A History of the Bicycle Tree

The Bicycle Tree initially began around 2003 through the efforts of a number of people who met while volunteering for Anaheim Food Not Bombs. Using donated food that would otherwise have been thrown out, we prepared free meals served to anyone who was hungry at La Palma Park in Anaheim. The food was prepared near the park at a house that we called the Victor Manor.

Attached to the house was a commercial unit that sat empty for years, which got us thinking about potential uses for the space. Many of us rode bikes as our primary means of transportation, and we shared a philosophy of reducing waste and making resources available and accessible to everyone who needed them. Inspired by nonprofit community bicycle organizations like Bikes Not Bombs near Boston, Recycle-A-Bicycle in New York City, and the Bicycle Kitchen in Los Angeles, we set about creating something similar for our hometown. We envisioned making tools and equipment available for people to use, sharing our maintenance knowledge, and rescuing bikes from neglect and disposal to help keep people rolling.

The Bicycle Tree obtained nonprofit status through fiscal sponsor Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs in 2004. After fundraising, purchasing tools, and gathering donations of bikes and parts, The Bicycle Tree held its first public workshop on the driveway of the Victor Manor on April 1st, 2006. Situated in a low-income neighborhood, we held workshops here every Saturday. People were invited to use our tools and repair stands and repair their own bikes with our assistance. We were guided by the idea that people benefit from learning bicycle repair fundamentals, and that we were reducing socioeconomic barriers to owning and maintaining a bike by providing knowledge, tools, and parts to the community in a welcoming environment.

Many children in the neighborhood regularly visited these workshops. Four youth who took particular interest in bicycle repair, participated in a preliminary Earn-A-Bike program (which eventually became our Wrench and Ride program). They learned about bike maintenance basics and repaired bikes that became theirs to keep.

 During our time at the Anaheim house, Bicycle Tree volunteers fixed up dozens of bikes and gave them to people who needed them. We also sold refurbished and unrepaired bikes to generate income for the organization. Bikes that could not be repaired had usable parts removed and the rest brought scrap recycling. This processing of hundreds of bikes kept bikes out of the landfill and provided affordable transportation for many. For two years, our operations at the Victor Manor demonstrated and developed our skills and served as an initial phase of making our vision a reality

For several reasons, in 2008 we could no longer operate out of the house, and we transitioned to providing pop-up educational bicycle repair workshops on a mobile basis. Over the next several years, we set up repair stations at dozens of events, such as the Townsend-Raitt Street Fiesta and Resource Fair, the Día de los Niños Celebration, SOMOS Santa Ana open streets event, the Noche de Altares Día de los Muertos event, the St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare Kids Health and Safety Fair, and the City of Santa Ana Earth and Health Fest. We also had various regular locations where we would set up shop: the Fullerton train station, the Orange Home Grown farmers market, the Road Less Traveled store (Santa Ana), El Centro Cultural de Mexico (Santa Ana), and the Jerome Center TeenSpace (Santa Ana). For much of this time, we used two heavy-duty bicycle trailers (pictured below left) to haul all our tools, equipment, tables, and canopies to our workshops.

To raise funds to maintain and expand our operations, and eventually establish a home for The Bicycle Tree, we held four pancake breakfast fundraiser events. We also obtained donations of funds from many businesses, organizations, and individual supporters. At the end of 2013, we held a crowdfunding campaign to gather additional funds to open a set location. With the generous support of many people, we gathered just enough to take the leap.

 In January of 2014, we opened our shop at 811 N. Main St. in Santa Ana. This allowed an unprecedented level of activity for our group, and a great diversification of our activities. This was a new start for the organization, allowing us to begin our Wrench and Ride program, bicycle donations, classes, and bike rides, as well as public maintenance workshops four days per week. We helped found Santa Ana Active Streets, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization for our city. Through the efforts of many committed volunteers and the generous support of our donors, the Bicycle Tree blossomed. Though finances at times ran thin, our community kept the Bicycle Tree watered enough to survive and thrive.

After three years at this location, we had clearly outgrown our fairly small space. The bikes, parts, and the number of visitors had us bursting at the seams. We decided that it was time to move!

After searching the city high and low, we found our new home at 702 W. 17th St. C, a mile from our first location. The space was much larger and brighter and allowed us to accommodate our growing community and inventory of bikes, parts, and accessories. Our collective effort came through magnificently, and we built out our new space on a modest budget. In this location, the Bicycle Tree has continued to thrive. Serving as a resource for thousands of people annually, with our roots and branches growing, we shall ride on!

Want to see what we're up to this very minute? Check out our facebook or instagram!

Generosity campaign video

In early 2016, we had a Generosity fundraiser. The video from that fundraiser features includes an overview of our history, as well as photos from our humble beginnings all the way through 2016. (If the video inspires you to donate, please go here.)