24-hour bike building marathon aims to give 500 bicycles to kids in need | CBC News
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A Winnipeg community centre looks a little bit like Santa’s workshop this weekend — if Santa’s elves were all bicycle mechanics.
The tapping of tools, the spinning of wheels and the tightening of screws could be heard inside Lord Roberts Community Centre on Saturday, as 200 volunteer mechanics were hard at work to help salvage and repair kids’ bicycles in time for Christmas.
“We have people running from workstation to workstation, pulling parts and assembling everything with care,” said Lucas Stewart, executive director of the WRENCH, a Winnipeg-based bicycle repair non-profit that’s organizing the event.
The goal of the groups’ 13th annual Cycle of Giving is to get 500 bikes built in a 24-hour marathon bike building session.
“Some of them need a little love, some of them need a lot of love,” said Stewart.
“The beauty of it is that these folks are able to take parts … to put together something that is in very good condition. Durable, safe and fun for the kids.”
The parts for the bikes come from 4-R recycling centres and would otherwise end up in a landfill. Instead, Stewart said the finished bikes are distributed to 20 different organizations that will give the bikes — and a helmet — away to families.
“It’s a great way to give back to the community and avoid all these bikes just ending up in the trash somewhere,” said bike-builder Dave Elmore.
“These bikes all get recycled and repaired and put right back into the system.”
While the newly refurbished bicycles might only last for one season, Elmore said the parts might return next year when people drop them off at recycling centres again.
“Bikes are pretty resilient, You can make them work again,” he said.
The builders are working in four to six hour shifts until noon on Sunday, Stewart said. The event kicked off at noon Saturday.
“It can be a bit of a grind. It gets a little tiring after a while, but it’s all for a good cause,” said Elmore.
Featured VideoTime-lapse video of a bicycle being built at the Cycle of Giving Saturday.
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