Working Bikes

By Brad Quartuccio

Nowhere is the power of two wheels more evident than in the stories from developing nations of how such a basic machine can transform everyday life for impoverished people. From simple transportation and cargo use to providing further reaching medical care and educational opportunities bicycles can have a large social and economic impact for people born into a reality different than ours. The North American bicycle industry and community has come to recognize this need over the years, with a number of programs across the land working on the same basic goal to get more bicycles into the hands of people who can really make use of them. One such long-standing project is the Working Bikes Cooperative in Chicago, IL that now transfers thousands of unused and discarded bicycles each year to new owners who are transforming their worlds and pulling themselves out of poverty.

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