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Date: 4/20/2022
LONGMEADOW/EAST LONGMEADOW – Dust off the old ten-speed and bring it to the Longmeadow Community House, 735 Longmeadow St., for the return of the Bike Sale, a fundraiser benefiting Longmeadow Environmental Transition Group.
“For several years, the Longmeadow Environmental Transition Group, in conjunction with Family Bike [217 Shaker Rd. #L, East Longmeadow], has hosted a Bike Sale at the community house,” said William Harbison, one of the organizers. “It’s an event the whole town looks forward to, but of course, we have not been able to do it for the last two years because of the [coronavirus] pandemic.”
The Longmeadow Environmental Transition Group has spent the past 10 years working to make Longmeadow a greener community, said Harbison. It has worked with the Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group and hosted symposiums on climate change. The group also encourages bike safety and bicycle riding, especially among school-aged people. Harbison said the Longmeadow High School parking lot is filled with SUVs driven by students, despite many living within a mile of the school.
On May 6, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., donated bikes of any type and size will be accepted, “As long as it’s in good, working condition,” Harbison said. The group also accepts bike racks, child carriers, helmets and other bike-related gear. The equipment is evaluated for condition and a price is suggested by employees from Family Bike.
At 9 a.m. on May 7, the bike sale begins.
“People run in to get the bike they want. Some people have seen them the night before. Kids say, ‘I want this one, I want this one,’” Harbison said with a chuckle.
When a bike is sold, the person that donated it receives a 100 percent credit at Family Bike or an 85 percent cash credit, with the Longmeadow Environmental Transition Group receiving the other 15 percent. “We don’t make a lot of money on it,” Harbison said, “It’s more of a community event than anything.”
Harbison said, “In 2019, we sold over 100 bikes, and those that weren’t sold went to the Kensington school in Springfield. That’s a lot of bikes.” As for this year, he said, “I don’t know if there’s a pent-up demand.”
For more information on the bike sale, visit https://www.facebook.com/LongmeadowEnvironmentalTransitionGroup.