The 816 Bicycle Collective is Kansas City’s first and only bike co-op, similar to those found in other major cities like New York and Chicago. They are a non-profit organization located at 3109 Troost Avenue, and their mission is to "rescue and repair bicycles" and then redistribute them to the public at no cost.
According to the group’s pamphlet, their stated purpose is "to empower individuals by providing the education, materials and skills that facilitate self-reliant transportation."
"We don't expect to eradicate cars. That's not our goal. We just want people to see bikes as a relevant form of transportation," Idres Raoufi, one of the founding members, said.
As is true of most groups, there are several versions of how the group initially formed. Here is one version.
Two years ago, Sean Eagan decided that he wanted to travel. He was about to turn twenty years old, and had no car and very little money. Most people would stop there, but not Eagan.
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When he reached Chicago, he was offered a place to stay by a woman who took care of neglected children. Most of the children heard of Eagan's bicycle adventure and were impressed; each of them wanted a bike of their own.
What Eagan soon discovered is that many of them already had functioning bicycles that only needed minor repairs: air in the tires, the tightening of a bolt or two, adjusting the seat, and the like.
Eagan found the children's bicycles tucked away in basements and garages and pulled them from their dusty graves. He tweaked them here and there, and watched as the children enjoyed cycling around the neighborhood, having fun and getting exercise.
For various reasons, Eagan returned to Kansas City sooner than he had planned; but, from his brief experience in Chicago, an idea – and perhaps a life's purpose – was born.
When he returned to Kansas City, Eagan began hanging around the Acme Bicycle Company located at 412 East 18th Street. There, he asked questions and learned to do more extensive repairs.
Eagan was working towards a goal; he wanted to start an organization that would get people out of cars, off of the streets, and onto bicycles.
Soon, he met three other individuals who had goals similar to his own. One of them, Suzanne Hogan, had even helped to start a similar organization in Santa Fe, and Kirk McDowell, another founder, had worked with a bike co-op in Minneapolis.
Raoufi, the fourth and final founding member, was another bicycle fanatic who was looking to make an impact on the Kansas City community. All four had already decided, whether consciously or unconsciously, to dedicate a large portion of their lives and energy towards cycling.
"We are insane about bikes. We've practically isolated ourselves from society," Raoufi said, only half joking.
Ideas were shared, contacts were made, and soon the ball was rolling on their plan for a community-oriented, non-profit bike cooperative. They began meeting twice a week to begin hammering out the details for starting the co-op.
The four founders developed a brief constitution and decided to call their group the 816 Bicycle Collective, then they received non-profit status through the Kansas City Bicycle Federation (http://www.kcbikefed.org/).
Next, they needed a physical location, and so the hunt for space began.
They were offered a free work space in the Creative Minds Art Center (CMAC) just behind the Crossroads Info Shop at 31st and Troost. The space was offered to them under one condition: They had to clean it up themselves. Upon first glance, they realized that they had some work ahead of them.
"Lawn mowers, hoods for industrial ovens, air conditioning units – name something, it was in there. Literally, you couldn't walk five feet into the room," Eagan said.
Feeling inspired, the 816 Collective cleared the space in less than two days. They even ripped out the old wooden floor and built a storage shed and work bench out of the remains.
When completed, the storage shed will be used as a shelter for the 200-250 bikes that the 816 Collective received per donation from Bikes and Trikes for Tykes. As of now, all of those bikes are stored in various basements and garages throughout the city.
The renovation of the 816 Collective's shop began two months ago, in August 2007. Now it is nearing completion and, other than lack of funding, there seem to be few barriers to their success.
The 816 Collective gathers every Saturday at 4 pm, and because they are a non-profit organization and not a bike shop, the group consists strictly of volunteers. They must rely upon donations to pay rent, but, as of now, funding is scarce, which means that a lot of the work that could be getting done, isn't.
"A lot of times too many people [volunteers] show up. The excess of volunteers is great at times, but we just don't have money for the supplies we need right now. [As of right now] our balance is around negative fifty-two dollars," Eagan said.
Members plan to have the operation in full swing by the end of winter when bicycles will be in high demand.
Anyone wishing to become a member – there are three member positions available as of this printing – should show up at 3109 Troost at 4 pm on Saturdays to take part in the construction and organization of the shop.
All prospective members must start out as volunteers. "We would have to spend some time with them [prospective members] to make sure that they don’t have a different agenda. We don't want someone who is going to try and turn this into a money-making endeavor. We have to be somewhat selective because we're trying to create something sustainable," Hogan said.
On November 3, the 816 Collective will be sponsoring an event that includes food, drinks, and music (and a bicycle tug-of-war?) at the Harrison Fort, located at 2832 Harrison Street. Local music acts - Ad Astra Per Aspera, The Sperm, and Dark Ages - will also be performing.
The event begins around 3 pm. A five dollar donation is requested, and all proceeds will be used to help the 816 Collective get the supplies they need.
To find out more information, or to contact the 816 Bicycle Collective, visit their MySpace page at (http://www.myspace.com/the816bicyclecollective), or send email inquiries to The816bike@gmail.com.
Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College