Dozens of used bicycles are lined up for sale outside a small retail lot at the corner of Pacific and Morro streets. In the doorway, a speaker plays upbeat music and the smell of rubber tires fills the room.
This is home to the Bike SLO County Bike Kitchen, a do-it-yourself donation-based bike shop where customers have a hand in learning how to fix their own bikes.
On a busy Friday afternoon there are five customers in the shop, enough to make the space feel tight. As if crawling through a laser maze, customers and staff weave through propped-up bikes to avoid toppling them over.
Kinesiology freshman Hollen Wegley is a member of the College Corps who works at the Bike Kitchen.
“I was terrified of bumping the bikes and causing them to crash,” said Wegley about her first day at the shop.
Wegley said she joined the College Corps because she enjoys volunteering and wanted to earn money for college. She had no experience fixing bikes before the fall, and she said trying to help customers was scary at first.
In the do-it-yourself spirit of the Bike Kitchen, Wegley learned how to fix bikes by spending time there.
“I’ve built up some more confidence as I continue working and understanding bikes better,” Wegley said.
In September the first cohort of College Corps Fellows began working at the Bike Kitchen. The state-funded program provides college funding to individuals who work for community service organizations, according to its website.
Bike Kitchen manager Daniel Rezai Asl said three College Corps members help with everything from greeting customers to mopping the floors.
“It’s a lot more of a relief for us to have the College Corps,” Rezai Asl said. “They’re all amazing.”
The shop is open on Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. for customers to shop for bikes and parts.
Customers have access to tools and the staff’s knowledge. To use the store’s services, it costs $10 per hour between noon and 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Some customers are intimidated by the DIY aspect of the Bike Kitchen if they have never worked on their own bike.
“You can see it in their eyes,” Rezai Asl said. “I can calm them down, let them know we’re gonna take care of the bike with you together.”
Rezai Asl has been working with bikes for almost 20 years and said he has learned that it is important to make customers feel welcome in a bike shop, whether they know how to fix their bike or not.
“You can go into a bike shop and be afraid to ask a question, be treated like an idiot for not knowing or saying the wrong thing,” Rezai Asl said. “That is the last thing anybody should ever feel in an educational space.”
Executive Director of Bike SLO County Rick Ellison said the Bike Kitchen aligns with Cal Poly’s learn-by-doing motto.
“It is an open door to provide people the freedom to learn how to do something simple on a bike or learn how to do something very complex,” Ellison said.
One of the Bike Kitchen’s biggest challenges is exposure to Cal Poly students, Rezai Asl said, who make up around half of the Bike Kitchen’s customers.
Forest and fire sciences freshman Mya Dunne discovered the Bike Kitchen by researching bike shops online. Without a car on campus, she wanted a way to get around the city.
Used bikes typically sell for around $225 at the Bike Kitchen, Rezai Asl said.
Dunne bought a used bike at the Bike Kitchen in the fall and recently returned to fix her chain. The staff explained how to fix it and allowed Dunne to do the work herself.
“It was really cool to learn how to do that,” Dunne said after she fixed her bike.
Most customers are “stoked” when they leave, Rezai Asl said. And for him, the Bike Kitchen does not feel like work.
“The whole time I’m in my zone,” Rezai Asl said. “I’m a huge introvert, so this is one place that all that kind of goes away.”
