Aldergrove man fixes broken bikes for kids
Credit to Author: Glenda Luymes| Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2020 14:00:27 +0000
An Aldergrove man has donated almost 500 bikes in five years to kids in need of a new set of wheels.
While working as a scrap metal salvager, Steve Genik was often asked to take broken bikes or those outgrown by little riders.
“I was taking these really good used bikes to the scrapyard,” he said. “I thought it was a shame. Some kids don’t have bikes.”
Genik reached out to a friend in Chilliwack who worked at a women’s transition house to see if she could use them. When she had no trouble finding kids, he began to fix and refurbish the discarded bikes to give away.
Five years — and almost 500 bikes later — Genik is still collecting and donating used bikes, usually through word of mouth and his Facebook page.
Many of the bikes go to kids, but some find their way to adults, including farm workers from Mexico, who use them to bike from their lodgings to fields, or into town for groceries.
“When I was a kid, your bike was your freedom,” said Genik. “Our parents sent us out to play and we’d ride from Abbotsford to Chilliwack or Mission. But it’s different now. Bikes are so expensive.”
Sometimes a bike will find its way to Genik just as he hears about a special kid. With a network of mechanically inclined friends and help from local businesses, he’s been able to tackle bigger projects.
This Christmas, he teamed up with F7lthy Fabrications, a custom car shop in Coquitlam, to create a Ferrari-red Spider-Man bike with a leather seat for a boy in Surrey. Another time, an adult cruiser bike with training wheels was the perfect fit for a teenager with autism and balance issues.
“When he gets these special projects, we’re happy to help,” said F7lthy owner Tim Lajambe. “Strider bikes are great. We can do them with custom paint and personalize them.”
Cranky’s Bike Shop in Aldergrove sometimes donates parts and helps with complicated repairs.
Genik said that while he respects the work large charities do, he enjoys getting to know the people he’s helping, who come from communities across the Lower Mainland.
“You grow up, you get a job, and it’s all for yourself. It doesn’t really help anyone else. But if you’re open to it, there’s lots of ways to change that. If everyone helped, it would be a better world. If just a few of us do, it makes a difference,” he said.
Genik encouraged anyone with an old bike to find someone who can use it by calling organizations that work with marginalized people.
He was driving through Chilliwack recently when he saw a homeless man carrying a broken bike.
“I told him I’d trade his bike for a better one. I think he was pretty happy with that.”