88Bikes to Deliver 50 Bikes to Navajo Nation

According to a press release from 88Bikes:

“We are thrilled to have the Navajo Nation as our first endowment in the United States,” said Dan Austin, co-founder of 88bikes. “The administration and students of the Whitehorse High School and our partner NGO, DesignBuildBluff, have brought tremendous enthusiasm and expertise to the project. We’re especially excited to work with the Whitehorse High School Student Council, whose direction helps us mold the project for the greatest benefit to the kids. Residents of the Navajo Nation wrestle with remoteness and wrenching poverty. We hope that bikes – and the many forthcoming repair workshops, clinics and bike rides – will enhance the kids’ sense of happiness and independence and provide them with a fun, healthy way of exploring their world.”

The other major aspect of the Navajo Nation endowment is the building of the first sustainable and transportable 88bikeshop. Created by 88bikes partner DesignBuildBLUFF, a non-profit organization that brings architecture students to the Desert Southwest for three months to design and build sustainable housing for American Indian families. It is being constructed primarily from locally foraged materials, including the hoods of junked cars on the reservation. Portable – it is built on a trailer axis – and spacious, it can also be used as a support trailer for guided bike trips, as well as the site for workshops and clinics. The 88bikeshop will be primarily located in Montezuma Creek and unveiled at the Moment of Happy event in September.

Visit www.88bikes.org for more info.