In April, I was contacted by students from the University of Washington who were working with the residents of the Aloha Inn transitional housing to fix up a small fleet of bikes for transportation around town. These bikes had fallen into disrepair over the years, and the person who had started the program had moved on. There was leftover grant money with which to repair the bikes, purchase some safety equipment and train the riders but it had to be spent by May — a rather short window but I knew that we would be up to the task.

I visited with a mechanic and took a quick inventory of what they had, what was needed and what gear would transform these beaters into useful commuter transport for the residents. I put together a proposal that included racks, fenders, folding baskets, lights, locks, safety triangles, pumps, toolkits and helmets for each bike and rider as well as mechanical and riding training.

As is the way of the world, nothing is quite what it seems. The can of worms was unleashed!

The bikes, which appeared at the outset to need little more than chain lube and air in the tires, soon proved to be tip of the iceberg, or something akin to the cost overruns on the tunnel. Mechanically speaking, all of them needed total overhauls. My $75 line item for maintenance was blown out of the water. Our trusty mechanic, Larry Goerss, agreed to take the bikes to his shop, two by two, over the course of the next couple of months and do what was necessary to get them up and running. He also installed all of the new equipment. Thirty five hours and $140 worth of parts later, these machines are ready for duty.

While Larry was busy wrenching, I set out to find a safe route from the Aloha Inn to the Olympic Sculpture Park where some residents like to go to soak up the sun and perhaps stop for groceries on the way home. This is bike-friendly Seattle after all.

Easier said, than done! The first leg from their front door took me down the sidewalk through a section so obscured and impeded by dense overgrowth that I could barely squeeze between the blackberries at face height or under low hanging tree branches (good thing I was wearing my helmet!) The sidewalk pavement was equally poor, upheaved by tree roots. Surely the city must do maintenance on this section of major bus route along Aurora Avenue? (…or not!) What about riding home in the dark?

The next challenge was finding a route that wasn’t a major off-ramp for the high-speed traffic exiting Aurora. As an experienced vehicular cyclist, I could manage to navigate these, but the experience rattled even my cycling nerves of steel. I am hesitant to suggest these newer riders (even after training sessions) ride through this type of environment. I tried various routes through the neighborhood and ultimately settled on the most direct — 5th Avenue to Broad Street — on the sidewalks for the time being until they gain more confidence. Even this is far, far from ideal as there is a significant pedestrian traffic to consider.

The city of Seattle has been implementing the Bicycle Master Plan (look for new sharrows, bike lanes and bike boxes) that will address many of the safety issues faced by all cyclists. While progress continues, there are many overlooked areas where simple changes in design or behavior would work wonders. Even a small amount of general sidewalk maintenance and brush cutting would help the Aloha Inn cyclists.

Next step for our Aloha Inn project is to deliver backpacks with the lights, locks, patch kits, pumps and safety equipment and explain the check-out system. Later this month, I’ll post an update as we teach basic bike maintenance and how to ride like a vehicle — after graduating off of the sidewalk.