Welcome to my fundraising page for Phoenix Bikes' Raise and Ride! This is my 6th year doing it and I am dedicating the ride to my parents, Hank and Becky Dunbar, who both passed away the same week two years ago. Their spirit and examples, respectively as the consummate handyman and dedicated teacher of disadvantaged kids, are part of what moved me to get involved with Phoenix Bikes.
Because of the social distancing requirements of the current public health situation, we will not hold a group ride on a set course, but instead allow each rider to choose their own course and adventure. I'm planning to rise 100 miles by circling my block about 250 times.
I have supported the organization since 2011 with my own time, sweat, and money because of the fantastic work they do for the young people of Arlington and the area. Phoenix Bikes trains youth in the basics of bike mechanics and how to serve the community. We get donated bikes, use them in training the youth, who then earn them to keep. Many of the bikes are fixed up for sale in the full service bike shop, or given away to other charities.
The role of Phoenix Bikes as a community bike shop has never been more important than it has this spring during the Covid Pandemic. After closing for a few weeks, we reopened with a revamped operation featuring non-contact service and limited customers in the shop. We continued to provide low-cost repairs and bike sales to the community and have been as busy as we can. We have also begun virtual training of the youth, who will soon be earning bikes again.
But even with our busy shop, Phoenix still needs our support during these difficult time. There is no guaranteed of their survival, and the DC region saw several bike shops close in late 2019. Please join me in honoring the memory of my parents and help this valuable community asset thrive and continue their fantastic work.
Phoenix Bikes Raise + Ride: Sizzling Summer Century
This year's Sizzling Summer Century ride will be a little different than normal, but that's 2020! We're changing our summer ride to make sure everyone stays safe and socially distant, but also that we re-connect this community through the joy of cycling. Your challenge this year is to come up with a ride that challenges you and to raise money to support the mission of Phoenix Bikes. You can ride the full 100 mile century on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail--our typical route--or you can make your neighborhood trails into a race course. Whether it's the most mileage in the smallest area or the longest ride in a single day, we'll be giving out amazing prizes to the individuals or teams with the most creative ride. This summer ride is also a peer-to-peer fundraiser for Phoenix Bikes, and we encourage you to reach out to your friends and family to help fundraise. We're also giving prizes to the most successful fundraisers! Last year, you raised over $27,000 total, so let's try and top that this year. We can't wait to get rolling!
The mission of Phoenix Bikes is harnessing the power of bikes to help youth build passion, purpose, and a place in the community. We are an Arlington nonprofit that uniquely combines youth educational programs with a full-service professional bike shop and retail store. Since our launch, we have had the opportunity to engage thousands of teens, with over 900 earning their own bikes so far. Local youth, ages 12 to 17, are invited to participate in bike refurbishment and retail operations as they contribute to the daily operations of the Phoenix Bikes shop located in South Arlington, VA. Through these experiences, our students are not only given the opportunity to learn technical mechanical skills and put in hard work, but also develop their problem solving abilities and gain self confidence.