I am riding a new trail for me, the Western Maryland Rail Trail, for Phoenix Bikes' annual fundraising ride and I am hoping to complete a metric century. I am also hoping for an early start, the fitness to finish in 5 or so hours, good baked goods (I'm counting on you, Blue Goose Fruit Market and Bakery in Hancock!) and not so sizzling temperatures (low 80s and low humidity would be nice)...
Throughout the pandemic, Phoenix continued to serve the Arlington and greater DC community. We provided bike repair services and used bikes for sale so folks could get to work and stay active. And we taught youth bike repair skills initially through virtual classes, Facebook and TikTok videos and later through outdoor Earn A Bike (EAB) classes, ultimately serving 196 youth in 2020. Happily in 2021, we are once again offering youth rides, advanced mechanics coursework and support for the youth race team. And with schools fully re-opening in the fall, I am looking forward to returning to the classroom to teach EAB classes!
Phoenix partially covers its own operations costs with used bike sales (505 in 2020) and bike repairs, but we need additional financial resources in order to cover the costs of our youth programming. We would appreciate your support of this small organization which makes such a big impact in the community.
Phoenix Bikes Raise + Ride: Sizzling Summer Century
Phoenix Bikes is back again this year with another exciting Raise + Ride event, this year sponsored by our generous friends at Amazon! The Sizzling Summer Century ride is designed to get you and your team active and raise money for a great cause! With this event we're giving you the opportunity to stretch your creative skills and make your own routes, whether that's sticking with the 100 mile century on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail--our typical route--or transforming your neighborhood trails into a race course. To spice things up, we'll also be giving out amazing prizes for acheivements like most money raised, highest number of donors and team members, and more!
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. Last year we blew our goal of $25,000 out of the water by raising $75,000, making it the most successful fundraising event that Phoenix Bikes has ever had! We're looking to soar to last year's astronomical heights again by setting our fundraising goal at $75,000, with the hopes of continuing and ideally exceeding the incredible efforts of 2020! We can't wait to get started!
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.