Longmont Velo bike shop owner Paul Anderson works on a bike Wednesday morning that will be given to a HOPE client. ( Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer )
From the Times Call
A silver Gary Fisher-model mountain bike was the center of attention Wednesday before opening hours at Longmont Velo, where four cyclists standing in a circle commented about its life-changing potential.
Pati Walker, Paul Anderson, Rick Mueller and Dustin Foudray are volunteers for the Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) bike program, celebrating its first year at the end of May.
“A bicycle can be a life changer for some of these people,” said Walker, the program’s coordinator. “It gets them to a job, it gets them where they need to be and more than their feet … It’s nice to have your own transportation.”
The program has provided 41 restored bikes for people facing homelessness in Longmont and there are 19 more rigs in the queue — just in time for cycling’s busy season spanning now through late fall.
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