PORT TOWNSEND — The ReCyclery is more than a bike shop; it’s a way of life.
“The time is right for this,” said teacher/mechanic Chauncey Tudhope-Locklear about the April 21 reopening at the new location at the corner of Blaine and Kearney streets.
“Bike riding addresses a lot of concerns — about fuel prices, global warming, obesity, diabetes — and provides a solution that excites people,” Tudhope-Locklear said.
The ReCyclery moves after three years in a cramped uptown space to one of the busiest corners in town.
It takes over a 100-foot-by-40-foot concrete “prison pad,” as Tudhope-Locklear calls it, moving several portable buildings.
He plans to construct a fence, a shop and other infrastructure.
To this end, the shop is holding work parties every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during April, for anyone who wants to donate carpentry labor.
About 200 bikes are now on-site, chained together and in need of repair or rehabilitation.
The bikes that can be repaired will be fixed and donated, while the others will be disassembled with the parts recycled for use in other bikes, Tudhope-Locklear said.
The location is provided free of charge by the city and is part of the initiative to reduce local greenhouse gases 40 percent by 2020, Tudhope-Locklear said.
“This is all about getting people involved in cycling and using bicycles to commute,” he said.
“To let them know it is a fun, interesting, amazing and sexy experience.”
The adjacent Mountain View campus has become the “cultural hub” of the city, a mission in which the ReCyclery fits perfectly, he said.
The bike shop will be open for business to effect small or large repairs, but that’s only part of the deal.
If you need new brakes or chain replacement, you can save money and gain a skill by doing it yourself, under the instruction and the supervision of ReCyclery staff.
The ReCyclery is involved with several school programs, and is looking to encourage more riding to school.
“It turns out that half of the local kids take the bus, 40 percent are driven and only ten percent bike or walk,” Tudhope-Locklear said.
“We’d like to change those numbers.”
Tudhope-Locklear said that Port Townsend’s terrain is hospitable to bikers, and many of the main arteries have bike lanes, although some roads like Sheridan and Kearney Streets do not.
The ReCyclery will be open noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The Earth Day opening celebration is 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. April 21, with a parade starting from uptown and ending at the ReCyclery with a free barbecue.
For more information call 360-643-1755.
