Forgotten bicycles get a new lease on life through local co-op

Each year, the Vermillion Police Department collects a number of abandoned bicycles from the streets of Vermillion, and now a group has formed around the idea of giving those bicycles a second chance at life.

It began early last May when VPD Captain Chad Passick received an email by mistake that was intended for the police department of Vermilion (sic), Ohio, about a proposed bicycle co-op in that city.

Passick said VPD commonly gets “errant emails” intended for other police departments, particularly ones sent to Vermilion, Ohio.

The mis-sent email described a program to distribute bicycles found by the police to the community.

Though it was not intended for him, the email gave Passick an idea. Could a similar program be implemented in Vermillion, which sees a number of bicycles abandoned and collected by the police department every year?

“The idea looked like it had some merit,” Passick said.

In the past, bicycles found abandoned by VPD were sometimes sent to the state prison in Springfield, S.D., where inmates fixed them, and then were given away. Enough bicycles are found in Vermillion that the storage facility they’re kept in must be cleared twice each year, Passick said.

Passick thought the bicycle program described in the email would allow officers “to keep them right here where they can benefit our own community,” instead of sending the bicycles away.

The same day he received the email, Passick forwarded it to Kevin Brady, ride director of Vermillion’s Barking Dog Cycling Club, which Passick said had worked with VPD on previous bicycle-themed projects, including VPD’s “Bike Rodeo” for children.

Brady was also enthusiastic about the idea, and soon other members of Barking Dog were on board, including Jessi Wilharm and Thomas Marshall.

They decided to call the co-op “Recycle 605,” a name conjured up by Wilharm.

In November, Brady applied for a $500 mission grant from the United Methodist Church, which they received within a day.

Last month, the group received a collection of roughly 40 abandoned bicycles from VPD’s storage unit, many of which were in need of repairs.

The plan now is to fix up the bicycles and distribute them throughout the community in March, when the weather is more favorable, Brady said.

The plan also calls for the bicycle recipients to first work on repairs before receiving one.

Brady and Wilharm said this serves two purposes – to prevent the bicycles from ending up back in the streets, and to teach community members how to properly care for and maintain them.

“If they donate their time,” Wilharm said, the bicycles won’t be found abandoned by their owners in the street by the police department again.

Recycle 605 has made extensive use of its Facebook page for promotional purposes, and Wilharm said that has led to the donation of more bicycles, which were in better condition than those collected by VPD.

“We’re trying to hit Facebook hard,” Brady said, adding that support from the community has been “heartwarming.”

UPD also has a number of abandoned bicycles it plans to donate to the co-op.

Though no one from USD has yet come forward to volunteer and help repair bicycles for Recycle 605, Wilharm and Brady said anyone wishing to do so is more than welcome.

Barking Dog is also planning a cycling race in April called the “Dirty Dog.” Based on the “Little 500” bicycle race in Indiana, the proceeds from the Vermillion race will benefit Recycle 605.