Image: L. Gomes / PML / Steve Genik founded ReCyclers: bikes for kids, eight years ago.

By Laurice Gomes

Community

‘We give bikes out to every age, every socio-economic background-it doesn’t matter’ Program gives new life to previously loved bikes

Jul 31, 2022 | 1:43 PM

CHILLIWACK — Eight years ago, Steve Genik started an initiative to recycle unwanted bicycles into hope for children or adults who needed a set of wheels.

“We collect, refurbish, restore, and give away good quality used bikes to people that need a bike, can’t afford a bike, need a bike to get to work, or anything,” he said. “If we have it, we’ll give it away.”

Dubbed “ReCyclers: bikes for kids,” Genik said this was a team effort and gave credit to helper Penny Robinson, who was instrumental in helping the program hit the pedal to the metal. And sometimes, when parts or technical advice is needed for more complex issues with a bike, Genik said Cranky’s Bike Shop in Aldergrove fills in those blanks with a smile.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Genik said there is no application process to acquire a bike from the program.

“We have a Facebook group,” the recycler explained. “It’s basically word of mouth, and a lot of times when we give a bike to someone, they have another bike that maybe their child has outgrown, it doesn’t work, or it’s broken, so we’ll take that one too and see if we can fix it up.”

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Genik said there is no application process to acquire a bike from the program; he stressed again that if someone needed a bike, it would be there for them—no questions asked.

“We feel that if you need a bike, or you need a bike for your kids, or you need one to get to work or whatever, that you’re already in a situation that is not optimum to begin with,” he said. “So we don’t want to embarrass or pry into your life at all to find out what your income is—it doesn’t concern me in the least. If you need a bike and we have a bike, we’ll give you a bike.”

Genik said with the pandemic in the past two years, he thought bike donations would go down, but they went “way up”.

“Last year we did 232 bikes for the course of the year,” he remarked. “We set a goal of 100 bikes per year.”

According to Genik, the grassroots program is currently at 176 bikes, citing that the group would like to surpass last year’s number of 232.

“When I was young, we would go to Chilliwack, we would go to Cultus Lake on our bikes at 12 years old,” he said, reminiscent of his own childhood on a bike. “And the bike to us was freedom—the freedom to go around your neighborhood, and to be social with your friends, maybe get a little bit away from your parents.”

For Genik, watching a child riding their bike off into the sunset makes his work all worth it.

“We give bikes out to every age, every socio-economic background—it doesn’t matter,” he said. “As soon as those kids get a bike, they have a big smile, and they want to ride it.”

If anyone would like to donate a bike, or is in need of one, Genik can be reached at 604-772-2653.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Genik said the program is a team effort.