Kailua-KONA — Grant Miller, owner of Bike Works Kona, Bike Works Beach &Sport, and Bike Works Mauka, announced today that all three shops will be accepting donations in the form of bikes, in addition to hosting a community ride Sunday.
The bike drive will meet the ongoing need that families who lost their homes and belongings in the Lahaina fire have for transportation and recreation. Gently used, “in working condition” bikes can be dropped off at Bike Works Kona, Bike Works Beach &Sport in Waikoloa, or Bike Works Mauka in Kamuela during normal business hour.
“Whether it’s a kid’s bike or adult’s, we will spruce it up. And once we fill the container, we’ll send it off to Lahaina.” said Miller.
“When someone suffers in Hawaii, we all feel it. In the bike industry, we help others by getting people on bikes,” said Aaron “Moose” Reichert, the owner of Krank Cycles in Makawao on Maui, whose own business was damaged by a fire in January. “That’s why we provided a family who had lost everything and was living in someone else’s home with bicycles. The parents shared that their children had been overwhelmed since the fire. However, within days of receiving the bikes, they noticed a remarkable change. The bikes were the first step towards reclaiming a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos.”
Reichert has donated 30 bikes to local families so far and is partnering with Miller and his Hawai’i Island bike shops to collect more bikes over the coming weeks.
“Bikes help the families impacted by the Lahaina fire by relieving stress. What’s more, bikes can replace lost transportation,” Miller added.
To show additional support for friends and colleagues who lost their bike shops and homes in the Lahaina fire, Farran Hart, manager of Bike Works Kona, is organizing the Ride for Lahaina. The community bike ride will also promote two campaigns to raise funds for Jeff Roberston, co-owner of Maui Sunriders Bike Co., who lost his Lahaina shop in the fire, and Jamie Boote, owner of West Maui Cycles, who lost his shop and his family’s home in the fire.
“Although Maui is a different island, it is a short distance away, and we are only separated by an oceanic channel,” said Hart, who said that the ride was an idea rooted in the desire to offer support, help, and love to Lahaina. “With everything they are going through, reaching out to the shops to see what we could do made sense to me. I had a simple vision of just getting people in Kona to do a short ride that was inclusive and supportive.”
Ride for Lahaina details
The eight-mile ride will take place at 8 a.m. Sunday.
Participants should meet at Bike Works Kona in Kopiko Plaza. The ride will go down Ane Keohokalole Hwy before heading back to Bike Works.
Participants are encouraged to show support for Lahaina and all those impacted by the wildfire by wearing something pink, which is the official color of Maui.
Bike Works is offering free bike rentals for this event to anyone who wants to participate but does not have a bicycle to use.