Silver Spring, Maryland, has long been a hub for immigrants and refugees. Manuel Vera developed some unique and creative ways to support them.
One Man’s Free Bike Shed Keeps a Maryland Community Mobile
At first, Manuel Vera just wanted to do something productive for his neighbors during the COVID-19 lockdown. Maybe he could help them get outside by tuning up bikes in need of a little TLC, he thought. So he posted to an online group in his Silver Spring, Maryland, neighborhood, offering to fix people’s bikes for free. All he asked was to be reimbursed for any new parts.
“Then I started thinking about all the bikes that people have at home that never get used,” says Vera, 74, who is retired from the local power company.
Soon he was asking neighbors to donate any bikes collecting dust in their garages and basements after kids had outgrown them or adults had upgraded to new models. Then, in his tidy little backyard shed, he’d get to work.
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Identifying a community need
Vera’s workspace is nearly as tricked out as his bikes. The green gardening shed, its inner walls lined with tools, holds a workbench and repair stand, and even has AC and Wi-Fi. You’ll know Vera is at work when classic rock or folk music floats out its open doors.
Space is tight, so Vera prefers to work alone—though not for lack of volunteers. Kabul’s fall in 2021 saw an influx of refugees to Silver Spring, a Washington, D.C., suburb of about 80,000. It’s home to families, young professionals, retirees like Vera, and a large community of immigrants and refugees raring to make Montgomery County home.
Vera tunes up the donated bikes and hauls them to parks, food banks, apartment complexes and churches. He camps out with his Free Bikes sign and waits for people to wander over. Then he pairs people up with the perfect new ride and watches them pedal away happy. His first giveaway saw six bikes go in under 30 minutes.
“People ask a few questions like, ‘Are they really free?’ ” says Vera. “The answer is: ‘Yes. If you like this bike, it’s yours.’ ”
Now neighbors know him as the Bike Dude, and they keep him busy with a steady supply of bikes, helmets and locks to redistribute. The local farmers market collected 36 bikes at its first attempt. Vera is constantly tagged in Facebook Buy Nothing group posts when locals seek to either acquire or offload sets of wheels.
Making life better, one bike at a time
In addition to the adults and kids he meets at his Free Bikes events, eager customers come from local resettlement agencies and other nonprofits. The groups provide Vera with the height, gender and age of a rider, and he delivers a fitting bicycle to their door. He’s happy to make the trip.
“People found themselves running from home, coming to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” says Vera, who emigrated from Peru with his family when he was 14. “Many of them are professionals who suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of charity.”
Manizha Azizi, 47, whose family fled to the United States when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan during the Cold War, works with Vera on behalf of the resettlement assistance group Homes Not Borders.
“A lot of times, people want to donate or offer their services, but you still have to do the footwork,” says Azizi. “With Manuel, I just give him the information and he takes it from there.”
Vera recalls one instance in which an Afghan man needed a way to get to his new job as a night security guard. Vera outfitted him with not only a bike and helmet but also lights, a pump and a reflective vest.
Ibrahim Alashe’s new bike cuts his travel time to the grocery store in half, sure. But since the 21-year-old Syrian refugee had said he primarily wanted a bike to exercise, Vera made sure his was a sports bike that he could use for cardio too. The model retails for up to $800.
“When I was looking for bicycles, it was very expensive, so when he does this for people, it makes them so happy,” says Alashe. “It was one of my dreams to get a bicycle, and he helped me lose weight. So it’s very, very good.”
So far, more than 700 Silver Springers like him have new wheels to take them anywhere their feet can pedal, thanks to the big-hearted Bike Dude.
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Originally Published in Reader's Digest
