Dispite the weather Ride for Bikes Christmas Bike Program a Happy Success
Ride for Bikes would like to thank the many people who braved terrible weather to come out and assemble and deliver bikes to 520 children. It was very gratifying to see such dedication to help someone else. For awhile it did not look as though the Christmas bike program would happen.
The week before had been snowy and icy. In fact the big 18 wheeler that was supposed to transport the bikes was stuck in northern New Mexico, 4 hours away and could not move. Finally Friday morning they called to say they were on the move. The unassembled bikes, in their boxes, were loaded on the truck and transported to the Artesia Center, where it was being set up for Saturday’s big bike assembly.
Saturday we woke up to icy and closed roads. It looked like only a few people would make it to the center to assemble over 500 bikes. How many people would come out on such a cold and miserable day? Well it turned out that the people of Southeastern New Mexico are a tough and determined bunch. They knew that 520 children were waiting for bikes and they were not going to let them down. More than 130 people showed up to assemble bikes, wrangle bikes, fix bikes, air up 1,040 tires, tag and pack bikes and load and deliver bikes. And yes there were many that did not touch a bike. These people had the big job of keeping the center free of trash and were seen sweeping, picking up trash or folding tables and chairs and putting them away.
Everyone that helped got a nice bike pin to wear and the Artesia newspaper wrote up a great story.
Many thanks go to those who came out and helped. It was a big effort and everyone was appreciated.
Here are some facts; 520 bikes were assembled in one hour and forty five minutes
All bikes were loaded for delivery and the center cleaned forty five minutes later
What a great bunch of people.
What is next? Wet n Wild Tour. You need to mark your calendars for Saturday, June 28th and watch this website for exciting news on the 2014 Wet N Wild Tour.
Run, walk, skate or bike your way through props designed to get you soaking wet, built by local companies and fire departments. We dare you to try!
We’ll see you there!!!
