Mister Fix-Its
In total, they’ve restored and re-donated at least 3,800 bikes—693 last year alone—and approximately 70 percent of their fixed-up bikes go to the Salvation Army.
September 1, 2024 Published in the September-October 2024 issue of Sarasota Magazine Bikes Boys leader Tom Ott Some retirees socialize on the driving range or the pickleball court , while others find meaning at animal shelters or soup kitchens. For the dozen or so men who call themselves the “Bike Boys,” it’s a bicycle-filled warehouse in the Rosemary District that calls to them.
“It’s rewarding, and I don’t like golf,” says Tom Ott, the 72-year-old de facto leader of the group, which spends a few hours a week repairing donated bikes for the Salvation Army and other local nonprofits. Ott joined the nascent bike-repair meetup in 2012 as a way, he jokes, to avoid learning how to swing a club. “I thought, ‘I can fix a bike!’” he says. “Little did I know, I couldn’t.”
Twelve years later, Ott’s skills have grown, as has the group. In total, they’ve restored and re-donated at least 3,800 bikes—693 last year alone—and approximately 70 percent of their fixed-up bikes go to the Salvation Army, which redistributes them to graduates of its Life Recovery program and other clients recommended by caseworkers. The Salvation Army also provides an air-conditioned space for the Bike Boys, plus additional storage space.
The first rule of Bike Boys is, “We never turn a bike down.” Of the 250 or so bikes they receive a month, […]
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