Local project gives new life to old bikes

Grease fills the small room in Harmony Elementary School. Fifteen bikes sit in plain sight -- some of them ready to go, some not. Used seats are piled in the corner, and, across the room, tires sit neatly aligned.\nStanding in the center of the room with grease-covered hands, repairman Sasha Land inspects one of the bikes.\n"I don't like the way the seat works," he said. "It looks bent."\nHe finds a "spare" seat and discards the first one.\nThat, as he likes to put it, is "cannibalizing" the bike, or taking a part from one bike and putting it on another.\nBike surgery like that happens often in the basement of Harmony School, 909 E. Second St., the new home to the Bloomington Bike Project, where community members and children rehabilitate broken and aging bikes. \n"A lot of times they don't need much," said Bill Hayden, who helps oversee the project. "There are people who are tired of them and want a better one." \nWhen former IU students started the Yellow Bike Project three years ago, they were deluged with bikes, Haydn said. Then, the group fixed up the bikes and left them in town for people to use. \nThat didn't work. \nThe bikes were stolen or vandalized. That's when the Bloomington Bike Project started. It was geared toward the same goal of providing transportation to people in need, encouraging bike safety and promoting goodwill in the community. But this time, the bikes weren't left sitting around town. \nWith its move, the project is gaining momentum. The group organizes bike fix-up sessions several times a week to give children and adults a chance at their own bike. Their main program is the "Earn a Bike Program," in which people who can't afford a bike can repair and keep one.\nVolunteers meet several times a week, primarily on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, below ground at Harmony. On this particular Saturday afternoon, a handful of volunteers file in. Yawns and tired eyes aside, they get to work. \nDressed in overalls, sneakers and a T-shirt, Jolene Miller, a senior, rummages through old tires. She's been a volunteer for the past year. In that time, she's learned how to fix bikes and brakes and to adjust spokes, among other things.\n"I love to ride bikes," she said, as she set her bike up on a stand. "It's nice to feel you may be able to fix your own bike."\nMiller comes on Thursdays to help young cyclists on their projects. At Harmony, students are required to volunteer. A handful of children come in religiously, she said, and learn the basics.\n"It's small," she admitted, "but we're working on starting up a class. It's a lot of one-on-one."\nBut Hadyn, a retiree and self avowed bike lover, doesn't want it to stay that way. He wants to see more people get involved and wants more attention to be given to issues important to cyclists.\n"There are a lot of volunteers and community people who care about the same issues. They are working at grassroots level to make a difference," he said.\nThe project has been successful, but he admits surviving for three years hasn't always been an easy ride. Over the years, the project has suffered a loss of volunteers and faced dwindling funds. The volunteers are hoping a bike sale will fix that. \n"It's been successful enough to keep trying and keep working at it," he said.\nLand, a 17-year-old Harmony student, plans to keep helping others learn about bike safety. He is the only paid employee and lives his work. In other words, he protests cars.\n"I want to avoid getting a car for as long as I can."\nFor him, the project is a natural place -- grease and tire racks. "I've been biking since I was 4. This is great place for me. I get to take stuff apart"