Nestled along a nondescript central Evanston alleyway, Mike Moyer’s garage-turned-workshop has churned out, by his rough estimate, 400 used bicycles.
He gives them all away.
Moyer has accepted bicycles in various conditions for repairs for less than two years. Using spare parts and plenty of compassion, he said, he fixes them up and donates many of them to Evanston families and refugees who’ve arrived in the Chicago region from around the world.
On Thursday, he donated what he estimated as No. 401: a tiny set of wheels destined for a young boy. He lifted the kid-sized bike into the trunk of Evanston resident Katie Kline’s car.
Kline volunteers for Refugee Community Connection, an organization that aids refugees who’ve settled in the region. Among its many initiatives, the group coordinates a “Bike Brigade” — three mechanics including Moyer — to make bicycles available for immigrants who need them, Moyer said.
Refugee Community Connection oversees its volunteers through its 13,000-member Facebook group, which Kline heard about soon after recently moving to Evanston from Virginia.
“I wanted to do something that’s positive,” Kline said. “So I just reached out, joined the group, and then they wanted a lead for a family. So I was like, ‘Oh, I can try to help with that.’”
Moyer connected with the group not long after he revved up his workshop.
One day in 2023, he said, a friend who worked at Evanston Township High School said she knew two students who walked all the way from south Evanston, always late. Knowing Moyer’s bike-repairing prowess, the friend asked Moyer if he could fix her bike, as well as one of Moyer’s, to give to the students.
“I got them both running,” Moyer said. “I dropped them off at the high school. And at 3:35, when the bell rang, the kids came out, and they got on these bikes. And they were just hooting and hollering riding down Dodge.”
Another project came from Nichols Middle School students. As they rode off into the sunset, Moyer said, the idea took root. He’d collect donated bikes, fix them up and give them to people in need.
That soon included refugees through the Facebook group, which offers all sorts of items to help refugees get settled.
“Then it really started to blow up,” Moyer said.
Now, Moyer takes donations, as well as help from mechanics who want to assist his cause. He mainly needs bicycles to work with, telling The Daily that he’d encourage Northwestern students to donate.
By Moyer’s count, his 400th bicycle went out Wednesday night. Mayor Daniel Biss, a cyclist himself, stopped by his workshop Thursday to commemorate the milestone, recounting how he first heard about it from Gov. JB Pritzker.
“The governor calls and says, ‘I’m doing the State of the State address, and I really want to highlight your incredible constituent, Mike Moyer,’” Biss said. “And I’m like, ‘Mike who?’”
He then lauded the project as emblematic of “the heart of Evanston,” an example of residents working together.
Like many others before No. 400, the fixed-up bike gave its recipient a new set of wheels.
And, Moyer said, something more.
“We could see him ride off,” he added. “He just felt — he looked lighter when he was riding away.”
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