Betty Morris is volunteering on a rainy Wednesday morning at Pedal It Forward’s new bike shop at the Jones Center in Springdale– as she does three times a week. Right now, she’s teaching a newer volunteer how to repair a bicycle. Morris has been a volunteer with Pedal It Forward for a few years now but previously spent a lot of time at their Bentonville shop. She said volunteering in Springdale is easier for her.
“I can ride my bike here,” Morris said. “I didn't in the rain.”
Morris is one of many volunteers who work with Pedal It Forward to collect, refurbish, and redistribute bikes to people who might not be able to afford one otherwise. She’s a cyclist herself and said she enjoys helping provide her neighbors with the same experience.
“It's such a great thing for, as a bike rider, to put a bike in everybody's hands that wants one,” she said. “When you're on the trails, you don't see any bikers with frowns. They're all they're all happy with big smiles, and it's just a fun way to get outside and enjoy God's creation.”
Like many volunteers, Morris is not a professional mechanic. She said she learned pretty much all of what she knows about repairs from folks at Pedal It Forward, like shop manager Justin Thacker.
Thacker is a new addition to the organization. He’s only been with the nonprofit for four months and said he can already see the impact the new space is creating.
“Having a third shop is awesome,” Thacker said. “We're reaching a different demographic down in Springdale. So we're reaching just a larger audience, more people are finding out about us. We can basically help a wider range of people.”
Pedal It Forward only had facilities in Rogers and Bentonville before the Jones Center shop opened last month. Before that, Washington County was an untapped territory.
“Some people can't travel to Bentonville or Rogers to get bikes, even if they need a bike,” Thacker said. “So being here in Springdale opens us up to the Fayetteville area. Opens us up to Springdale, obviously, Lowell. So yeah, just reaching a larger audience is the biggest pro to this shop, definitely. And having more space, having new volunteers, we're expanding our volunteer base. Yeah, it's been great.”
The new shop also allows the organization to broaden its mission. Kenny Williams, the executive director of Pedal It Forward, said the Jones Center facility will allow them to give away more bikes and keep them running longer.
“We've historically not repaired bikes,” Williams said. “But, specifically out of the Jones Center shop, we're going to start experimenting with ways to keep our recipients' bikes running, specifically those who cannot afford to spend money at our local bike shops. We actually are partnering with local bike shops to support this mission so that we don't conflict with their business, but we keep more people on working bikes.”
The maintenance program is still under development and will be need-based. However, Williams said caring for the bikes that Pedal It Forward gives away is an increasingly necessary offering.
“Through the research that we've done with our recipients,” Williams said, “we've found that the number one reason someone stops riding is because they received a free or cheap bike, the bike subsequently broke down, and they're unable to afford the repairs, and that's what makes them stop cycling. And so we're going to use our volunteer pool to do a little bit of education and expand into some bike service.”
As the nonprofit’s Jones Center shop manager, Thacker said he doesn’t predict there will be any shortage of volunteers when it comes to this new maintenance-based endeavor.
“People come to learn,” Thacker said. “They want to volunteer and help, but they also want to learn how to work on bikes. And so they'll come here to help or get help learning how to work on bikes, as well as seasoned volunteers who have been wrenching on bikes for a long time. So anything and everything in between. We also have people who just want to organize. So we have organizers in the shop as well who sort parts and help us build shelving, as we're doing right now. And, yeah, there's something for anybody to do here.”
Volunteers like Morris are already busy turning around bikes to be dispersed into the community.
Morris said she has worked with Pedal It Forward for years because of its effect on northwest Arkansas, but it wasn’t until the organization-wide Christmas party that the scope of what she was a part of really hit her.
“It's amazing how many people there are,” Morris said. “And, you know, some people work once a month, and some people work just sporadically, or just events to be bike valets or whatever. But everybody plays a part. So it's everybody just donating their time. And I did get, last year, to work at a joint thing with the Boys and Girls Club and the Fayetteville police, and we gave away 250 bikes last fall. And you should have seen how many people were lined up for those 250 bikes– families and kids. When we do that, then somebody from Pedal It Forward fits them to a bike and makes sure they have a helmet and a bike. So it's getting them started off good.”
The new shop is not without challenges. Williams said the new facility could have better air conditioning and lighting, but that has not stopped them yet.
“We are definitely bootstrapping this place,” Williams said. “Because it's not going to be here forever. There are big changes coming to this Jones Center campus, is what we've been told. And we're on a limited budget. So, we've used creativity and generosity to get this shop functioning on a very small budget. We don't need much to take broken bikes and turn them into used bikes, and so we've had to be a little bit scrappy, but here we are a month in after grand opening, and it's cranking out bikes, and it's full of volunteers. And so we're really, really stoked to have it.”
You can help Pedal It Forward in its mission by donating your own used bikes or time to the organization. Just go to their website for more information on how to get involved.
As the Washington County metro area continues to expand, the demand for accessible active transportation options will inevitably rise. Pedal It Forward's new shop stands as a crucial development in this landscape, enhancing the organization's ability to provide bicycles to those who need them but may not have the means to afford one.
This expansion not only supports greater access to affordable transportation but also ensures these bikes remain in good condition for longer, fostering a more sustainable and connected community.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
