A concept bicycle shop offering work skills, job training to individuals of all abilities
DENVER – Assisted Cycling Tours, a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, will celebrate the launch of its concept bike shop, A New Spin, on Saturday, April 22 at 6410 Wadsworth Bypass from 12p – 4p.
A New Spin is the only bicycle shop of its kind in the United States, offering individuals with disabilities the opportunity to cultivate work skills and earn bikes through working at the shop. The venture is a bike collective model offering internships, earn-a-bike programs, bike education classes, and supported employment training for individuals with Developmental or Intellectual Disabilities, as well as low-income (at-risk) individuals (without disabilities). Their mission is to use bikes to create a fully inclusive community regardless of income level, ability level, nationality and to teach people of all abilities how to fix bicycles.
The shop will currently be the only one of its kind in the Denver metro west area to operate as a bike collective and provide refurbished and workable parts to customers. “This is a great opportunity to engage adults and kids of all abilities and income levels in the world of cycling. We are seeking to bring people who are typically considered to be on the fringes of society to be an active force in the small business community,” states Bob Matter, Founder and Executive Director of Assisted Cycling Tours.
Assisted Cycling Tours is excited to promote and share their core values of: patience and humor, integrity, respect, inclusivity, and empowerment with the Denver community. The public is welcome to attend the launch and celebration of this unique new bicycle shop in Arvada. Due in large part to its uniqueness, numerous community leaders are expected to be in attendance at the event.
This sounds like an excellent experiment! I am sorry I didn’t pick up on this news until today. I am a seventy-year-old guy with a vision disability who recently rebelled against my dependency on others for transportation and decided to build my own electric bike to take advantage of the wonderful bike paths and trails around the Denver area. When I was younger I had no idea how aging and even small disabilities could isolate people from the world! I think biking might be a great way to combat this. Good luck with your program.
I am still in the middle of my bike conversion project, forever awaiting parts in the mail. I think bike building skills should be part of everybody’s education. I learned my basic skills sixty years ago when I was wheeling all over this town. Now, later in life when I need them, I am thankful for them. Not only do we not forget how to ride a bike but you also never seem to lose the ability to work on them. I haven’t ridden for forty-five years but am all pumped to get back rolling again. You folks sound alright to me. One day I will visit this shop.
Bob Seible