He Fixes Broken Bikes and Gives Them Away

Somewhere between his lifelong love of tinkering with bikes and retirement from his job at HP, John Burkitt, of Hudson, figured out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. 

Put people on bikes. 

Not just any people, and not just any bikes.

Burkitt wanted to rescue, repair and repurpose old bikes and find a way to get them to those who needed transportation, including kids who were missing out on one of the funnest parts of being a kid.

So Burkitt, a bike zealot in his own right, decided to launch Let's Put People on Bikes via Facebook, a one-man mission to connect bikes with people in need.

Part of the process for Burkitt included gaining some serious fix-it skills by sending himself to the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, OR. 

Of course, he was thinking at the time that it was to refine his bike tech skills so he could launch his own fix-it shop once he retired. 

"I liked the idea of fixing my own bikes, but soon realized it wouldn't be a good side job – there's really not that much money to be made fixing bikes," Burkitt said. 

As it turned out, boosting his bike-fixing skills would be just what he needed to get his charitable bike recycle business in motion, and that's exactly what he's been doing.

People give him their broken bikes and Burkitt revives them. He's been working in the basement of a friend's home in Amherst with just enough room to store a small number of bikes, spare parts and tools.

Since 2010 Burkitt figures he's fixed and donated more than 100 bikes, distributing them between the Nashua Soup Kitchen and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua.

In the past week he's delivered 11 more bikes, which has pretty much wiped out his stock of broken bikes.

"I'm looking for more bikes to work on over the winter," Burkitt said. "I actually managed to score some storage space from friends at church – and other people told me they have a corner of a garage or basement for me to use, so I've finally solved my bike storage problem. It would be sweet to have bikes to work on all winter."

In the grand scheme of things, Burkitt would love to figure out a way to start a bike co-op in the city, taking on a storefront where people could drop off old bikes and pick up usable ones.

"I like the idea of fixing up old bikes – for one thing, it keeps them out of the river," says Burkitt.

He is most interested in finding old mountain bikes and hybrids, which translate into the most practical rides for those who would be using them for commuting to work or picking up some items at the store while making the rounds.

"You can actually throw a rack on a mountain bike. I've had offers of nice road bikes, but those kinds of bikes are harder for people to use if they're not used to riding them," Burkitt said.

When he's not fixing bikes, he plays upright bass for "New Hampshire's hardest working jazz sextet," Wide Avenue Cohort – at least that's according to their Facebook page.

Between those two endeavors, Burkitt has his hands full of things he loves to do.

"I grew up outside of Chicago where they have a few hundred miles of rail-to-trail paths. I'd say Nashua has some pretty safe places for people to ride, too," says Burkitt, who loves riding the city's trails, and commutes as much as possible, including to the Unitarian Universalist Church from his Hudson home on Sundays. 

"I really enjoy what I'm doing. All I need right now are more old bikes," Burkitt said.

If you've got bikes to donate, or would like to make a general donation toward bike parts, you can reach Burkitt at john.burkitt@gmail.com or by phone at 603-889-9126.