The battered bicycle lay half-buried in trash in the overflowing dumpster, handlebars bent at an odd angle, chain twisted and rusty, one wheel missing. To the eyes of the average person, the bike appeared useless. But to the trained eyes of the dedicated volunteers of Seacoast Pedal It Forward (SPIF), this crooked tangle of metal evoked an image of the bright, shiny, re-created bike it would soon become in their practiced hands.
SPIF, an innovative program of the nonprofit Seacoast Area Bicycle Riders (SABR), refurbishes discarded or donated used bicycles to provide to local nonprofits and individuals. Under the blazing lights of the bike shop at Port City Makerspace (PCMS), the program’s co-leaders Matt Glenn and Dawn Przychodzien spearhead a team of fellow volunteers who harness their passion for bicycling to make a difference for those less fortunate. Thanks to their skilled efforts, the sad bicycle from the dumpster was reborn as a gleaming gift to a Portsmouth middle schooler living with his mom without means of transportation. The precious new bike became the boy’s exhilarating ride to school and a ticket to exploring the mountain bike trails that had been calling to him. His grateful mother would write to SPIF, “You have given him so much joy.”
For a child, receiving one of these bicycles during the holidays is pure magic. Glenn, the father of two young children, understands there is a fantastical quality to this Christmas gift. He smiles as he recalls the look of wonder on his own kids’ faces when discovering a new bike under the tree. “The real gift is the freedom the bike brings,” he says. “It gives them a way to go places and hang out with friends.”
SPIF grew out of the efforts of its parent nonprofit SABR, an organization that since 1992 has advocated for improved biking infrastructure—such as the hugely popular rail trail and bike-safe street routes—throughout the Seacoast. At the annual SABR meeting in January of 2024, the idea for the bike refurbishing program took wing, inspired by Portsmouth Housing Authority’s Andrea Pickett, who held a successful repaired-bike giveaway the previous summer. The ambitious, newly formed SPIF team had the program up and running by spring.
Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, a varying number of the 20–25 current volunteers happily toil away at the makerspace, channeling their cycling enthusiasm into their work. Volunteers are an eclectic bunch, ranging from high school students to senior citizens, some with vast expertise and some with very little. According to Glenn, the work nights hum with a collaborative vibe, in perfect harmony with PCMS’s pervasive spirit of knowledge sharing. Every bike they give out is checked by a qualified mechanic and includes a lock, light, and helmet. The program’s partnership with the makerspace has been invaluable, providing SPIF with a workspace, tools, and a storage area. “We wouldn’t be as far along as we are without them,” Glenn says.
SPIF partners with many local charities including Hope on Haven Hill, the Portsmouth Elks, and the Chase Home, as well as with the Portsmouth Housing Authority and local school guidance counselors. Most people the program helps are adults at a crossroads in their life, needing a form of transportation. The donated bikes provide recipients with a means to seek work, attend a job, or get to the grocery store. These partnerships work both ways: SPIF supplies the nonprofits with bikes, while the organizations collect used bicycles for refurbishing.
The impact of this program reaches beyond community members to those whose usual mode of transportation plies the frigid depths of the sea. In partnership with Portsmouth Elks Lodge 97, SPIF donates bikes to submariners at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, providing these far-from-home sailors with transportation off the base and giving them a sense of belonging to the local community. One such sailor returned the favor by volunteering to rehab bikes for his fellow shipmates, and by offering his services to other SABR events.
Co-leader Glenn often encounters his program’s unique “fingerprint” on his two-wheeled travels around town. While attending a community lunch, he parked his bike next to one sporting an SPIF sticker. On closer inspection, he remembered the bike as one his own hands restored. Another SPIF sticker caught Glenn’s eye at Market Basket, leading him to wonder if a store worker was using the bike to get to his job. “It’s nice to see an SPIF sticker on a bike I remember working on,” he says. “It lets me know we are making a difference.”
Joy abounds in this program, radiating to all involved. Przychodzien explains that each bicycle transformation touches three different people in a positive way: the person who donates the bike, the volunteer who works on it, and the recipient. “We are creating this beautiful life cycle,” she says.