Recycle-A-Bicycle Cruises On

Youth Perspectives

Recycle-A-Bicycle is a T.A. program in which students learn bike repair by fixing a bicycle, which the kids can keep at the end of the course. East Harlem sixth grade students recently wrote business letters to thank the Liz Claiborne Foundation for its support. Students focused on why the project was important to them. Here's what they had to say:

Daisy Manickam: "I learned how to fix chains, flat tires, and do a front hub overhaul. I also learned the names of took."

Derek Simmons: "It was fun in the bike club. I got to learn how to fix my own bike, and I started fixing my friends' bikes. I would like to get a part-time job in a bicycle shop."

William Cooke: "If you know how to fix your own bike, it will cost no money to get the tools. We get to keep the tools forever."

Dorese Tolson: "I enjoyed going to the earn-a-bike program because it made me realize what going to work is really like. Luis, the instructor, made me realize that you won't always get what you want.

Wanda Ramirez: "I am glad that I'm going to get a bike. Right now I'm helping my dad with his bike."

Go, Mom, Go

Recycle-A-Bicycle is more than just a youth project. Members of the Parents'

Association at I.S. 218 in Washington Heights asked Recycle-A-Bicycle Director Karen Overton to teach moms to cycle. As one woman confided, "In the Dominican Republic, we were not allowed to ride bikes. But now it's the 90s. We want to ride bikes with our kids." Early one Saturday, a group of five nervous mothers came to the school's private inner courtyard for an introductory lesson. Of the five first-time cycling moms, two balanced themselves. They left elated, while the other three were determined to return. All agreed to teach any other moms who wanted to try.

Summer Session

This summer, 100 children from Washington Heights and East Harlem will participate in Recycle-A-Bicycle. Transportation Alternatives would like to extend a special thanks to the Children's Aid Society, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., and the Chase Manhattan Foundation for helping T.A. make this project a reality.