Shacktown Community Cycle

In our most popular program, participants can come in and volunteer 15 hours of time, 1-3 hours at a time. During those 15 hours they contribute to the operation of the shop, learning some basic skills of bicycle mechanics, organizational skills, and the structure of showing up to a “job” regularly (even if it is for a short period of time). Upon completion, in addition to gaining valuable experience and know-how, participants are gifted a refurbished bicycle of their own.

We are committed to honoring the shop’s original mission, while building on and beyond it to make what we are doing here a vital part of our Downtown community.

While we are glad to order brand-new parts when needed for repairs, 100% of our recycled parts and refurbished bicycles come from donations, and we are always grateful for donations of workable, quality bikes and components in order to keep our mission self-sustaining.

With new ownership and vision, we have changed our logo and name. After some long contemplation and research of our local roots, we decided on Shacktown Community Bikes. The area coined as “Shacktown” was once a little community down below the falls. “For several decades, there was a collection of shacks along the Spokane River downstream from the Monroe St. Bridge and under the trains that rattled along the rim of the gorge. The squatters, all men, came and went, each selling his shack for a few dollars when he moved on. Reporter C.R. Stark bushwhacked down the slope in 1945 and wrote about the settlement. ‘Shacktown. To many citizens of Spokane, it represents an eyesore, a blotch on the landscape that should be removed without ceremony and ordinances passed to make impossible every to return. To the 20 men who live in the little cluster of shanties nestled on the bank of the Spokane River down under the Monroe St. Bridge, it represents... home, the spot where they can do exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it, and no one is there to tell them to stop.’ Stark wrote that five of the twenty were pensioners and others held regular jobs. Several spoke with foreign accents and some raised gardens and fruit trees. For the men, mostly former lumberjacks, railroaders or miners, ‘the cost of living is reduced to an absolute minimum.’ The shantytown was demolished in 1951 because of a concern over fire safety.” (read more at http://www.spokesman.com/then-and-now )

We have dubbed the shop in honor of this tidbit of Spokane history, FOR its not-so-pleasant aesthetics. We may or may not be a slight eyesore like the Shacktown of the past, and we are far from being able to compete with the elite bike shops of the greater Spokane area. What we ARE all about is using our own considerable bicycle skills and experience to do what we can to help our fellow human beings with limited/fixed incomes, just plain-and-simply offering affordable transportation with little to no financial obligations, empowering individuals to create their own opportunities, and building positive connections in our community. #givinghope #onehumanrace #standtogether #peoplepowedvehicles #SpokaneBikes #NoHateHere #Loveislove #FaithisFaith #OnePercentForThePlanet #PapisPedicab #Thisisasafeplace #foreveryone.

To be continued...