Tucson has its own bike recyclery, BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Action & Salvage). Nestled in a warehouse shared with other creative spaces (like a darkroom beckoning the public with an “open” sign), the front door is accessible in the back of the building, which creates a relatively tranquil courtyard away from the busy oil-run vehicular street. I walked inside with another Sleeping Frog volunteer, where Led Zeppelin blasted from the stereo, several people fiddled with their bicycling contraptions, and a few mechanics sat behind the counter or instructed the fiddlers. I spoke with one of the mechanics, Ash, about BICAS and how he came to be there.
front forks hanging at bicas
Ash has been volunteering, and then working, as a bike mechanic at BICAS for five years. BICAS has a plethora of “community tools” for anyone to use at a rate of $4 an hour, Ash said, but they also have the option of doing work-trade– using the tools in exchange for helping out in the shop. They also hold 8-week long Build-a-Bike workshops, where participants build an entire bicycle out of used and new frames and parts with the aid of an instructor. The cost of the workshop is $80— quite a steal when you consider the learning involved and the fact that you end with a bicycle that has been essentially customized by you! A used bike runs around 80 bucks minimum anyways. Not only that, but when your bike is completed, you have $40 in BICAS credit to repair it or buy parts. The workshop is also eligible for work-trade.
more of the awesome, colorful array of forks
I asked Ash about the economic viability of BICAS— do they make enough money to survive easily as an organization? The Bike Church in Santa Cruz was doing quite well. How did the Tucson version fare? They’re always trying to figure out more ways of funding the operation, Ash said, and it is tough to keep it going and pay the bills every month. But, they have been going since 1989! Luckily, this bicycle recyclery seems to be sustainable enough to keep truckin’— er, I mean, bikin’. Unlike the Bike Church, they do rely on some grants, and also hold an art auction every November/December. Local artists donate bicycle-inspired art, and, auctioned off, the art raises significant funds.
hanging frames
You’ll notice from the first image that BICAS holds Women’s and Trans workshop hours. “What’s that all about?,” I asked. “This tends to be a male space,” Ash explained, even though the staff is mostly gender-balanced. The purpose of the feminine-focused hours is to encourage women and womanly folk to come in, and to create a safe and unintimidating space for them to work. The goal of BICAS according to Ash— and the hope for the future of our species it brings— is to simply get people on bicycles. “It’s healthy, and cars are terrible,” said Ash.
bike anatomy and a free box!
But BICAS is more than just that, as awesome as that goal is. Initially, BICAS was called Bootstraps to Share, and was an organization geared to general homeless outreach and aid. Although they came to focus upon the bicycle transportation aspect of the mission, it retains a sort of community-center purpose and feel. They tend to have free snacks and drinks available, a bathroom accessible to anyone who wants to come in, a free box, and reusable cups and bowls for anyone to use. Ash said that parents will sometimes drop their kids off after school, and the kids haven’t had anything to eat since lunch. BICAS provides a place for them to have a snack and to just hang out. Travelers also will come through and use BICAS as a place to network and meet up.
This space is obviously a valuable one in the Tucson landscape, and I hope that it keeps going!
