MISSION — Students at Nixyáawii Community School (NCS) on Oct. 1 had their pick of a truckload of bicycles provided by Reborn Bikes, a nonprofit organization that encourages people to ride bikes safely.

“The mission is to get as many people on bikes safely with some education so that we can improve their health, improve their mental state and help them have a commute, whether it’s to work, school or what have you,” Joe Kurmaskie, founder and director of Reborn Bikes, said.

According to its 2025 Impact Report, Reborn Bikes is the Pacific Northwest’s largest bike collection, refurbishment and distribution coalition dedicated to encouraging more bike-riding and protecting the environment. 

In 2025, the organization collected, refurbished and distributed more than 10,000 bikes. Of those, 4,000 were rescued from landfills through partnerships with metropolitan agencies. Its programs served 14,000 people, 70% of whom were ethnically diverse, marginalized or economically disadvantaged.

Kurmaskie said Reborn Bikes gives away roughly 10,000 bikes a year through programs such as the NCS giveaway. Other programs include community bike shops and camps, family bike festivals and international relief programs such as Bikes for the World.

“Biking is a great way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” Kurmaskie said. “All of these bikes would have been burned by the dump, or people buy a new bike rather than upcycle a different one. We’re keeping 96,000 tons of emissions out of the atmosphere a year.”

At NCS, Reborn Bikes had multiple stations set up to equip students with locks, lights and helmets, a station for bike repairs and a truck for bike donations.

Kurmaskie said the students receive education regarding hand signalling and how to get a proper-fitting helmet before they’re sent off with the bicycles.

NCS Principal Ryan Heinrich said he was surprised with how the event went, not knowing that the students would take to it so well.

Heinrich said he originally planned to make the bike distribution available to the community with 150 to 200 bikes, but due to the numbers, it was limited to the NCS students.

“We’re planning on doing one in the spring and incorporate the little kids and have our high school kids help them, show them how to ride bikes,” Heinrich said.

With the bikes, Heinrich said he hopes the students will be more inclined to ride to and from school for lunch, during P.E. classes or whenever they so choose. He said the school would be getting bike locks for students who decide to make the commute by pedal.

Reborn Bikes does approximately 105 such events across the state each year, Kurmaskie said, though the bulk of them are in the tri-county area of Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties.

“Our motto is ‘Everybody Rides,’” Kurmaskie said. “We’re trying to get everybody on a bike safely.”