More than 100 biking enthusiasts attended an open house held recently to celebrate the new digs of Sharebike and Cyclo-Ward Bicycle Repair, located at the corner of Jefferson Street and Franklin Road. Cyclo-Ward is the maintenance arm of Sharebike, which rents bikes at no charge to local residents.
Subfreezing temperatures and wind gusts of up to 32 miles per hour didn’t stop The Starbomb and the Star City Alley Cat bicycle groups from braving the elements and holding their individual monthly rides and races, which left from and returned to Sharebike during the open house. The remainder of the crowd chose to cheer them on from inside where it was warm.
Launched by Ron McCorkle and James Rosar in 2007, both the non-profit community bicycle program and bicycle repair business were previously housed in a 475 square-foot storefront located in the City Market Building (32 Market Square).
The new and more spacious location includes a social area with a coffee service and large “chalk talk” blackboard, designed to encourage shared dialog, plus an educational center with DVDs, bike-related publications and accessories, yellow “sharebikes” and a bicycle repair area. Information regarding upcoming bicycle events and the greenways is also available at Sharebike. The new location will also begin selling new bikes in March.
Last Spring, Sharebike acquired a pedicab (a three-wheeled vehicle with a seat in front for the driver, handlebars and a cab in back for passengers). The Pedicab service is meant to encourage bicycling and to offer a unique opportunity for visitors from out of town to see the city, with a guided tour by one of Sharebike’s professional drivers.
A small fee is charged to use the yellow sharebikes leaving from the main location. Sharebike has formed a partnership with three other individual businesses which offer the use of the bikes for free from those locations. These include Black Dog Salvage (located at 902 13th Street, SW), Grandin Gardens (located at 1731 Grandin Road, SW) and Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission (located at 313 Luck Avenue, SW).
Founded by McCorkle, Sharebike, a concept which originated elsewhere, has no employees, but rather utilizes a bartering system with many of its volunteers. For example, “one of the volunteers maintains the coffee service in exchange for a new blend of coffee created for Sharebike by Star City Roasters. Eighty percent of what we do is community supported by trade and donation,” said McCorkle, who is also involved with a buy-local foods movement.
The concept seems to be catching on: “Sharebike has tripled in business after two years in all dimensions including size of building and volume and I anticipate at least doubling in volume this year.” McCorkle also said that James Rosar, Owner/Operator of Cyclo-Ward, makes Sharebike possible “by providing instruction, maintenance and repair for the bikes.”
In addition to being an organization created to stimulate, support and link together a wide range of community-based bicycling initiatives in Roanoke, Sharebike restores cycles that have been confiscated by the City and then donates them to the after school program at Woodrow Wilson Middle School overseen by Resource Officer Jimmy Goad.
Sharebike’s hours of operation are currently 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. They are closed Tuesday and Sunday. McCorkle said plans are underway to open daily in the spring and a grand opening is planned for sometime in March. For additional information, visit www.sharebike.org and www.cycloward.com.
By Susan Ayers [email protected]