Sometimes big ideas start in small, unexpected moments.
In August 2025, my husband and I traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado for a gravel bike race. As we wandered through the vendor area, one booth in particular stopped me in my tracks: Adaptive Adventures, an organization that provides outdoor experiences for athletes with disabilities. Their vendor setup wasn’t just a table and a tent—it was a trailer, open for people to walk through and explore.
Inside were adaptive bikes, thoughtfully secured. At the front of the trailer was custom cabinetry stocked with tools, allowing on‑the‑spot repairs anywhere they traveled. What struck me most was how intentional the design was: this trailer wasn’t just for transport, it was a mobile hub for access, education, and outreach.
As I walked through that trailer, it became immediately clear to me: this could be the next step for the Lincoln Bike Kitchen.
Turning Vision Into Reality
Expanding outreach has long been a goal in our strategic plan. We know that access to bikes—and bike repair—shouldn’t depend on transportation, geography, or resources. A mobile outreach trailer would allow us to meet people where they are, rather than asking them to come to us.
Over the following months, that idea began to take shape in a very real way. Thanks to grant funding from the Nebraska Recycling Council, generous private donations from Jim and Denise Peter, and support from 100 United for Good, we were able to purchase a 16‑foot custom‑built trailer designed specifically for our needs.
And now—it has officially arrived! (Photos coming soon!)
Putting It to Work
The trailer is already becoming an essential part of our operations. We’ll be using it at the KLKN/Channel 8's 3rd annual Community Bike Donation drive on Thursday, May 14, where we anticipate collecting up to 300 donated bicycles.
With this trailer, we’ll be able to efficiently transport those bikes to our storage facility, where they will be repaired, prepared, and matched with their new owners. As demand continues to grow, having the ability to move bikes at this scale is a critical step forward.
What This Trailer Makes Possible
With this trailer, our capacity expands in powerful ways:
- We can transport large numbers of bicycles to and from our storage facility.
- We can host bike drives directly in neighborhoods.
- We can build new partnerships and deepen existing ones through on‑site outreach.
Our first official outreach activity using the trailer is planned for this fall, just as school gets back into session—a time when the need for reliable transportation for students and families is especially high.
Meeting the Growing Demand for Bikes
One of the biggest challenges the Lincoln Bike Kitchen faces is simply finding enough bicycles.
Last year alone, we distributed approximately 2,200 bicycles to people in need across our community—a nearly 40% increase over the previous year. Sourcing that many used bikes is no small task and requires year‑round creativity, strong partnerships, and persistence.
Our community has stepped up in amazing ways:
- In May 2025, KLKN Channel 8 hosted its second annual bike donation drive, bringing in more than 330 bicycles in a single effort.
- Star City Heating and Air hosted a bike drive in September where their team collected donated bikes directly from neighborhoods, delivering approximately 75 bikes to the LBK.
- In December, a dedicated volunteer hauled a trailer all the way to St. Paul, Minnesota, where our partners Michael and Benita Warns organized a kids’ bike drive—yielding another 75 bikes that were transported back to Lincoln.
Each of these efforts mattered. Every donated bike helped us meet the growing demand for transportation, independence, and opportunity in our community.
Expanding Bike Drives Into the Neighborhoods
The new mobile outreach trailer allows us to take these successful bike drives even further.
This fall, we’re partnering with Goodwill Industries Serving Southeast Nebraska, Inc. to host bike drives at multiple Goodwill parking lot locations throughout Lincoln. By being physically present and visible in neighborhoods, we make donating easier for community members and expand our reach into areas we wouldn’t otherwise access.
Looking Ahead: A Mobile Hub for Community Care
This trailer represents more than logistics—it represents possibility.
As we look ahead, the trailer will continue to support outreach, visibility, and connection—helping us expand access to reliable transportation across Lincoln and meet more people where they are.
Gratitude on Wheels
This trailer exists because our community believes in the work of the Lincoln Bike Kitchen. We are deeply grateful to the funders, donors, volunteers, and partners who helped turn a moment of inspiration into a transformative tool for outreach.
We can’t wait to roll this trailer into neighborhoods, schools, and parking lots across Lincoln—and to continue building a more connected, more mobile community together.
Stay tuned for updates on our first outreach events this fall. The wheels are in motion.
