AMESBURY — Looking to share their love of cycling with the community, a local couple has spent the last few years renovating and donating bicycles to anyone who needs one.
“If you have a bicycle to donate that you’re no longer using, it’s been sitting outside for a while, your kid has grown out of it, or it’s just too broken down for you to consider repairing, we’ll take it on donation and fix it up,” Stephen Pelletier said.
Stephen Pelletier and his wife, Dawn Pelletier, run FreeWheels of Amesbury, a program that sees them collect and restore bicycles to give to members of the community. Dawn Pelletier explained that she got the idea for the program through her work as a teacher in the city.
“One of my third-grade students didn’t have a bike. I came home to my husband and told him this little girl doesn’t have a bike. We had a bike or two in our basement, and we said, you know what, let’s, let’s fix it up for her and deliver it to her,” Dawn Pelletier said.
She explained that they soon thought about how many other people might be without bike and things “grew from there.”
“It was word of mouth, we heard so and so didn’t have a bike and, someone donated a bike to us, and my husband fixed it up, fixing the tires and brakes and adjusting the height for a student or a child, and then we’d deliver it,” Dawn Pelletier said.
A former competitive cyclist, Stephen Pelletier described what goes into preparing and restoring the bikes before they are donated.
“What I’m seeing generally is the bicycles that are donated are just neglected or forgotten. For the most part they are complete, but they need service, so it’s usually maybe 2½ hours, 3 hours a bicycle,” Stephen Pelletier said.
While they have not kept an official tally, Dawn Pelletier estimated that they have donated about 60 bikes since starting.
“It’s really fun, more of a passion project from my husband and I. It’s strictly voluntary, we don’t accept any money. We’re just doing it because my husband and I have a love for biking,” Dawn Pelletier said.
All donations and contacts are handled through a Facebook page the couple set up to facilitate the program. They are always accepting donations, but explained that from winter to spring they are usually stockpiling as folks are not looking for bikes during those seasons.
“We usually aren’t able to find people to take them until we have better weather, so at the moment we have several bikes that are prepared and ready to give away as soon as we get sunny weather,” Stephen Pelletier said.
They also stressed that there are no qualifiers or a vetting process when requesting a bicycle.
“We have no interest in whether they are in need or whatever. This is just a service to promote cycling and fitness in the community, a way for us to donate our talents to the community,” Stephen Pelletier said.
Those looking to donate or request a bike can reach out at: www.facebook.com/groups/730358068230203/.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.