Bike Co-op

When visitors first arrive in Durango they notice a common hobby among the locals, biking. For some it is just a hobby, a way to escape the pressures of school and work, and for others it is a method of transportation. It shouldn’t shock you to be driving down Main Street or up college drive and have a bicyclist pass you. The patron saint of bicycling in Durango is Melvin Smylie, who for thirty years took donations of old bicycles and gave them a second life, fixing them up and then selling them at affordable prices.
After Mr. Smylie passed away, Durango Cyclery began to fix up the old bicycles he had left over. The problem was that people kept donating bikes. Russell Zimmerman, owner of Durango Cyclery, and mechanics Bob Gregorio and Jon Bailey kept fixing them up and giving them away. After a tremendous turn out they decided to start a bike co-op, something the bike community had been talking about for years. A local offered them a warehouse to rent for free the first year to store the hundreds of bikes. They are making it so people can get their bikes fixed and learn how to fix bikes for the future. Bikes are for sale for about $25.
To keep up the spirit of Mr. Smylie they plan to have an annual project to fix a bunch of bikes and give them away on bike-to-work day. They still have some left over money to get the co-op on its feet. The rest they will acquire through donations, grants, and fund raising. The co-op will offer monthly membership as well as mechanical and technical advice. The co-op plans to take off next spring. The co-op will pay for itself through donations. If you want more information, stop by the Durango Cyclery or call 247-0747.

Devon Dey