Courtesy Katie Lupo/Gearin’ Up.
If you wanted to buy a used bike in D.C. without using a computer, you’re were of luck until two weeks ago. That’s when Gearin’ Up — a used bike shop with a higher goal — began operating in Trinidad.
Sharing a space with beer purveyor Bardo, Gearin’ Up will sell used bikes, parts and supplies like helmets, as well as offer repair services, Thursday through Saturday. A grand opening celebration is planned for this weekend. But they’re also a workforce development non-profit that wants to train community members and offer employment opportunities.
Gearin’ Up was established two years ago, co-founder Katie Lupo said by phone, and the goal has always been to open a retail space. After one year spent getting non-profit status and another year securing a space, they are ready to begin their mission in earnest.
The organization already works with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington on bike safety programs. But, Lupo said, “having our own space will allow us to reach more people and have more programs both for youth and adults.”
“Finding a retail space for a new startup nonprofit in D.C. is not exactly an easy thing to do,” Lupo said, adding that they wanted to be in a neighborhood with “a lot of diversity.” “Having the opportunity, especially in a neighborhood we’d really like to be in, is excellent.”
Two years ago, Lupo was interning in D.C. and wanted to buy a used bike, but was “shocked” that there weren’t any stores in the city. (D.C. was once home to the community bike shop Chain Reaction, but it closed in 2007.) She returned to the University of Wisconsin, where she was a graduate student, and began volunteering with Dream Bikes, an “organization that strategically places used bicycle stores in distressed low to moderate income neighborhoods to provide hands-on, paid job training to teens.”
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh my gosh, why isn’t there one of these in D.C.?'” Lupo said. Not long after that, Lupo, along with Michael Mims and James Howard, began the process to start Gearin’ Up.
“There’s a lot that you can do with the bicycle, using it as a tool to teach people,” Lupo said of Gearin’ Up’s purpose. “When we’re working with youth, we say it’s all about the bike. … But in reality it’s not about the bike. It’s about everything else. It’s all the other life lessons and skills that can be obtained by using the bicycle.”
Lupo said Gearin’ Up — which has already partnered with the Friendship Charter School to run safety and skills sessions, and will run a summer program with the Latin American Youth Center — is open to anybody. “The idea is that we create a safe space to come to,” she said, adding that people who want to learn or volunteer are simply asked to be safe and respectful to others.
Eventually, volunteers and people who move through the Earn-A-Bike Program will have a chance to be employed as mechanics.
Lupo said volunteers and donations are always welcome. Because they operate as a non-profit, they cannot offer money for donated bikes.
Gearin’ Up will operate at 1200 Bladensburg Road NE now through October from Thursday to Saturday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. This Saturday’s grand opening party begins at 7 p.m.
