Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop

J&H Outdoors has selected us to be one of the nonprofits in their Bags to Riches program, meaning you can support Broke Spoke every time you shop there!

When you shop at J&H, choose not to bag your order - the cost of the bag will be ducted from your order and placed onto a token, which you can drop into Broke Spoke's jar as a donation! Tokens will be tallied at the end of October and J&H will donate the total to us!

At the end of October, the non-profit with the most tokens will advance to a second round of participation in November and December with another non-profit. At the end of December, the organization with the most tokens will win an additional $10,000!

Support us this summer and fall so we can get more funding to give Lexington better access to better bikes!

Hope you enjoyed bike month! If not, that's okay. We encourage you to try again this month. Forever.

We've been busy as ever, thanks to all of you and especially our volunteers!
We rehabilitated and re-homed 25 bikes this month. 4 bikes earned in full, 3 given away, and 18 sold.

Our long time buddy Daniel (goggles, trench coat) has been volunteering off and on for a good ten years. As we all get a little slower, as did Daniel. About a year ago, he swapped his bike for a shopping cart. It got tough, but he kept it movin'. He pulled up a few weeks ago, clear headed , bright eyed, and got to work. Cleaning bikes, pumping up tires and joking with Carl like it was 2016 all over again. He picked out a bike that he wanted to earn, and our volunteer mechanics made sure it was suited and safe. Daniel ditched his cart at the shop, and rode off into the sunset like he was a kid again.

For some folks, there are very powerful and underlying forces of redemption that come along with riding/fixing a bike. Whether you believe this to be a function of magic and mysticism or our inherent intuition that we can be who/whatever we want, it's all the same when you ride your bike.

You're enough and your bike will prove it to you!

Ride safe and take care.

PS:
~Open Hours~
Sunday 1-5pm
MONDAY 1-5pm (this is new!)
Thursday 1-5pm

Second Tuesday 6-9pm LGBTQ+ Night
Third Tuesday 6-9pm Women/Fem Night

Bluegrass Cycling Club (BCC) held their seasonal Horsey Hundred BCC ride this past weekend. A world class opportunity to accredit and spotlight smaller communities just beyond the edges of Fayette county. Riders visited Millersburg, Versailles, Georgetown, Paris, Stamping Ground, Jimtown and a half dozen beautiful and integral townships in-between.

In three days, a little more than 1,600 people chose from one of eleven routes. Some of them riding over 100 miles in a single day.

Just as Fayette county residents rely on the support and success of these smaller communities, BCC relies on volunteers from other organizations to do what they do best.

BrokeSpoke has relied on support from BCC, every year since our inception almost twelve years ago. We're always glad to help them out when they make that call.

This is our volunteer support team from this year. They managed the rest/check point in Stamping Ground and looked great doing it. Thank you all for your support.

Ride safe and take care!

Pedals spin, a rhythmic dance,
Amongst cherry blossoms, a fleeting trance.

With each turn of the wheel, a story unfolds,
In Kentucky's spring, where beauty beholds.
-ChatGPT

February and nearly March have rolled by quickly! In that short bit, we've had EIGHT folks volunteer their time in the shop and earn their bikes.

Our buddy Keith earned his bike back in January. He's been back since then to volunteer and let us know he's secured permanent housing and loves the independence he feels in having a bicycle to get around town. He also recruited his new buddy Damion to earn a bike as well(not the Roadmaster, promise). They both volunteered a full day last weekend, and combined their shop credit so Damion could get a bike too.

We try and foster an authentic sense of community and connection with everyone who steps in the shop, and that's a hard thing to measure and know if you're doing it right. So we pay close attention to folks like Keith and how they feel when they're here. They'll let you know.

We gave away two bicycles to Jules and Ange on behalf of our friends at KRM.

Three friends, over the course of three weeks all purchased bikes from the shop. One, told another, and told another. Twenty nine more of y'all have purchased bikes from us since January. We appreciate every one of you!

Julia (not pictured because they're fast like a squirrel), often helps to lead both LGBTQ+ and Women/Fem nights. They also made us banana bread, to which Steve helped himself. Thanks Julia and thanks Steve.

Also pictured, folks doing what they can with what they have. Show up with just a little "can do" energy, and we'll double it.

There's SO MUCH more, y'all don't even know ;)

Ride safe and take care!

Another opportunity to join us in a respectable place with friends and volunteers to teach and support each other. Snacks, drinks, and your whole self are always welcome.

Bring your own bike to work on, start a new build, or help us fix our bikes. We may have "clinic" sessions, so keep an eye out and let us know if you plan to make it.

Ride safe and take care!

ps: official event is on our page and we'll share on social media channels in the event of any cancellations/delays.

Your local Good Foods Co-op (455 Southland Dr) has been supporting local farmers, makers and non-profit organizations all over Kentucky for over fifty years. If you're able to stop by and support them, round up your purchase a few cents and help us out. It takes a village!

Ride safe and take care.

Happy New Year everyone.

