says Elliot, “maybe the price, or maybe the colour, or just how well it fit, or how comfortable it was.”
