CLEVELAND — In our series known as "On The GO!" -- which is in partnership with Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency -- we explore topics people should know if they want to leave their car behind and bike for the month of November.
In this edition of the series, we dig into bike maintenance and what you need to check on your bicycle before you head out for a ride.
Nestled in the Flats is Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op, a non-profit bicycle education center and thrift store. They host classes, a volunteer program and a community shop where people can learn how to keep their bike operational.
"We're trying to get quality bikes and parts to people outside of budget constraints," said Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op Volunteer Coordinator Dani O'Sickey. "We want to take used bikes and make them highly accessible, competitive with like Walmart prices."
One key to keeping your bicycle moving is proper maintenance, before you head out the door.
"The basics are always air, brakes and chain," said O'Sickey. "So, you want to make sure your tires have enough air in them. You want to make sure your brakes when you pull on them are going to do what you want them to and you want to make sure if you push on that crank pedal, it's going to cause the chain to go."
Keeping people going is one of the goals at Ohio City Co-Op. O'Sickey said it's a rewarding experience when they see the difference a bike has made in one's life.
"We've had people get bikes from us that they've used to get jobs and they've said 'here's the job I got and here's how I'm getting to and from there,'" said O'Sickey. "It's everything, honestly. The affordable transportation, it's a constant here and we're always finding new ways that we're helping people with that."