Looking back at 2023 with a million tons of gratitude. We did all this, we opened an additional day of the week, we began two recurring "shop nights" for Women/Fems and our LGBTQ+ friends and families. We try our best to create a space and culture where you are free to be yourself and learn that you can do it and how asking for help, should feel good.

We're back to normal operations and then some. Our first bike dispersal of 2024 could be an omen of sorts.

Our new friend Kevin relies on his bicycle to get on with life. He was recently hit by someone driving a car and he along with his bike took some pretty serious damage. A few cracked ribs and a bent front fork and handlebars. He was wearing hi-vis vest and had a front light turned on.

We determined it was best if he just left the shop with a new bicycle that was more his size anyway. We got extra lucky and his rear rack fits the new bike! We were able to get him a new hi-vis vest and a headlight too(thanks Cameron and Dudley!). He was beyond appreciative and returned a few days later to volunteer.

Watch out for Kevin. He's hard to miss. Thank you all.

Ride safe and take care!

We spent some of our downtime at the shop to do some much needed renovations to our bathroom. We still have some drywall finishing and painting to do, but this turned out pretty well.

Heartbreaking. Check on your cyclist friends and family.

Bicyclist taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after downtown Lexington crash Police are responding to a crash in downtown Lexington.

Sixteen bicycles, repaired, refurbished and soon rehomed to young adults in need. Many of them not only supporting themselves, but their families too. Please look out for them.

If you've ever given us a dollar, turned a wrench, taken a class, donated a bicycle, taken out our trash, mentioned us to a friend, or shared a post on social media, this is what and who you're supporting. Thank you, so so much! We're all in this together.

Big shout-out to Operation: Secret Santa, Malicote Creative Co. and Clem's Refrigerated Foods for pulling this off short notice.

Secret Santa could still use a lot of hands. Check 'em out. Ride safe a take care!

That's tomorrow! Want to rebuild a wheel hub? We'll give you some hints, but you'll DIY. Want to really really understand how your gears work? We'll tell you their secrets.

Decently behaved children(and adults for that matter) are always welcome! This stuff ain't hard to learn, promise!

Our hearts are tender with yesterdays news of Lexington's 18th pedestrian killed by a moving vehicle. Our hearts are tender to the unmet needs of too many in our community, especially during this time of year.

Our door is open and our hands are here to help. We have warmth, shelter, bikes and kindness.

Ride safe and take care!

A long time comin'!

An exclusive opportunity for our LGBTQ+ friends and family to gather at the shop and do bike stuff! This session will be pretty informal. Bring a bike to wrench on, and/or any questions you might have. We'll also have bikes in the shop that we can show you how to repair. 

The evening will be led by trained and knowledgeable q***r volunteers. We'd love to have you aboard with them, so show up and lets chat! 

We mostly just want to have fun, make friends and provide more friendly space for under-served bicycle communities here in Lexington. Bring a friend/ally and lets break the ice!

This new match fund + the Bluegrass Cycling Club (BCC) match to us means your donation to Broke Spoke will be TRIPLED!! Triple your donation here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

📣Special Announcement📣

Our final 2023 GoodGiving Challenge Happy Hour is getting a super boost!🚀 Instead of $2,500, this match pool is now $20,000!! Starting at 4pm, your donations up to $500 will be DOUBLED! That's right...gifts will be matched dollar for dollar (maximum match of $500).

This match pool will last until the GoodGiving Challenge ends at midnight tonight, or until the match pool is exhausted.

It has been a long and generous week, but if you have anything else to give, this is the time! Let's finish the 2023 GoodGiving Challenge strong! Donate➡️ www.bggives.org

This morning, there was $4,000 left in Bluegrass Cycling Club (BCC)'s match fund for us. Right now? There is $1,800!! You all have supported us a lot this week and we are so grateful. We still want to get all of that $10,000, though, so share this with all of your pals! You can send us some love and donations here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

On this last day of GoodGiving, your donation will help the people who need help most get access to opportunities, simply by having an easy way to get around.

A lot of faces come through our shop in any given week. Our customers and volunteers working to earn a bike are often people recovering from substance abuse, people who are homeless, refugees and immigrants who have just moved to Lexington from another country to try and start new lives, and many more people who need a space to find a way forward.

Every week, the services we provide kick off a fresh start or a victory lap for someone pedaling through their life's journey. For a lot of people, better access to better bikes also leads to a better life. Send us a donation here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

We are nearing the end of GoodGiving, but there is still a lot of ground to cover! How far can a simple $25 donation today go? Today, it can go a long way!

If we can get 50 donations at $25 or more, we could win a $2,500 bonus prize! The three organizations with the most $25+ donations will win bonus prizes between $5,000 and $10,000! Your single $25 donation could result in thousands of dollars for Broke Spoke.

Our friends Bluegrass Cycling Club (BCC) still have $4,000 left in their matching fund for us, so we still need to raise $4,000 to get the full matching fund! Remember: this is a 1-to-1 matching fund, so your $25 donation will turn into $50!

