Rolling Into Fall: An End-of-Summer Update

Summer is winding down, and the shop has never been busier — in the best way. Before the season turns, we wanted to share a few updates on where Upcycle Bikes stands and where we're headed this fall.

After a long stretch of running shorthanded through the peak of summer, we are fully staffed. This season we welcomed a new mechanic, a Volunteer & Partner Operations Coordinator, and a Director of Fund Development, rounding out the team that keeps bikes moving from donation to distribution. For an organization that started out of a barn in 2022, a full team means something simple: we're confident we have the skills and capability to keep scaling up.

Even shorthanded, the work never slowed: 976 bikes have gone to riders across West Michigan so far this year.

Why a bike? See for yourself.

How big is the transportation need in our community? This summer we added an interactive tool to our website that makes it easy to see — and it tells the story better than we can.

What does getting around really cost?

Move the slider to a household's yearly income and see how much of it goes to getting around.

Annual household income $40,000

$5,000$150,000

▲ $25,000 — 80% of our riders live at or below this line

19%

of household income goes to transportation

About $7,600 per year — $633 every month

0%25%50% of income

| The red line marks 15% — what a household can spend on getting around and still make ends meet.

Nearly one dollar in five. At this income, transportation takes a bigger bite than food. A reliable bike can replace some of these costs entirely.

These numbers come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s study of what American households actually spend on transportation (2023). The lowest-income households spend about 32 cents of every dollar they earn just getting around, while the highest earners spend less than 10 cents. If anything, the real numbers here in West Michigan are a little higher — our region relies heavily on cars, and Michigan has some of the highest car insurance costs in the country. Sources: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, H+T® Affordability Index.

Built on real West Michigan data, the pattern is hard to unsee: the less a household earns, the bigger the share of income transportation takes. At $25,000 a year — a line 80% of our riders live at or below — getting around by car consumes roughly a quarter of household income. Experts consider 15% affordable.

That's the reality our riders are navigating, and it's why a reliable, no-cost bike matters: every mile on a bike puts money back in a budget with other demands on every dollar.

Pedals for Progress is almost here

Our one fundraising event of the year is coming up fast: Pedals for Progress, Thursday, September 24, from 6:00–8:30 pm at the Goei Center.

Because every bike we provide is no-cost, community funding is what sustains this work — and Pedals for Progress is where much of that support comes together. Join us for an evening to celebrate the progress our riders are making and invest in what comes next.

Tickets and sponsorships are at upcyclebikes.org/pedals-for-progress.

We'll see you there — and until then, you know where to find us: 800 Monroe Ave NW, Suite 110, Monday through Thursday, 10 am–4 pm.