You should give away your bike … I’m talking about your old one – the one that is sitting unused in your shed or garage because you have taken advantage of the new technology and upgraded to lighter and faster.

I’ve spent the entire past weekend, not riding trails but buried in the task of digging myself out of the mountain of stuff that I seem to have accumulated since moving into my place six years ago.

There is too much stuff. Wisdom of the day says if you want energy and abundance to flow, you have to make room for it. When talking about possessions, this means parting with some of those that are no longer serving you.

You can sell them, but a better message is sent to the universe if you give them away. “I have more than enough, I can share my abundance.”

Last week, my guy asked me if I wanted to give away my old mountain bike (I bought the lighter, front-suspended replacement a couple of years ago). He said he knew someone who could use a free bike.

The emotional part of me hesitated, “What if … ?”

Like many of you, I grew up without a lot of fancy things. One bike had to do me from the time I was six years old and couldn’t sit on the seat and still reach the pedals, until the year I turned 16 when someone ran over the back wheel when I left it carelessly in a driveway.

I didn’t have money to fix it, or even the awareness that it could be fixed, so I did without.

I think about the role bicycles play in my life now and I can’t imagine being without one – I can’t imagine being without both of them. They are an integral part of my existence.

Last year, when I was riding in the Cycle Oregon week-long ride, there was a bike workshop that set up every night to fix and clean and service bicycles. You dropped off your bike, paid a fee and picked it up in the morning ready for the new day’s ride.

They were volunteers. The money they were making was to buy and refurbish bikes for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have one. My bicycle didn’t need any of their attention, but they accommodated me by accepting a $50 donation – their average cost to provide a kid with a bike.

Remembering Cycle Oregon and how good it felt to share the joy of riding, I thought about the dust gathering on my old mountain bike and said, “Yes.”

Take a look in your garage. If there is a lonely bike out there, find it a friend.

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top