Groups unite to provide bicycles for tornado victims

Published: Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:04 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | VeloCity Pro Cycle and the Druid City Bicycle Club are coordinating the Tuscaloosa Bicycle Relief initiative to collect donations of bicycles for people who lost their modes of transportation in the April storms.

Money, bicycles, helmets and locks are welcome, but the program is accepting only equipment that is in working condition. Donations can be made to Druid City Bicycle Club and shipped to VeloCity Pro Cycle at 2318 4th St. All donations are tax deductible.

Donations will be strategically awarded to recipients based on need, with those requiring transportation for work taking priority.

Organizers are also welcoming donations of bicycles for children.

Pixie Hicks, a member of Druid City Bicycle Club, noticed the visible signs of damage the tornado had left on people?s modes of transportation in the weeks after.

?Generally, I remember seeing people driving around Tuscaloosa with cars that were battered up and with tape and cardboard on them,? she said.

In an age of urban sprawl and miles of roads that separate one from home and work, the need for reliable transportation is greater than ever.

Hicks said several people in the bike club were directly impacted by the tornado. Sam Rombokas, an officer in the bike club, lost his home and his bike. He said Tuscaloosa Bicycle Relief is a natural step for the bike club.

?I guess it would be similar to people who had access to clothing stores and access to people who had donations of clothes,? he said. ?Our contribution was to replace an integral part of people?s lives, and we have found with our observations that there seems to be an increased number of bicyclists around town, not only with students, but also with people who are now riding for transportation. We suspect that is because of the hardship suffered in the form of loss of automobiles, and people have perhaps tightened their budgets to help recover from their losses.?

Rombokas was out of town when the April tornado struck his home, leveling the house and rending his Cannondale bike in two.

?We spent probably the next four weeks constantly digging through and removing bricks and walls of the chimney to find small pieces and remnants of our property,? he said. ?We kept finding things further and further away from the house. My wife eventually went to the next subdivision down and lo and behold, she finds my bicycle.?

Rombokas said he loved the bicycle, having tracked more than 5,000 miles on his Cannondale in the previous year.

Knowing Rombokas? affection for his bike, Bruce Henderson, the president of the bike club, contacted the national office of Cannondale to ask for help. Weeks later, Cannondale provided Rombokas a replacement frame for a new bike.

Henderson said he contacted local business owners to request donations of bicycles. The main task was to find the people who relied on bicycles for transportation.

?We decided to go and use social media very heavily and asked a lot of people in churches and employers in town like DCH (Regional Medical Center) to help in identifying people in need of bicycles,? he said.

Source: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20111225/news/111229898

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