By Brendan McGaughey
Competing in a Halloween-themed bicycle race and teaching other cyclists how to maintain their bikes are only two of the duties shared by members in the Mount Pleasant Bike Cooperative in the mid-Michigan town.
“I live without a car, so I bike almost everywhere,” said Colin Hodo, the unofficial shop manager of the co-op. “My life is generally more fun, slightly more dangerous, healthier, and far cheaper than it would be with a car.”
The co-op has a basement workshop at Justice Records in the city’s downtown. It is littered with shattered records from the store above it, bike grease, tools, tires and the sweat of members struggling to make biking more affordable and accessible.
Mount Pleasant Bike Cooperative from Brendan McGaughey on Vimeo.
Hundreds of similar cooperatives exist across the nation, although communities are sometimes unaware of them. Bike co-ops are non-profit groups that provide affordable access to cycling and to tools to repair and maintain your bike. They host seminars and workshops, surviving through donations, grants and fundraisers.
Such cooperatives are often based in larger cities or college towns. The Lansing Bike Co-op is in Lansing, Mich., the capital city right next to Michigan State University. In August 2009, Lansing became the first Michigan city to pass pro-bike Complete Streets legislation. It was followed a year later by statewide Complete Streets legislation, which established a Michigan transportation fund to support additions of bike lanes and overall roadway safety.
The Complete Streets Coalition is a national organization dedicated to enabling safe access to streets for all users, including bicyclists. The coalition and the increasing popularity in cycling could escalate the growth of bicycle cooperatives. Complete Streets legislation aims to provide safe, comprehensive streets for all types of transit, which may include the addition of bike lanes.
Recently added bike lanes to Central Michigan University’s campus in Mount Pleasant are similar to those at Michigan State University. Bike co-ops often exist in cities with bike lanes and Complete Streets legislation that aids their existence and growth.
“Communities tend to pass Complete Streets ordinances before a state does. It is sort of a trickle-up effect,” State Network Manager Rory Neuner of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.
Neuner works in Lansing and was around when the city passed Complete Streets legislation. Michigan is the fifth state in the Great Lakes region to pass statewide legislation. Illinois was first in 2007, followed by Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
New York, Indiana and Ohio are all discussing state policies, but no statewide legislation has passed yet, according to the coalition’s website. Communities in these states passed Complete Streets policies and resolutions, affirming the trickle-up effect.
Like many bike co-ops, the Mount Pleasant Bike Cooperative hosts free workshops and events to educate the community and raise funds. A recent seminar in August showed attendees how to create bike seat locks using old drive chains and inner tubes.
Joe Roggenbuck is among a small group of excited individuals who began the Mount Pleasant Bike Cooperative in October 2009.
“We try to reuse everything in one way or another,” Roggenbuck said. “Whole bikes can be given to someone, and parts can be used to upgrade or replace broken parts on someone’s bike. Broken parts can be repurposed and turned into art, or the scrap metal can be sold.”
Although Roggenbuck founded the co-op and has a large amount of involvement, he stresses his membership is no more important than anyone else’s. Bike co-ops often share this structure, where members have an equal share in decision-making.
Roggenbuck and other co-op members use the shop for bike maintenance and as an escape from their studies at Central Michigan University.
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