It will be a frigid outing, but Back Alley Bike’s annual Bike the Blizzard ride is worth bundling up for.
Now in its third year, the 24-hour marathon bike session begins at midnight, and participating riders travel as far as they can through the wintry mess. And while it’s not a ride with an entrance fee, Back Alley asks riders to raise at least $50 in pledges, with all proceeds going to support the shop’s multiple community programs.
For instance, the shop holds a program for adults to teach them how to repair and maintain bikes. A youth program puts children aged 8-18 through a four-to-five week session where they learn how to repair a bicycle, which they can keep afterward. The shop also offers a youth mechanics program that allows teenagers to train and eventually become a staff member at Back Alley for the summer.
In an email, Back Alley offsite program coordinator, Zachariah Wahid, says the shop accomplished quite a bit in 2014, including:
- giving away over 200 bikes
- helping youth repair over 100 bikes
- tutoring four mechanics-in-training
- salvaging over 1,000 bikes to be re-used
The 24-hour blizzard ride begins at midnight on January 18, and runs through midnight January 19. In its inaugural year, the ride attracted 12 riders, who rode a total of 610 miles, according to Back Alley Bikes. The following year, 25 riders joined, raising over $6,500. The 2015 goal is $10,000, but, to be clear, Wahid says the ride will take place whether or not it’s reached.
If you’re interested in riding, or donating, you can find out more information here.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2014.
