While out for a ride in 1998, a neighborhood boy named Zeek asked Mike and Benita Warns if they could help him repair a bike he found abandoned in their city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mike, now 62—who had been fixing his own bikes since he was a teenager and riding them even longer—agreed.

Soon after, at an annual neighborhood cleanup, the Warnses were in charge of all the bikes that volunteers gathered. They were instructed to load up the nicer ones into a van to give to local charity organizations and dismantle the rest for scrap.

But their thoughts turned to Zeek and his family, who could all benefit from the bikes that were supposed to be torn apart. “So we started bringing some home to fix and give to Zeek and his family,” Mike Warns told Bicycling over the phone.

And that’s how Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles (MMRB), their business that fixes up discarded bikes and gives them away to those in need, all started.

“We did it out of our garage for the first 10 years, and we now have 10 garages full of bicycles and service seven nearby cities,” he said. “We gave away 869 last year and over 300 so far this year.”



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The couple also owns a bike supply company called Midway Bicycle Supply, where they sell parts to shops and non-profit programs. They also use the parts to repair their bikes over at MMRB.

How MMRB Works

The easiest part of the process is getting the bicycles, according to Warns. The couple receives hundreds of emails from people who have old bikes they want to donate, and his wife—who has also been riding bikes ever since she was little—schedules designated pickups from organizations in the area, too.

“We salvage any part that can be reused, and then we recycle the metal, the tires, and anything else that we can,” Warns, who is MMRB’s mechanic, said.



All you have to do to get a bike from them is call or visit the shop—located in St. Paul, Minnesota—and give your name, phone number, height, and what kind you need.

“Benita collects all the info, and then I get a list of the requests,” Warns said. Then, he finds an applicable bike, fixes it, and his wife calls the person to come pick it up.

A pretty simple system, right? Even simpler, there are no age or income requirements. “People call or come in, and we give them a bicycle. I tell them, ‘It’s yours, here you go, have fun!’”

They give some kid’s bikes away, but it’s mostly adults who are looking for a mode of transportation.

And because they’re both avid cyclists, they don’t really consider any of this to be work, either.



“We don’t let anybody in the shop say that they’re working—we don’t work on bicycles, we play with bicycles,” Warns said. “We know what work is, and that’s not work.”



The couple doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon.

“We didn’t really set out to have a bike program or a bike shop,” Benita Warns said. “But for me, it’s a ministry—we don’t make a profit—and it’s the work that we’re called to. So for us to be in a position to actually do something like this is pretty phenomenal.”

How to Get Involved In Your Own Local Cycling Community

Looking to do something like this in your own town, but aren’t sure where to begin? The Warnses offered up a few tips on how to start.

1. See what your community is already doing

“Most communities have a bicycle program somewhere. Some are in schools, some are co-ops, but I would look for somewhere that you can go and get involved with first,” Mike Warns said.



2. Figure out how you’re going to fund what you want to do

If there’s no program available in your area and you want to start from scratch, Benita says it’s important to look into the monetary aspect of starting your own business. “There is going to be money involved. Maybe not a lot, but there will be some,” she said.

3. Figure out who you want to serve

“As soon as people find out what you’re doing, they’ll give you all the bikes you could ever want. But a lot of times they won’t necessarily be the bikes you need,” Benita said. “Are you designing a program for children or are you designing a program for adults? Then figure out the needs of that population and how you’re going to interact with them.”

4. Start Small

“If there’s a college nearby, start working with them to gather bikes that are abandoned on the campus and get them repaired and back into circulation,” Benita said. “Or, as more communities get involved in recycling efforts, you can talk to them about the possibility of gathering bikes that way.”

Danielle Zickl Associate Health & Fitness Editor Danielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.

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