BikeCDA repairs, gives bikes to CASA kids

COEUR d'ALENE — When kids in the community are in need of bicycles, the BikeCDA group comes to the rescue.

BikeCDA and its members, leaders and supporters realize that for kids, bikes are more than possessions. Through a child's eyes, a bike is independence. It's a social symbol. It's an adventure waiting to happen.

"I feel like a bicycle for a kid is a rite of passage," BikeCDA vice president and co-founder Tom Morgan said. "It's something that changes your life. It's your first set of wheels, it's your first taste of speed, your first taste of freedom."

BikeCDA is a nonprofit organization that formed about two years ago to help Coeur d'Alene become a safer and more bike-friendly community. Part of that mission includes fostering a love of biking, exercise and the outdoors in the younger generations, and part of that means finding the kids who need bikes the most.

"To be able to provide a bike, something as simple as a bicycle, it's hard to describe," Morgan said. "Some of these kids burst into tears, and then moms cry and then we cry. It's something you have to experience to really understand the levity of it. It's the most incredible, fantastic fulfilling thing."

Recently, Morgan and BikeCDA president and co-founder John Kelly gave bikes and helmets to two little boys who are clients of North Idaho Court Appointed Special Advocates, a nonprofit that works to make sure abused and neglected children are properly represented in court and live in safe, healthy family environments.

"They were fitted to just the right bike, and told that once they outgrew these bikes, to come back and they could get a bigger one, all at no cost to the children or to CASA," said CASA volunteer Bev Twillman. "These particular children have never had a stable home, no responsible parents, few possessions of their own. In other words, have little in their short lives to call 'normal.' The smiles on their two faces when they were told the bikes were for them said it all."

BikeCDA breathes new life into old, beat-up bikes so they don't end up in landfills. On Thursday, Jessie McArthur, her mom, Donna McArthur, and six of Jessie's seven kids visited Morgan's house to exchange their bikes for ones that run better and will last the children until they outgrow them.

"Some of them are too small," Jessie said. "I kept hoping that there was somewhere I could recycle (the bikes) and someone that I could pass on the old bikes to. Sometimes there's good parts left, even when they beat them up."

“We have lots of different bikes that are broken," said Jessie's daughter, Davie Gunderson, 7. "We try to fix them, but it’s hard. One of them has a flat tire that’s got a hole and the other one’s way too tiny."

Kelly and Morgan were happy to help the kids find the perfect bikes in the inventory in Morgan's garage, where he repairs and restores bikes in his spare time. The kids went this way and that, riding in front of Morgan's house and happily squealing as they perused the wonderland of bikes and bike parts that are in his collection.

"I know all the kids needed bikes," Donna said, explaining that a helpful gentleman in Post Falls connected her with BikeCDA earlier in the week. She said she didn't even know this kind of generous group existed.

"I was like, ‘Really? You guys do that?'" she said. "Right now, we’ve got a lot of bike parts and bikes that need to be fixed and so this is going to be a perfect way to pay it forward to give a blessing to someone else."

Kelly said he and Morgan are only a small part of why BikeCDA is so successful in helping kids and families get back to enjoying life on two wheels. The organization has partnered with North Idaho College's Outdoor Pursuits Program that has recently created an on-campus bike lab. Outdoor Pursuits interns and BikeCDA volunteer mechanics hold work parties to restore bicycles and the local bike shops have been extremely helpful in donating bikes or helping in other ways, Kelly said.

"I'm absolutely pleased with the service that we can provide to the community," he said.

For the bike giveaway program, Kelly said it is preferred that the child in need have a sponsor, such as a school counselor or a CASA volunteer, to help with accountability and serve as a point of contact to check in with to see how the child is enjoying the bike and if it needs maintenance.

In the past 18 months, BikeCDA has given away at least 200 bikes to kids in need and the organization always tries to provide helmets when possible.

"There's dead bikes everywhere," Morgan said. "If these bikes could talk, they would want to be in the hands of the kids as much as the kids that want to ride them."

Because of its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, any monetary donations or new/used bikes donated to BikeCDA are tax deductible.

To get involved or donate, contact BikeCDA at 410-6369, team@bikecda.com or Bike CDA, P.O. Box 1015, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816.