Wednesday, June 29, 2011

LIFT Bicycle Giveaway at City Hall Plaza


On Wednesday June 1st, Roll It Forward got together with LIFT on a beautiful, sunny day at City Hall Plaza to donate bikes to a group of folks from Boston's homeless community. It wasn't so much a donation as payment for services rendered — all the recipients earned their bikes through performing community service and many of them listed volunteer work as one of the reasons why they needed a bike to get around in the first place. 

Read more...

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Good Shepherd Church Women's Health Fair


May 28th 2011, Roxbury, MA

Roll It Forward provided a fleet of Giant bicycles for a women's health fair put on by the Good Shepherd Church in Roxbury. The day started off slow...

Friday, June 10, 2011

Trade In Your Mountain Bike For A Steel Road Bike Or 3 Speed


Roll It Forward wants your old mountain bike! We'll even trade you a sweet, old steel bike or frame (perfect for converting to a fixed gear or single speed) for it. The level of bike you get will be commensurate with the bike you trade in. We're basically looking for entry level name-brand mountain bikes (no Huffies!) in good condition. 

Contact us HERE if you're interested.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Where to Donate

This blog is no longer in use by the Roll it Forward program. Please visit www.bostonbikes.org for the latest information!

Donate your bikes right away at the following locations.  Bike shops listed below are offering a special coupon to thank you for your usable donation.  On top of that, we're offering a *free cycling jersey* to the first people who donate their bike(s).  And, certain bike donations will enter you in a raffle for a free bike powdercoating package from Geekhouse bikes!
  •  Cauzoom Purchase a $50 EMS gift card and $20 of it will go to our project.  Or donate the amount of your choosing directly to help us reach our goal.  Find out more at http://cauzoom.com/project/Roll-it-forward
  •  Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) full service bike-shops
    • Boston: 1041 Commonwealth Avenue, (617) 254-4250
    • Cambridge: Harvard Square, 1 Brattle Square, (617) 864-2061
    • Hingham: 6 Shipyard Drive, (781) 741-8808
    • Newton: 300 Needham Street, (617) 559-1575
  • Wheelworks Cycling Centers:
    • Belmont Wheelworks: 480 Trapelo Road, (617) 489-3577
    • Ace Wheelworks in Somerville: 145 Elm Street, (617) 776-2100
  • Giant Cycling World-Boston
    • -The Fenway: Corner of Kilmarnock/Brookline (next to Chipotle), (617) 424-6400 
  • Back Bay Bicycles: 366 Commonwealth Ave (corner of Mass Ave), (617) 247-2336
  • Salem Cycle: serving the North Shore
    • 72 Washington St. in Salem, MA (978) 741-2222
  • Papa Wheelies: in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
    • 653 Islington St., Portsmouth NH (603) 427-2060
  • Sudbury residents: Sudbury Recycling and Refuse Center, 20 Boston Post Road, (978) 443-2209 ext. 1221
For more information on any of these shops, including maps to each location, visit our partners page.

* Free cycling jersey while supplies last.  You will need to email rollitforward@gmail.com for a jersey claim form to take with you to the shop.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

THIS SATURDAY! Donate your bike with REI and Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Boston's Emerald Necklace Conservancy and their neighbor, REI at Landmark Center, are partnering to host a one-day bike donation drive this coming Saturday June 11th, from 10 AM to 2 PM.

The event is at the Emerald Necklace Visitor and Volunteer Center in the Back Bay Fens, *not* at the REI store location.  Bring your old bike and bike parts to 125 The Fenway to receive a great coupon for REI bike gear, free b.good milkshakes, and other goodies from our partners.

For more information, see the REI event page, or email Roll it Forward by clicking here.

McKinley School Roll It Forward/Youth Cycling Hybrid Program


Back at the end of April R.I.F. coordinated with Nate Lewallen, the shop teacher (and a whole lot more) at the McKinley Middle School on a program which brought together two of Mayor Menino's Boston Bikes initiatives — Roll It Forward and Youth Cycling Program. While Roll It Forward is dedicated to providing bikes to low income Boston residents, the Youth Cycling Program is tasked with providing bicycle safety education to Boston youth through schools, community centers, camps, and other outlets. 

The event at Mckinley involved a serious bicycle maintenance component. The kids learned how to do everything from fixing flats to truing wheels. Of course, as usual, a huge element of the YCP training was focused on helmet safety. The Roll It Forward aspect of the program was that, at the end of the instruction period, all the kids got to keep the bikes they had learned how to maintain. 

More photos after the break...