A resource for Northeastern Pennsylvania's cycling community that has been years in the making will officially open this weekend.
And you don't even need to have a bike.
The new Cycle Kitchen Co-op in Scranton is an all-volunteer tool library and repair class for cyclists. A grand opening and celebration is scheduled for Sunday, May 19th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Connell Park, 800 Gibbons Street.
Jean McDonough, president of the Anthracite Bicycle Coalition, which led the project with volunteers, said: “We want to keep things out of garbage dumps, teach people how to ride bikes so they have access to transport, and build technology. It's about teaching.”
Sunday's event will feature bike inspections, helmet and bell giveaways, maintenance courses, free ice cream and more.
McDonough learned about the cooperative community model while working in Arizona several years ago.
“I'm back to [cycling] the group that brought us together [in NEPA] “Folks, I have a silver bullet here to unite the community and help people,” McDonough said.
First, we needed a location. Scranton Parks and Rec has agreed to let McDonough's group reuse a warehouse building scheduled for demolition in Connell Park in 2022. The year before, the Anthracite Bicycle Coalition persuaded the city to use demolition funds for the park's mountain bike “pump track.”
McDonough said it was a labor of love. Over the past two weeks, volunteers have spent dozens of hours at the park. They prepared the building and organized inventory for Sunday's celebration.
We plan to give away about 25 children's bicycles. Some bikes are relatively new. Others are decades old and just need a little attention. As the old saying goes, even tandem bicycles are “bicycles made for two people.” The only thing left to do, he said, is educate the community about the benefits of flying around on two wheels.
“The price of a car, the price of insurance, the price of gas, we forget that driving is a luxury,” McDonough added.
The group also wants to improve infrastructure for cyclists in and around Scranton. A recent walkability study suggested bike lanes would be installed downtown.
First, Cycle Kitchen will be open from 5pm to 8pm on Mondays and from 9am to noon on Saturdays. McDonough said those hours will likely be expanded in the near future.
“In other places, you might call this something like a community bike shop,” said Kuba Jennes, a volunteer mechanic at the Cycle Kitchen. “'ReCyclery' is a word that gets used a lot.
“The goal here is to teach you how to use our tools to repair yourself. We have volunteers who will guide you through it, so in the future you can develop the skills. You can' deal with this yourself. ”
Possible causes include a flat tire, a broken chain, or a loose bicycle seat. Volunteers are building the bikes from scratch and say they can handle most problems that may arise.
“We also run a bicycle recycling shop,” Jenne added. “We accept people who volunteer for us, even if they don’t have the money. Every hour you do this, you get store credit, and you can buy parts, new bikes, or whatever you need here.” It can be used for everything.”
Anthracite Bicycle Federation
For Sunday's party, the Anthracite Bicycle Coalition is partnering with local bike shops, Leadership Lackawanna, the Scranton Area Community Foundation, the City of Scranton, Scranton Parks, and Rec and Fidelity Bank, which is supplying the ice cream. announced that they have partnered with.
