This May, in celebration of Bike Month, residents, schools, and local partners across Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek counties came together to support Upper Explorerland’s Safe Routes to School’s “Recycle Your Bicycle” initiative. The project collected over 200 donated bicycles throughout northeast Iowa - a testament to the region’s interest in sustainability, community, and active living.
Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organizations throughout the area, many of the collected bikes found new homes right here in local communities. Others, not taken or exchanged locally, were donated to two nonprofit organizations: the Iowa City Bike Library and the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective.
Both groups share the mission of promoting healthier, greener communities through bicycling. The Iowa City Bike Library accepts donations of complete or partial bicycles, parts, pumps, helmets, clothing, and accessories year-round. Bikes that can’t be restored are dismantled and responsibly recycled, diverting thousands of pounds of material from landfills each year.