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April 04, 2005
Scrapper
Do you want to see a picture of me? Here I am riding my solid-steel 1971 Schwinn Suburban 5 speed hauling a bike trailer.
Using the rental trailer at the Sibley Bike Depot, Andrew Koebrick and I went down to the woods by the railroad tracks and recovered three abandoned, wrecked bicycles for recycling. On my lunch-time runs I often go this route, and because the leaves were not yet on the trees, my eyes were drawn to something bright yellow. Being a bike enthusiast, I recognized it right away as a bicycle, though at a distance I couldn’t see it very well. The next time I ran by there I decided to check it out. Sure enough, there were several bikes hidden down there in the woods with wheels off, parts missing, rusted steel frames, rusted chains, etc. It was a little bike graveyard. A place where useable bikes became abandoned after stipping their useful parts presumably for use on other bikes.
Why they ended up in these woods is a good question. My guess is that the person or people responsible just did not know what to do with old bikes. I knew what to do. The Sibley Bike Depot has a program that recycles aluminum and steel and also salvages useable parts for rebuilding other bikes. If a frame is in decent shape it’s often saved for rebuilding. Brake calipers, crank arms, fenders, handlebars, seats, bottom brackets, bearings, deraileurs and other re-usable parts have often been saved for future use. The rest gets scrapped or recycled. They know what to do with old bikes.
This is the second time I’ve used the rental trailer to recover abandoned bikes. Both times I’ve seen these bikes while out running then went back to pick them up, usually in some obscure location out of sight by most motorists. I think it’s good to clean up our environment of these little bike graveyards, because no-one should have to see junk laying around while out running. It’s trashy, unnatural and detracts from the overall well-being of our environment. Recycling makes sense because it gets materials back into use.
If everyone just knew what to do with their old bikes, I think I wouldn’t need to go around cleaning up. Sure, any excuse to ride a bike is good, but I shouldn’t have to do it for this reason. These old bikes simply do not belong out in the woods or under a railroad bridge.
The Sibley Bike Depot accepts old bikes as donations, and puts many bikes back on the road. Last month I gave two bikes to them from my garage. I’ve ridden both of these bikes over the past years and have since replaced them with other bikes. When I discovered the Sibley Bike Depot this winter I decided that I should start my Spring Cleaning early. Both bikes ended up going to good programs and are in use right now.
While cleaning out your basement, garage or storage shed, consider donating your unused or abandoned bikes to a good cause. If you can’t make it to the Sibley Bike Depot you can arrange for a pickup.
Posted by carl1236 at April 4, 2005 11:59 AM | Attitude