Gears are turning, lights are flashing and bells are ringing just south of the railroad tracks in downtown Phoenix.
We-Cycle-USA, a recycling bicycling shop, relocated to the heart of the emerging warehouse district in August, at 521 S. First Ave., on the corner of First and Lincoln avenues. We-Cycle was originally founded in Mesa by Robert Chacon.
The community-oriented shop offers tools and work space, free of charge, for anyone interested in fixing up or earning a bike. Their inventory is packed with donated and recycled bikes and parts. We-Cycle offers a program through which volunteers can work at the shop for eight hours, and then pick a bike from the overflowing collection of those donated. Volunteers are then free to work on their bike to fix it up and get it running.
We-Cycle’s shop is still a work in progress, but Chacon and his team are eager to engage with the downtown community. There are countless donated bikes in their shop, and Chacon said that they help more than 20 people a day work on bicycles.
We-Cycle works with other cycling initiatives, like Rusty Spokes Bike Lab and Tempe Bicycle Action Group, for various events and programs. We-Cycle is open to the public, but specializes in youth programs. Every Wednesday, We-Cycle hosts a “Kids Only” night, where children 16 and under are welcome to come in and learn about bike safety as well as work on their own bikes.
“If we’re going to influence the future, we have to start with the kids,” Chacon said. “Biking is better for health, the environment, finances, everything.”
The We-Cycle team also does outreach programs at local parks and works with other organizations. They host events like “bike rodeos” and hand out information pamphlets to spread bike safety awareness and advocate for bicycling as an alternative mode of transportation.
“You get a lot of satisfaction from working here,” said shop foreman Gene Chamberlain. “It’s great to watch the kids when they get a new bike. Even though it’s not really a new bike, it’s new to them, and that’s really cool. Otherwise they probably wouldn’t have them.”
We-Cycle will be working with American Legion for a Christmas program where they will be giving bikes to children.
“The youth is the future of cycling,” Chacon said. “I never rode a bike when I was young. When I got a car, I gave up on bikes.”
Chacon revived his affair with bicycling when he was 40. He credits biking for his significant weight loss as well as subduing his struggles with diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. He put 5,000 miles on his bike last year when he rode from San Diego to Florida on a national bike tour.
We-Cycle also works with programs like The Salvation Army and Central Arizona Shelter Services to help those in need get a bike. Chacon stressed the importance of transportation and how much a bike can make a difference in someone’s life.
“Phoenix is moderately bike friendly, but we have a way to go,” Chacon said. “We don’t have enough bikes lanes in the city, and the traffic is not working well with bicyclists at this point. As we put more bikes on the road, through programs like the bike share, and as more people ride their own bikes to and from wherever they need to go, it’s going to blow up.”
Jonathan Navarro, 21, is a volunteer at We-Cycle. He also believes that bikes are an important mode of transportation and hopes that Phoenix will embrace it.
“Bikes are more eco-friendly, and they’re perfect to get around downtown,” Navarro said. “It’s a great alternative form of commuting. Instead of spending money on gas and burning that fuel, you can use your own fuels and use your bike. It’s also a great way to form a community.”
Navarro also noted that the downtown community could benefit from encouraging bike use in more ways than just promoting health and a better environment.
“I want to see a lot of bikes in downtown,” he said. “For events like First Friday, there is so much traffic, and it’s crazy. If they just closed the streets off and people used bikes instead, it would be great.”
Contact the reporter at lindsay.robinson@asu.edu
