Letter: Help community bike space find a new home

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

We are at risk of losing a massive community resource, and I’m surprised that the Xpress has not covered this issue.

The Asheville Recyclery has been a longtime institution in Asheville (21 years! Way before we were Beer City USA!) that supports people of every income, age and ability to have access to a bike.

It is an all-volunteer nonprofit 501(c)(3) community bike space focusing on sharing the skills to build and maintain a sustainable form of transportation. Staff mechanics volunteer to teach all aspects of bicycle maintenance in a hands-on, inclusive environment where no one is turned away for a lack of funds. Plus, they take donations of unusable bikes and reassemble them into awesome working bikes!

For the past 15 years, they have been located behind the co-op, but they have been asked to relocate by the end of January.

They are looking for 1,000 square feet of space or less, with some outdoor storage. It doesn’t need to be nice, just affordable ($400 or less). It could also be an entirely outdoor space or an empty lot. It really needs to be bike accessible, so centrally located, with a commitment that if they build the infrastructure, they can stay. See [avl.mx/d8r].

Seriously, Asheville, we have the money for endless developments and a nauseating amount of breweries — certainly, we can find a corner to house this incredible community resource. With all the traffic pouring into Asheville, more folks on bikes is wonderful thing! You can reach out to the volunteers at the Recyclery at 828-255-7916.

Please support this amazing community resource!

— Jen Hyde
Asheville

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One thought on “Letter: Help community bike space find a new home”

  1. RG

    Lots of wasteland parking lots along Merrimon just begging for mixed use development that could include such a resource. And hey, right next to bike lanes! Get Esther and Ingle’s on the phone…

    1

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