After-School Program Teaches Teens How to Fix, ‘Earn a Bike’

After-School Program Teaches Teens How to Fix, ‘Earn a Bike’

At Phoenix¹ Bikes, a non-profit bicycle shop and educational center, students are learning their ABCs. That stands for the air, brakes, and chain of basic bike mechanics.

Phoenix Bikes sells bikes to the public at their business in Arlington, Virginia. But it also teaches teenagers how to repair bikes.

Most students at Phoenix start in its after-school "earn-a-bike program," at middle and high schools in and around Arlington County. Once a week over a 12 week period, students learn repair skills. They learn how to use tools, fix flat tires, align² the wheels, and adjust brakes and gears. The first lesson involves taking the bike apart, or stripping it down to its basic structure, the frame. By doing this, they learn all the parts of a bike.

In the first weeks, they work in small groups to repair a bike donated to the shop. The bikes often have missing or damaged parts.

The finished bike is then given to a person in need from the community. Phoenix Bikes director Emily Gage³ said the shop partners with several local organizations to donate the bikes. Some bikes have been going to Afghan refugees resettled in the area.

In the last four weeks of the program, students come to the shop to work on one of the donated bikes which they can then take home at no cost.

Anthony Jimenez-Galindo is a student at nearby Wakefield High School. He just completed his bike. He said it was not in good shape at first but was the kind of bike he was looking for and could be made into something better. He said it had no brakes, no front tire, and was without a chain or a cassette, which controls the gears.

"It was junky but it looked nice, that's really my only reason behind it. It was a very nice looking bike and... I was willing to go the extra mile to fix it."

Jimenez-Galindo said he joined the program to get better at working with his hands and fixing things.

"And also because I wanted to learn how to actually repair and fix a bike. And so far I'm learning pretty good."

Wakefield student Owen Spiegel talked about what went into fixing his bike, as he put his finishing touches on it.

"Well first when I started the bike I wanted to test, see how everything worked. So first I wanted to see how the brakes worked— brakes were not working at first.

Other than that, first I went and put pedals on so I could test the gears and the gears seem to be working all fine. Then putting on the brakes—that was the hardest part. I had to completely reattach this brake and then I had to set this brake up so that, you know, it would actually work."

Phoenix Bikes is teaching 300 to 400 young people this year. Phoenix communications coordinator⁴ Emily Rippy said the classes are fun and let students learn with their hands after sitting in the classroom all day at school. Gage added that bikes are interesting for teenagers especially because they are a means of transportation and freedom. Learning how to fix a bike can also be a fun challenge, she said.

"It's complex enough to be challenging and to feel really worthwhile when they understand the skills, but simple enough that a teenager can learn. So it's just kind of the right level of challenge."

Some students who finish the 12-week program go on to a higher-level bike mechanics class. Some race bikes for the shop's racing⁵ team. And others stay to volunteer at the store and fix more bikes to give away. Phoenix's current shop manager, Noe Cuadra, was an earn-a-bike student in high school. Other full-time⁶ Phoenix workers also went through the earn-a-bike program.

Jimenez-Galindo said he hopes to return to the shop to fix bikes for the community and continue to learn.

What is his favorite part of the experience?

"Just, the joy, the satisfaction that I get after it's done. That now it's fully⁷ complete, and it's actually a bike instead of what was a husk of one."

Words in This Story

teenager — n a young person between ages 12 and 19

adjust –v. to change something in a minor⁸ way to make it work better

align — v. to change something so that it matches, fits or is in line with something else

gear — n. a wheel in a machine that has teeth

frame — n. the basic supporting structure of something

challenge –n. a test of strength or skill, a difficult task to do

husk — n. the outside of something that has had its insides removed

1 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

2 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

3 gage   

n.标准尺寸，规格；量规，量表 [=gauge]

参考例句：

• Can you gage what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gage one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

4 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

5 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。