Hidden in the basement of the Grace Hopkinson Eliot Hall on the Radcliffe Quadrangle is Quad Bikes. A nonprofit bike shop was founded in 2003 by Harvard graduate Tim Ledlie assisted by JC Agudelo. Quad Bikes is the non-profit bicycle shop for the Harvard Community. Their mission is to encourage people in the area to understand, use and appreciate bicycles through bicycle repair, sale of parts, accessories and refurbished bicycles, classes and a workspace rental service. They have made space, tools and expertise available to the LIFT Bike Project.
Liz Powers, a recent Harvard graduate and resident of Wellesley, led efforts to create the LIFT-Boston Bike Project, an ongoing project that addressed what she saw recurring need among LIFT for affordable transportation that was not provided by the MBTA. Powers said “I had clients who were unable to access existing social services like food pantries or go to job interviews because they couldn’t afford to take the T. In order to fill this gap, I created the Bike Project to refurbish abandoned bikes.” She recruited several community partners and volunteers to donate and refurbish bicycles, then gave the bicycles, along with helmets, locks, and a mandatory bike safety course, to LIFT clients.” Volunteers from the community drop-in at Quad Bikes on scheduled days and assist in refurbishing bicycles.
View the photo reel of the LIFT-Boston Bike Project with the original article