We have received so much support this week. We're nearing the finish line, and you can help us finish with flying colors! Donate here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

Check out a few sneak peeks! They'll be more. We're pulling out some wheel sets, derailleurs, cranks, shifters and cassettes as you swipe.

We want to give a HUGE thanks to our friends at Bluegrass Cycling Club (BCC) for providing us a $10,000 Match Fund for GoodGiving! All donations you make to Broke Spoke are being matched until the fund runs out. Every donation you make will be automatically DOUBLED!

If you're strategic and pair this with other match opportunities provided through GoodGiving, your donation could be TRIPLED! Make a matched donation here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

⏰Set your alarms! At 9am, you can double your donation to Broke Spoke! All donations up to $50 will be matched 1-to-1, so a $50 donation turns into $100 for us, or a $25 donation turns into $50 for us!

This match will run from 9am to 11:59am, but donate ASAP - the match pool won't last long! Donate here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

Today marks Giving Tuesday, the first day of the GoodGiving Challenge! This week, you have a special opportunity to support the work we do here at Broke Spoke to make sure Lexington has better access to better bikes. You can donate to support our mission here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

That mission statement, "Better access to better bikes," is pretty straightforward. But a lot goes on behind the scenes to fulfill that mission.

We recruit volunteers and train them for several weeks so they can skillfully repair your bikes and ours.

We inspect and organize every single part that comes through the shop to make sure it is safe enough for the people we see riding every day.

We keep track of how many bikes we've sold, how much stand time customers have used, and how many hours volunteers have given to the shop.

We host events - both educational and for fun - for our volunteers, for people from marginalized communities who need a safe space to be themselves, and for all of Lexington.

We meet frequently as volunteers, staff, and Board to find ways to improve shop operations and grow every day into a better Broke Spoke.

We apply for many grants a year to create new programs and sustain the shop.

We also, of course, have rent and bills to pay.

Broke Spoke needs your support to keep this work going. Your donations make better access to better bikes possible.

We are grateful for your support on Giving Tuesday. We genuinely couldn't do what we do without you! Need that donation link one more time? Here ya go: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

‼️GoodGiving Starts Tomorrow‼️We'll keep this post short and sweet - the real fun will begin tomorrow! But as GoodGiving kicks off, we ask that you support your friends over at Broke Spoke. Your donation goes a long way to making sure people have better access to better bikes. 2023 has been a big year for us; your donations will help us make 2024 even bigger.

If you just can't wait to give, we have good news: early donations are being accepted now! Your donation today will be matched by half, so your $50 donation will get $25 added to it. You can donate here: https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke?utm_source=sqmktg_email

Huge thanks to for supporting us through their Thoroughbred Classic 5K! We love being a part of the annual Thanksgiving Day run that supports local non-profits across Lexington. We have been supported by the Thoroughbred Classic for several years and we always look forward to a brisk Thanksgiving morning with runners all across the bluegrass.

A few Broke Spoke volunteers made it out to Keeneland Thursday morning to help with the event -- we didn't get any selfies, but we were able to get a pic of some doggos running laps like pros. That might be even better than a team selfie.

We hope you've had a good Thanksgiving weekend celebrating your friends, families, and neighbors🧡 And don't forget, GoodGiving Week starts on Tuesday!! You'll be hearing more about that soon 😉

Show up for women/fems riding bikes and help us create space for everyone!

Y'all remember 2010? How about 2012? It was a blur, and not just figuratively. We were just a little baby Broke Spoke.

Our comeuppance at the time was just as wild, wholesome, and entirely community organized and built as these pictures would have you believe. We sold t-shirts, and tickets to see Ben Sollee at Al's Bar of Lexington to keep the lights on. We taught each other. We busted our knuckles. We scraped lead paint by the warm glow of borrowed floodlights in the back of a frigid warehouse while making friends for life. We believed in building a space for people that didn't have one, by the people who did. Still do.

Since then, things have only gotten tougher and too frequently more unjust for folks who've fallen on some bad luck or didn't have much to begin with. We have no plans to stop helping them. It takes a village, and we could always use your help. Visit our website and let us know what you can do, or keep reading if you've got a few bucks to throw our way.

The Blue Grass Community Foundation annual fundraiser is in full swing, and a huge deal on our books. Here are the best times to make it count!

Donations made BEFORE November 28th will be matched 50¢ for every $1, up to gifts of $250 (until the $50k matching funds are exhausted, first-come first-serve).

Donations made ON November 28th 9p-11:59pm will be matched $1 for $1 up to gifts of $100 (until the $13k matching funds are exhausted, first-come first-serve). Set your "Hey Siri, Google, Alexa" reminders now!

You can also give anytime between now and December 1st, and there a lot of prizes and challenges we'll be eligible to win with every donation made.

https://www.bggives.org/organization/brokespoke

We'll be posting reminders here pretty regularly, so bear with us. Much fewer words.

Ride safe, take care and happy holidays

Women/Fem night next Tuesday! Check our events for details.

We'll be closed next Thursday for Thanksgiving.