Michael Erlanger knew he wanted to do something similar in Victoria ever since he volunteered for a 24-hour bike-building marathon program in his hometown of Winnipeg, which provided 500 bicycles to underprivileged children.

That鈥檚 how the idea for Ride it Forward came to him. But instead of building hundreds of bicycles in one day, with 200 volunteers, he decided to keep the number to a manageable few.  

A few bicycles and partners for starters, to help realize his mission-vision of providing less fortunate children freedom, dignity, opportunity, equality and a true sense of independence and self-confidence through a bicycle. 

The program involves collecting used bicycles and with the help of local bike shops, refurbishing and making them safe to ride before giving them to students who do not have their own.  

Setting the wheels in motion

"I thought maybe there is an appetite for people who want to donate bikes and get those into schools," the 64-year-old former architect said, following his retirement.

So, he pitched his idea to Friends of Rails to Trails 鈥� Vancouver Island (FORT鈥揤I), a national organization that converts abandoned rails to active transportation, of which he currently serves as an active board member. 

"I asked the board four months ago to include a brief blurb in our quarterly newsletter, which is distributed to 1,500 people, asking if anyone has bikes in their garage that their children have outgrown," he said. 

鈥淔our days later, I had 18 bikes sitting in my parking lot at home and I thought, ok, there's an appetite here.鈥�

With 18 bikes in his possession, he needed a school to partner with to help find deserving students who would be recipients of a newly refurbished bicycle.

That鈥檚 when he reached out to a family friend who happens to work at the Welcome and Learning Centre of Greater Victoria School District 61.

Finding riders in school

Erlanger asked Samantha Rubin, multicultural liaison support worker at SD61 if they鈥檇 be willing to support his project.

"We were absolutely thrilled, humbled, honoured and privileged to be the recipients of such generosity,鈥� Rubin shared. 鈥淭he decision to partner with Erlanger came easy because we have a population that is underserved at the Welcome and Learning Centre 鈥� a soft landing for students who enter our district who are refugees and immigrants.鈥�

Rubin said having a bicycle would give some of these students a feeling of liberation and freedom, especially if they come to school riding their bikes.

"It's just amazing for someone who has nothing to be able to own a bike that people put so much love and care [into]."

One of Rubin's responsibilities is to evaluate the needs of the students who arrive at the centre and find out if any of them have bicycles or other resources already.

This is how they would determine which students get the 18 bikes presently being restored by Victoria Electric Bikes, another one of Erlanger's partners.

Bringing bikes to life

鈥淚 was really excited the first time Michael walked through the door and pitched the project,鈥� said staff member Alexandra Robertson. 鈥淚 knew right off the bat that our head mechanic Dan Tombs and owner Charles Turner were going to fall in love with the idea.鈥�

Robertson said having to repair or rebuild 18 bikes may be logistically challenging but the timing was perfect; recent storms brought a lot of customer cancellations, giving them time to attend to the bicycles.

鈥淭here was a lot of, 'Should we do it or should we not?' because it is such a big project to take in,鈥� she added. 鈥淣ormally we schedule three services in a day, so to have 18 bikes rolling through, that's a lot.鈥�

Dan Tombs didn鈥檛 seem to mind, getting right to it the moment the first bike rolled in.

鈥淲hat appeals to me about the project is there is a human side that says we care about those who are new to this country or struggling,鈥� Tombs said. 鈥淭o me, the whole purpose of living is caring for others, so this is just a wonderful gift to them and I鈥檓 happy to be part of it.鈥�

For owner Charles Turner, biking is the best way of getting around.

鈥淚t's so good for our souls and I believe that if we all helped out everybody, just a little bit, the world would be a wonderful place.鈥�

Building partnerships for good

Just like building a bicycle, every part of Ride it Forward is coming into place, with more partners joining the project.

Greater Victoria Canadian Tire donated $1,200 worth of products including helmets, bike locks, and bells to name a few.

Recyclistas Bike Shop in Victoria opened up their bicycle 鈥榖oneyard鈥� and allowed Erlanger to strip bikes of usable parts.

Once all the bikes have been completely refurbished, they will be stored at the University of Victoria鈥檚 security department until the actual hand-off event.

鈥淲e鈥檙e giving deserving students a complete bicycle package,鈥� Erlanger said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited for this project and we鈥檙e just starting.鈥�

Ride it Forward rolls into schools sometime in early 2025. Anyone looking to donate bicycles can email morethanbikes24@gmail.com.