2006 Turning Wheels for Kids

By Elizabeth Simmons | December 18, 2006

It was a bicycle building bonanza!

We (Lorri, Skot, Amy, Julia, George, Andrea, Christine, Janet, Lesley, Winnie, Bruce and I) came from all sides of the Bay to represent the Velo Girls in San Jose for the Turning Wheels for Kids bike build! It was a pretty early start to the day, but I knew it was going to be a good one when I was greeted with coffee and donuts... what a treat for the bleary-eyed!

Turning Wheels for Kids 2006

As you might expect, our designated spot in the hall was marked with pink balloons. As we all converged and laid out tools and set up stands, you could feel the energy building... We all pitched in to unload and organize the 1,000 bikes that we'd be working on and then grabbed a bike and set to work. I could immediately sense there was a "Santa's little helper" in me that was ecstatic to emerge.

For those of us with little to no wrenching experience, we stuck with the simpler assemblies. But as I looked around, I could see Scott and other mechanics, taking great pleasure in truing wheels and ensuring that these bikes were in perfect order! It was clear that we were all reminiscing about the joy and excitement we had felt when we had been given a bike for Christmas... but it wasn't ALL fun and games...

About mid-morning all the teams in the hall were presented with a challenge... pick your best representative and see who could assemble a bike the fastest. Janet was up for the challenge... with a little assistance from 2 strapping young Lacrosse players from the San Jose Stealth (see whatcha missed?!?)... You can check out the video and pictures Lorri took on the website! After prematurely celebrating their success, Team Velo Girls came in a very close second to a cub scout working with a very skilled professional mechanic. It seems we forgot a couple of essential pieces like the roll-guard and number plate. But we'll take 'em next year!

With 400 volunteers and 1,000 bikes, we made quick work of it and had wrapped things up by 11:00-11:30! And, our reward? A burger and fries at Johnny Rockets! As we dispersed to tackle the remainder of the day, you could see the satisfaction (even through the food coma!) of having made a difference for 1,000 kids this Christmas! It really was a fabulous experience.

"Bicycling has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammeled womanhood."
— Susan B. Anthony

"Just as the ideal of classic Greek culture was the most perfect harmony of mind and body, so a human and a bicycle are the perfect synthesis of body and machine."
— Richard Ballantine

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking."
— Arthur Conan Doyle, 1896

"I thought of that while riding my bicycle."
— Albert Einstein

"Next to a leisurely walk I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing."
— Helen Keller

"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community."
— Ann Strong — 1895

"Cycling satisfies so many needs. If you're in a gregarious mood, you can go out with a group. Or you can go alone- solo. If you're in an aggressive mood, you can go fast, or if you're tired and want to unwind you can go slow. A bicycle doesn't discriminate in age, either."
— Georgena Terry

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
— Mark Twain

"The bicycle supplies ... a new pleasure — the pleasure of going where one wills, because one wills... Riding the wheel, our own powers are revealed to us... You have conquered a new world, and exultingly you take possession of it."
— Marie E. Ward, 1896

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."
— H.G. Wells

"She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life."
— Frances E. Willard,
How I Learned to
Ride the Bicycle