Bike!Bike! Aug 10-12, 2007

Every now and then, I photograph something other than portraits and weddings. The above picture is a blurry shot of wheels hanging in a warehouse in Pittsburg. The warehouse is inhabitated by Pittsburg Free Ride. I traveled to Pittsburg to attend the annual Bike!Bike! conference with Neighborhood Bike Works (with whom I volunteer for). The conference is held every year for non-profit bike organizations and collectives to get together and attend workshops to better their shops and programs. For instance, NBW works primarily with Youth Development programs, and held a workshop on how they do in fact, just that.

Not every shop or organization is the same. Some provide bikes to college students on campuses, others do earn-a-bike programs with the urban youth, and even others work across the ocean. Above is David Cicero Bevacqua. He works with kids in Tanzania, providing bikes and earn-a-bike programs by "diverting undervalued bikes in this country from the landfill to a resource scarce community in Tanzania."

Of course, there was also time to have fun. This above picture is from a raffle to win a free bike. The raffle selected 11 people, who competed in a game called "foot down," which means, the last person to put their foot down on the ground while riding their bike won.

And finally, above is NBW's workshop on Youth Development Programs, helping other shops and collevtives to get started or improve their exsisting programs.

Overall, I have an incredible time riding around Pittsburg, and meeting alot of new people who are set on improving our environment and youth by bicycle riding really inspired me to do more for my community here in philadelphia.