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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Keep Your Kid Rolling With Bike Works’ Swap

News   May 7, 2010 at 10:26 am Josh Cohen

Photo from recylceabicycle.org

As the younger sibling, I received a lot of hand-me-downs as a kid. The bike my sister learned to ride on became my first bike. When she outgrew her green GT mountain bike in middle school, I became the proud new owner (though my friends gave me grief about riding a “girl’s” bike). Tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Bike Works is turning the Genesee Playfield (43rd Ave. S. and S. Genesee St.) in Columbia City into a giant family garage with their annual kids’ bike swap.

Parents and kids are encouraged to bring old kids’ bikes (24-inch wheels or smaller, no adult bikes) that no longer fit to trade in for bikes that do. Bike Works is providing more than 100 donated kids’ bikes to help facilitate the swap. When someone brings a bike, a Bike Works employee will assign it a value. If that bike has a lesser value than the one it’s being traded for, the swapper pays the difference (usually no more than $12, according to Bike Works’ website).

For families without a bike to trade, bikes will be available for sale starting at noon.




  • joshuadf

    In case you're wondering about preschooler trikes and balance bikes, I asked and got this response:
    “I spoke with the people who will be valuing the incoming bikes and the word is that we are happy to take balance bikes, but they won't necessarily receive very much credit towards a bigger bike. I do remember that last year we saw a handful of Kettler-style trikes and while they are not something that we normally see in the Bike Works shop, we were happy to take them at the swap because we hit such a larger audience at that event.”