REFLECTIONS OF A VOLUNTEER
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An Amazing Donation to RCB
Stopping to pick up "some" donated parts, the first sight I saw was a garage filled with bicycles and bicycle parts. Then the real picture emerged. Sadly, Andre, known as The BikeMan of Rochester, had passed away. His companion, Mary, had sold much of his stock to local bike shops and was offering to donate the remainder to RCB.
So, there was a garage-full. Then Mary showed me the sunporch, literally filled waist-high with boxes of parts, most of them new. It seems that Andre's philosophy was to rescue bikes then rebuild them using only new parts. "You can have all of these." Wow! "Oh, there's some parts in the parlor," then more parts, tires, tubes, tools, cleaning supplies and bicycles in the basement. Finally, an attic filled with bicycles and skis. Skis? More about that in a minute.
Andre loved to fix bicycles. After retiring as a medical technician he began resurrecting bikes that he picked up off of the street or bought at garage sales or auctions. He made a modest business of selling refurbished bikes to local residents and, particularly, students. Many students at RIT had an ongoing business relationship buying and selling bikes and bike parts with Andre. He did business as The BikeMan and was well known.
A few days after my first visit, four RCB volunteers picked up the donated items. We filled a full-size Chevy cargo van four times -- to the ceiling. We also filled the RCB bike trailer four times with bikes and parts. After a full morning's work, all-in-all, we were graciously given about 75 bicycles, hundreds of tires and tubes and hundreds of other brand-new parts, tools and supplies.
Andre loved to fix bicycles. We remember him with a new sign in the work area reading "Andre and Mary's Parts Corner." Thanks to him, our mission will be a bit easier for a long time. When you see a bike going down the street, think of Andre.
Oh, and the skis? It seems that Andre never sold a ski. We don't know what he intended to do with them. However, if you visit Cummings Nature Center and rent some skis, there is a good possibility that they are some of the more than 50 pairs that were donated there in his name.
For RCB, and especially for our clients, "Many, many thanks again, Andre and Mary."
Fred Sauter