by Dennis Augustine
When our next door neighbor Howard Green passed away unexpectedly, my wife Cecile and I couldn’t help but feel the quiet ache that settled over his home. His son, Michael, now faced with the heavy task of sorting through over forty-five years of memories and belongings, seemed overwhelmed. Among the things left behind were five bicycles—each one a silent witness to his father’s love for the outdoors and the simple joy of riding.
I thought of my dear friend Jimi Hunter—the one who first got me into biking. Our rides together had not only brought me fitness and fresh air but also a new way of seeing the world. I called him up and shared the situation, and without hesitation, he said, “Let’s do something good with them.”
Together, we offered to take four of the five vintage bikes off of Michael’s hands (Keeping one of his dad’s favorite to remember him by), giving him one less thing to worry about and a little peace of mind knowing they’d be put to good use, and for a good cause. Jimi reached out to Mike’s Bikes Foundation, a nonprofit known for collecting and shipping bicycles to students in African countries, including Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe to name a few helping kids get to school and build a better future. Since 2008, over 34,000 bikes have been donated thus far.
Loading the bikes on Jimi’s bike car rack requiring two trips, we felt a quiet satisfaction—a sense that something beautiful was being born from loss. When Jimi dropped them off, the team at Mike’s Bikes was incredibly grateful.
It was heartwarming to know that we were a small part of something big. That in the middle of grief and transition, we could be a bridge—not just for my neighbor’s son, Michael, but for students and adults who needed them an ocean away. It reminded me that sometimes, we don’t just ride bikes—we move lives forward in the spirit of friendship and giving.
