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Our Story
The Beginning
Bike Works’ earliest roots began with the ideas and dreams of building a Yellow Bike Share Program in Seattle whereby bicycles could be made available and everyone could have ready access to public bikes through a collaborative model rather than having to rely on owning their own bicycle. The founding group of activists who were kicking around these ideas grappled with the reality that many community projects around the world had attempted similar projects and had met with varying degrees of success.
This founding group’s ideas of widening access to alternative transportation for anyone regardless of socio-economic status, of investing in young people, of pushing for environmental justice and of fostering relationships and sustainability in communities were resolute.
As the conversation and excitement about the possibilities on the table spread, many incredible people who saw potential in the ideas invested their time and heart to make the original project, The Free Ride Zone, a reality!
Early Growth
The Free Ride Zone’s first project was a collaboration with the John Muir Elementary School, and it quickly became clear that Southeast Seattle and young people would remain at the heart of the growing organization’s mission.
 Columbia City was a natural home for the Zone as Southeast Seattle, a racially and economically diverse community, had the city’s highest transit ridership, youth population, and unfortunately, rate of poverty. The conditions were ideal for bicycle transportation, but Southeast Seattle did not have a single bike shop. In fact at the time there were no bike shops between Capitol Hill and Renton leaving Southeast Seattle without access to affordable bicycle services.
Free Ride Zone provided not only a bike shop, but also a community resource that is a home base for young people to learn and to feel a part of something, that promotes alternative human-scale transportation, and supports adult volunteers to give back to the community.
In 1997, the Free Ride Zone obtained 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit working with kids, bikes and community in the Rainer Valley - devoted to building sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling. With seed money from the City of Seattle's Neighborhood Matching Fund we were off to a brilliant beginning!
That same year the Zone found a home in what used to be a cobbler’s shop front and family home in the heart of Columbia City. The tile work along side our front door still features a boot to honor that history.
 Out of this shop front and newly renovated classroom space, Free Ride Zone began the work we continue today by offering four dynamic programs: Earn-A-Bike, a Bike Shop Vocational Education Program, Neighborhood Rides, and a Bicycle Redistribution Program.
Some Things Change
In 1999 the Free Ride Zone, since it was no longer pursuing the bike library concept as was originally envisioned, changed its name to Bike Works.
A logo was formed as an accompanying image for the new name, and our website was also created at this time - and both of these actions launched us into a larger realm of access in the community.
Where We Are Now
Since 1996, Bike Works has been a safe-haven for over 1,800 youth. During this time, we’ve learned that all young people thrive when they are valued, when they value themselves, and when they feel a sense of belonging to a community. Through time-intensive mentoring programs during the school year, and innovative summer bike touring and riding opportunities, Bike Works reaches youth who are not usually attracted to traditional enrichment activities, and helps them realize their own self-worth in an environment that will support, encourage, and strengthen them.
Where Are We Headed?
We are currently engaged in a comprehensive Strategic Planning Process that will support our organization to articulate a renewed vision to guide our future growth and development. Our strategic planning process will engage our full board, staff, and community leaders in the exploration of where we want the organization to be in the next five years, and the creation of a plan to help us get there. If you are interested in hearing more about this process please be in touch, and we will update this information when our Strategic Plan is complete – check back!
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