Co-op News

Challenge meet Potential: Why The Bike Cooperative is supporting Youth Bike Summit

If there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, it’s that the world is widely connected – and so are its challenges. BIG challenges; the kind we might think a bicycle has nothing to do with. Challenges like racial injustice, climate change, and public health (just to name a few). 

Then everything happened, and as so many of The Bike Cooperative’s independent members have experienced – the world rekindled its love for the potential on two wheels: for recreation, transportation, health, community, mobility – and more.

With more people cycling worldwide, the intersection of challenge and potential is clear. As the bike industry experiences unprecedented demand, it’s also clear that bikes and bike retailers can make a real difference.

Jenn Dice, PeopleForBikes’ new President and CEO put it best in her recent op-ed:
“We are witnessing a momentum for bikes as an instrument of change. Bikes can be a smart solution to help improve urban mobility, air quality, traffic congestion and mental and physical health. Bikes can also play an important role in our climate change goals, resiliency planning and mobility justice.”
Jenn Dice,
PeopleForBikes President and CEO

Children are the future, that’s a fact – and the role our communities play in amplifying their potential has never been more clear. That’s why The Bike Cooperative is excited to support PeopleForBikes and the Youth Bike Summit with nearly $13,000 in donations from member retailers across the U.S. (listed below), as well as matched donations from The Bike Cooperative itself.

The donated funds will help support youth cycling groups nationwide as they complete their Youth Bike Summit Justice Journey, where they will ride bikes in their communities to raise awareness and funds for accommodation and transportation to 2021’s Youth Bike Summit in Atlanta.

Local retailers know: when nearly 70 cents of every locally spent dollar stays local – the result is better funding for community programs like trails, classes, and more. This dynamic is central to everything we are as a cooperative: to empower local bike shops to stay local and sustain the cultural, social, and economic advantages they bring to their communities every day.

“As a co-op of local bike retailers, community is critical to us. Bikes empower kids from communities across the country to experience things that might not have been possible without a set of wheels, and our members were excited to make that happen for more kids,”
Lindsay Gaskins,
President of The Bike Cooperative.

This year we’ve learned that powerful change starts small, and we firmly believe that passionate kids riding bikes have the potential to be that change for cycling and their communities.

Contributing members of The Bike Cooperative include:

ACTION WHEELS

Wenonah

NJ

ARCADIAN SHOP

Lenox

MA

ASHEVILLE BICYCLE CO

Asheville

NC

BEACON CYCLING

Northfield

NJ

BELMONT WHEELWORKS

Belmont

MA

BIKE THERAPY

Morgan Hill

CA

CENTRIPEDAL BIKES

Fremont

CA

CHAINWHEEL DRIVE

Clearwater

FL

CONTENDER BICYCLES

Salt Lake City

UT

CYCLE ALASKA

Juneau

AK

CYCLETHERAPY

Waterford

MI

EDEN BICYCLES

Castro Valley

CA

GORHAM BIKE AND SKI

Portland

ME

INDY CYCLE SPECIALIST

Indianapolis

IN

KOZY’S CYCLERY

Chicago

IL

MOTION MAKERS

Asheville

NC

OLD TOWN BICYCLE

Gig Harbor

WA

ORANGE CYCLE

Orlando

FL

PEAK SPORTS

Corvallis

CA

PURE RIDE CYCLES

Lake Forest

CA

RACE PACE BICYCLES

Baltimore

MD

RIDE-A-BIKE BICYCLE SHOP

Gastonia

NC

SALEM CYCLE

Salem

MA

SANTOS BIKE SHOP

Ocala

FL

SAUCON VALLEY BIKES

Hellertown

PA

SPOKES ETC

Arlington

VA

SUMMIT CITY BICYCLES

Fort Wayne

IN

THE BICYCLE PLANET

Syosset

NY

THE BIKE SURGEON INC

O’Fallon

IL

THE SKI RACK

Burlington

VT

TWO WHEELS ONE PLANET

Costa Mesa

CA

UC CYCLERY

La Jolla

CA

WHEEL SPORT

Spokane

WA

YORKTOWN CYCLES

Yorktown Heights

NY


About The Bike Cooperative

The Bike Cooperative is a member-owned cooperative of nearly 300 independent bike stores from across the U.S. Our goal is simple: to give local an innovative edge. Learn more about the co-op.

About PeopleForBikes

PeopleForBikes is making biking better for everyone by uniting millions of individuals, thousands of businesses and hundreds of communities. When people ride bikes, great things happen. Join us at PeopleForBikes.org.

About The Youth Bike Summit

A three-day annual conference which brings together cycling centered youth community leaders to educate, share, and advocate for a better world through bikes. For more information, visit YouthBikeSummit.org.

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