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BIKE JAM THIS SATURDAY,
JANUARY 19th!
Do you want to volunteer at Bike Recycle, but can't make it in on weekdays? Drop in this Saturday from 9am to 1pm.
All skill levels welcome. We'll provide Myer's bagels, coffee, great company, and tunes à la Bruce Springsteen.
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Featured Bike Recipient: Abdullah
 | Abdullah riding in front of the Local Motion offices.
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Abdullah Sall is serving as an AmeriCorps*State member at Local Motion. Originally from Fuja Jallon in West Africa, Abdullah now lives in Winooski.
BRV: How did you first hear bout Bike Recycle?
Abdullah: Every two or three months my old bike would break down so I'd get it repaired. When I became an AmeriCorps member, a friend of mine told me where to find Bike Recycle so I could get a reliable commuter bike. So, I heard about it through word of mouth. BRV: What do you use your bike for?
Abdullah: I use it for transportation. I live on the border of Winooski and Colchester on Mallett's Bay Avenue, and I commute from home to work. I also use my bike to grab groceries, sometimes go shop, visit friends and hang out.
BRV: Tell us about a fun time you've had on your bike.
Abdullah: I think everything I do with it is fun. When I'm biking in mild weather, breathing in fresh air, body is pumping heat- that's a good feeling for me. That's fun. And sometimes my friends and I go on a bike ride, take over a whole car lane and pedal hard and race each other on the street.
BRV: Why do you bike?
Abdullah: It has multiple purposes for me. It has economic as well as environmental benefits, social and health benefits. It's a sport by itself. It's fun.
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Featured Volunteer: Petra
 | | Petra poses on the Broadway Bridge in here hometown of Portland. |
Petra is from Portland, Oregon and moved to Burlington in February of 2012 to work as a nurse at Fletcher Allen Hospital. She has been volunteering at Bike Recycle Vermont for 6 months. An avid cyclocross racer and bike commuter, Petra loves coming in to work on bikes. We asked her a few questions about her experience at Bike Recycle.
BRV: What is your favorite part about volunteering at Bike Recycle?
Petra: I like that I feel like I'm needed here, but at the same time I'm learning a skill. Like most of the people who work here I love bikes and bike culture, and like the fact that I'm fixing bikes. I enjoy getting to be part of bike culture in Burlington by volunteering here and also introducing other people to it.
BRV: What project are you most proud of that you've worked on at Bike Recycle?
Petra: My volunteer shift last week was a big day for me- I pretty much completed a bike in one day because it takes me forever! Every time I keep coming, my skills improve.
BRV: What skills did you have when you started volunteering here, and what have you learned since you've been coming to Bike Recycle?
Petra: I knew how to change a tire and my brake pads, so i definitely had to learn a lot and get hands-on experience.
Bike recycle is different because they do a lot of things for the community and take bikes out of the waste stream. The bike cooperative in Portland does something like this, but I like Bike Recycle's focus on helping low income Vermonters. Another thing I think BRV does really well is host events and on top of that they take things out of the waste stream and recycle bike parts and make them into things and sell them to make money to support their program.
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Surprise! A Holiday Gift from Planet Bike
At the end of 2012, Bike Recycle received a generous donation from Planet Bike, a cycle accessories company. The donation included 10 tire pumps, 10 locks, 5 sets of lights, 10 pairs of fenders, several water bottle cages, and several other parts and accessories. Planet Bike's gift to us is valued at almost $1,500!
We're incredibly appreciative of Planet Bike for this donation. It seemed to come at the very time when many of our own stand-up pumps were failing, we were running low on new fender sets, and more rugged locks were being requested by our bike recipients. Generous donations like this help us better serve the needs of low-income cyclists in Burlington and Chittenden County. Thank you, Planet Bike! .
 Intern Jonathon and volunteer Dustin
show off some of the Planet Bike gear.
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