Rotarians Bike Collection Project Underway

Bicycles give you wings. They get you out of the back yard when you’re 4 and to visit friends when you’re 7. For adults, they’re a way to get exercise, to enjoy the outdoors and more and more to cut down on auto use.

In third-world countries, bikes give adults a new life because they provide a way to get to work. 

The Rotary Club of Haddonfield is in the midst of rounding up bikes in repairable condition that will be shipped to developing countries in connection with the Pedals for Progress program. In those countries there is a need for reliable transportation to work, health care and markets. 

The main donation drive is Oct. 22, from 9 a.m. to noon in the lot behind , 242 Kings Highway East. 

“We’re not collecting them for parts,” said Jim Pecka, one of the Rotarians working on the project. “We’ll take adult or children’s bikes that can be repaired. They can have flat tires, ripped seats or broken chains.” 

“They’re vehicles for empowerment,” he said. 

The bikes, with the handlebars reversed and pedals removed, and after a lube and new tires if necessary, are delivered to a central spot where they are shipped to countries in Latin America, Africa and the Pacific Islands. 

Pedals for Progress, the idea of Daniel Schweidenback of High Bridge, has shipped 131,500 bikes since 1991. Last year, the project collected about 7,000 bikes nationally. 

Rotarians ask that those donating bikes also contribute $10 toward the shipping cost. Tax donation receipts are available, said Pecka, who has an insurance agency and financial firm in Haddonfield. 

The bikes ultimately are not given away but are purchased for nominal fees.

A shipping container holds about 450 bikes, said Pecka. 

At the destination, “they’re not just dropped onto a pier somewhere. A small bus takes them and gets them into communities where they are sold,” he said. 

Rotary clubs internationally have supported the project, which began in Haddonfield in 2005 with a push from Rotarian Norie Wisniewski. 

The national bike retailers association reports that 17 million people own bikes. Many of them are stashed in the back of garages or in storage areas, waiting for a new rider. 

Pecka said the Rotary will arrange pick-up of old bikes if necessary. “We do a fair amount of pre-collecting, beginning after the book sale with the library,” he said. 

The drive also collects sewing machines and Rotarians usually can add three or four to its bike shipment, he said. 

Schweidenback, who established the program, has said, “While a bike will get you to a job, a sewing machine is a job.”