Officials at Community Christian Church in Aurora were hoping to give kids a back-to-school boost on Saturday by offering a free bicycle repair clinic.
The four-hour event at the church at 635 N. Randall Road was open to the public and included a small team of volunteers who were prepared to take in about 50 bikes, with services like lubrication, adjusting seats, tightening brakes and repairing flats being offered.
Head Pastor Rodrigo Cano said he helped organize the event and that discussions for the repair clinic and other events “took place earlier in the spring as we plan our summers early.”
“We had a picnic in June and a car show in July but we know that kids are going back to school and a lot of them ride their bikes, so we thought this was a way to engage with the community,” he said Saturday. “We’ve been thinking about it for a few months and now it’s finally happening today.”
The repair team was led by Pete Essling of Aurora, who has been doing bike repairs for some time and has a supply of materials.
Cano said the church was ready to step in if materials were needed.
“In case we run out the church will have to go and get what we need,” Cano said. “This is a first-time event and depending on how things go we’d like to bring this back. We’ve only been in this site for three months. We’re trying to connect with the community and let them know we’re here.”
Essling said he has been doing bike repairs for well over a decade and was prepared to handle just about anything on Saturday.
“I expect to do mostly brake and gear adjustments,” he said. “I do have some inner tubes if there are some flats. I’ve been doing this for about 15 years. I have a full-time job and this is just kind of like a hobby for me.”
Essling said he was a member of Community Christian Church and understood the event “was a way to bring people out to learn about us.”
“This is very good. You can see what is going on. The police are here, the ice cream truck,” he said. “The goal is to get people to God.”
Bikes were dropped off for repairs and marked with tickets for reclaiming later. Game tables inside the church were provided and a special appearance from the Aurora police was also arranged.
Aurora Police Sgt. Matthew Bonnie was on hand with a S.W.A.T. truck and a mobile command post – a police department on wheels.
“We like to reach out to the community and have community contact and go to as many events as possible,” he explained.
Almost a dozen bikes were brought in within the first 20 minutes of the event. Penny Bantz of North Aurora brought a bike she said her son is going to use at college this fall.
“I got a basic tune-up with the brakes and cables and anything else I might need,” Bantz said. “My son is starting college and he’s not taking his car – we might bring it up later but for now he’s using his bike. It was really nice to find this and I just wanted to make sure he was all set. I got this done in 15 minutes and everyone was super-friendly.”
Chris Nelson of Sugar Grove brought all three of his children’s bikes and said the two-wheelers “needed mostly tune-ups but one of the bikes needs a new part and I brought one along to get it fixed.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not a bike mechanic but this community event provided a great way to do it,” he said. “I know the church is trying to get people to know about what they are doing and it’s one of the main reasons we showed up. It’s a church-sponsored event and we happen to be looking for a church as a young family and figured we’d check things out here and kind of double-dip in terms of the opportunity.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
