Some how I’ve gained a reputation for wanting bikes and related parts. In the two years that we have been in our current house I’ve amassed a collection of somewhere around nine bikes and several boxes/piles of parts. As navigating the basement has become difficult, I’ve been gathering some of these parts and bikes with the intention of donating them to Phoenix Bikes in Arlington, VA. Phoenix Bikes is an bike shop/community youth program with the goal of providing affordable bikes and repairs for the ‘greater DC cycling community’.

I stopped by yesterday morning and the small shop was packed with bikes and people. Most of the people were inside, so I suppose the above photo doesn’t really look ‘packed’. You’ll just have to trust me. Anyway, this was impressive considering it was about 15°f outside. Even the Potomac was frozen. Phoenix received a nice Schwinn hybrid and box of tires, tubes, a seat post, derailleur, and probably some other stuff I already forgot about, and I was able to clear out some valuable space in my basement. If you look closely at the photo below you’ll see the Washington Monument in the upper left above the frozen Potomac: