7/30/09
Española Valley youths got a lesson in custom bicycle-making last week.
Starting from a basic Schwinn cruiser bicycle, eight Española youths helped create a custom low-rider bike at Española’s Teen Technology Center’s first-ever bike welding workshop. The free workshop utilized all-donated supplies and volunteered time from Ed Lucero.
Lucero works with an association of Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected foster children, and has built bikes all over the world, from Central America to Africa. He and Center Director Ben Sandoval were introduced through the Advocates’ director at a Rio Arriba County Health Council meeting.
“Bikes represent a frame of space that is universal,” Lucero said. “By learning about this technology, kids are exposed to the same basic technology behind everything from windmills to turbines. So it’s a way to get them involved with emerging technologies.”
A whiteboard drawing of the planned bike showed a cycle about one and a half times as long as a normal bike, with raised handlebars and an extended seating and cargo area over the rear wheel.
One of the program’s most enthusiastic participants, Aaron Garcia, 12, of Santa Cruz, dubbed his group’s proposed creation “The YMCA Limo Bike.” The name stuck, at least for the first day.
The workshop’s eight participants took turns donning the welding mask, testing their hands with different metals under Lucero’s guidance to practice for welding the actual bike materials later in the week.
Isaiah Pacheco, a 14-year-old Española Valley High School student, said the prospect of building a custom low-rider bike with the capacity to carry up to three riders, plus cargo, had a strong appeal.
“I have my own bike, but this one will be cooler,” Isaiah Pacheco said. “You can carry stuff around on it, or people.”
Sandoval said one of his goals with the bike welding workshop was to draw youth interested in skating and biking into the Center’s structured environment, leading them away from the gang and drug culture that is becoming entrenched in the nearby skate park.
“The goal is to get teens interested in active projects,” said Lucero.
Sandoval pointed out Kristie Pacheco, 13, of Alcalde, as Lucero was commending her for a natural ability with the welding torch.
“See, that’s the first time she’s really gotten involved,” Sandoval said. “Maybe she’s found a niche.”
“I just learned about the workshop through school” Kristie Pacheco said. “I figured it was a good way to get to do stuff and keep active in the summer.”
When the bike was finished July 24, Isaiah Pacheco was giving it a series of tests — raising and lowering the handlebars, tweaking the brakes and testing out the low-rider cargo seat.
And it turns out the modifications aren’t over yet. The bike’s rear wheels are going to get pegs and the cargo carriage should be equipped a padded seat to assist back-end riders, Isaiah Pacheco and Sandoval said. They said they will also be painting the bike in the coming weeks.
Indeed, Lucero and Sandoval said the project went over so well with the youths that they are now considering putting in a permanent welding station at the Center to create more custom bikes like this one.
“Maybe we can even get a bike co-op started here,” Lucero said. “The Center’s at-risk teens could build bikes for low-income residents without cars, and this whole cycle could get going.”
Lucero even suggested that a co-op could connect with a similar center he worked with in Kenya to give participating teens a global perspective.
To Sandoval, programs like these simply help youths be productive in their free time rather than roaming around and finding trouble.
“We provide an opportunity for teenagers to be successful and learn cutting-edge technology,” Sandoval said. “It’s a safe-haven to get them off the streets.”