Phoenix Bikes
4200 South Four Mile Run Drive                                                                                                                                                                                             703-575-7762

Phoenix Bikes Executive Director Meg Rapelye and CPRO Intern Nadya Syazsa

Phoenix Bikes hosted an Open House on June 8 in their future home at Arlington Mill Community Center. Executive Director Meg Rapelye reports that the event was a great success, raising more than $5000 toward the build-out of the space. The event also generated excitement among the 60 stakeholders who attended, as part of their effort to ramp up fundraising efforts to make their new home a reality by the end of the year. Phoenix Bikes has to raise $33,000 by August 15 in order to start construction this year.

The mission of this local nonprofit is to teach teens how to repair bikes, serve the Arlington community through their “Earn a Bike” program and provide the community with affordable, refurbished bikes and repair services. Their storefront  boasts the largest selection of both used bicycles and parts in the D.C. Metro area. All proceeds directly support their youth program.

This spring, Phoenix Bikes was awarded a Letter of Intent from Arlington County to build out the first floor retail space of the Community Center, where they will be able to combine space for teaching and working on bikes with storage and work areas.  The cost of the build-out is $170,000. The new headquarters will occupy the 1,875 square feet retail space, with a 495 square foot office on the fourth floor of the community center.   Pending fundraising success, as well as lease and permit approvals, they hope to move in by the end of the year.

“We want to make a community bicycle space that will be one of the best in the nation,” says Rapelye.

Phoenix Bikes Executive Director Meg Rapelye at their June 8 Open House.

Fundraising Efforts

The major fundraising event is the 4th Annual Kennan Garvey Memorial Ride on August 5th. You can ride, sponsor a rider, volunteer to support the event, or make a direct donation.

You can also purchase a tee shirt designed by CPRO’s intern, Nadya Syazsa.

Phoenix Bikes is selling a 10th anniversary tee shirt with a graphic design by CPRO’s intern, Nadya Syazsa, a rising senior at Yorktown High School. She is interning at CPRO as part of Arlington Career Center’s PRIME Program. She had the opportunity to design the logo through her photography teacher, Allan Beland, at Yorktown.  Beland, a long-time participant with Phoenix Bikes, gave Nadya a special assignment to design a logo for the Phoenix Bike anniversary.  “I used the fiery colors of red, yellow, and orange resembling the warmth and strength of a Phoenix,” said  Nadya, “then I added the bicycle gear behind the bird.”

“As Phoenix Bikes is an education program,” says Meg Rapelye, “ we value learning opportunities in all forms, so we were pleased to partner with Nadya. She was very professional and we’re excited about the finished product. We’ll wear our new shirts with pride, to celebrate how far we’ve come over the last decade.”

Phoenix Bikes tee shirts can be purchased in the Four Mile Run shop Tuesdays through Thursdays, 1:00 – 6:00 p.m., Fridays 1:00 – 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

10th Anniversary T-Shirt logo. Design by Nadya Syazsa.