The Bike Exchange

Her growing kids were growing tired of being stuck inside during the pandemic. A suburban mom recalls the struggle to find them bigger bicycles. Our Lauren victory explains now how the wheels in her mind started to turn. This is Lindsay Silver was a parent with a predicament her kids bicycles were too small. It was a time where everyone was dying to be outside. Does pandemic back ordering? Ring a bell. There was just no bikes available anywhere until. She thought of a solution. I was a little nervous to post it to see if people would embrace it or if they would think it was a terrible idea. Silver's talking about her March 2021 proposal to the River Forest community with people don masks and come to a free bike exchange. You can drop off a bike that you're no longer using or maybe is too small for your children and then you actually then pick up a new bike. Check out this line. People loved the idea. Swap an old ride for a new one or donate money to roll away with a set of wheels. I truly feel It's been really, really incredible. The now 5th annual River Forest Community Bike Exchange is scheduled for this Saturday. You feel I'm just fine. The perfect match for you. CBS News Chicago cameras caught a glimpse of bike drop offs so far this week. Here's what Silver's backyard tends to look So no chance of parking cars here by the weekend. No, my job can't even use the car. In 2024, almost 200 used bikes went to new homes, all of them tuned up by volunteer mechanics, who fixed flat tires, tighten pedals, and straighten out handlebars. It's pretty solid. They're making sure that the bikes are safe to be ridden home by kids Any bike too tricky to repair or leftover from the event could wind up far away from River Forest With the bikes, they're able to visit more villages. Africa might be where you find an extra bike from the exchange after they're picked up by working bikes. The Chicago nonprofit also collects broken parts from the events Maybe we will cut it into strips and tie pedals to the bikes that we ship abroad. Maybe we'll use it to lash down bikes on the back of a truck. A truly sustainable operation. Thanks to a mom on a mission, Lauren victory CBS News Chicago. The Silvers are collecting bikes for the rest of the week at their home across from River Forest Public Library based on the pictures there. You won't have too much trouble finding it. There are a lot of bikes for sure. You can also bring one to the exchange event that runs from 10 to 1 this Saturday at Roosevelt Middle School.