The Penn State College of Medicine REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) Team has partnered with the Lebanon Valley Bike Coalition to launch a new program, the Lebanon Bicycle Recycle (LBR). With the Community Health Needs Assessments data, physical activity surveys and conversations in the community, riding a bike was a very popular response to physical activity interest.

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The program launched in November of 2021 with the purchase of a trailer to serve as a mobile workshop for bikes. The trailer was in the Lebanon parade, at First Fridays, Summerfest and other events in town. In December, the Bicycle Recycle started collecting bikes at their location at 53 Chestnut Street in downtown Lebanon. Over 225 bikes have been collected to date. Starting in January, mechanics were trained to help repair the donated bikes. There was training for middle schoolers from Lebanon Middle School and other community volunteers. In March, with sponsorship from Penn State Health, LBR held their Ribbon Cutting and opened the workshop to the community. With partnerships at the Northwest School, there were two giveaway days in April and May where almost 20 bikes were given to students. Along with the bike, they received a riding lesson, safety bike rodeo course, bike locks, helmets and a bike safety packet. The Lebanon Bicycle Recycle has partnered with over 12 organizations to find volunteers, give bikes away and help with the program.

What is next for LBR? The Lebanon Bicycle Recycle is adding bilingual volunteers to help with interpreting at the workshop, training new volunteers to fix bikes, assist at events and work on safety education around cycling. The program is a launching point for other projects to expand family rides and more ridership, install more bike lanes and bike racks and expand cycling in Lebanon for physical activity, enjoyment and transportation.