‘From 50 bikes per year to 500’: London’s Big Bike Giveaway has come a long way

In a secret London, Ont. warehouse, Shayne Hodgson put the finishing touches on a recycled bicycle.

It’s one of hundreds he’s repaired over the past year.

“It's a labor of love, obviously, because you have to like bikes as much as I do,” said Hodgson, co-founder of Big Bike Giveaway (BBG).

Since BBG’s inception in 2014, Hodgson and his wife Monica have fixed and gifted more than 3,200 bikes to Londoners in need.

They’ve gone from working in their backyard, to a fully-stocked warehouse.

“50 bikes to now 500,” said Hodgson. “We added another zero to that”.

As 2023 Earth Week wraps up, the couple is being celebrated as a difference maker in the community.

“It’s an equalizer,” said Dave Mitchell of London Cycle Link. “Not everyone's going to have a car and an age is a factor as well. So as soon as you can get somebody on a bicycle, it adds mobility.”

It also can make for a cleaner environment.

Monica Hodgson (Left) and her husband Shayne, seen on April 23, 2023, have gifted over 3,200 bicycles to Londoners in need since 2014. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“In other countries like the Netherlands - where my parents are from - they've really embraced cycling, and it really can make a difference in emissions,” said Mary Ann Hodge of Climate Action London.

“Dalhousie University published a report on quality of the environment and if it was really about car emissions and being away from big emission sources. You're going to be healthier and the community is going to be healthier, the more people are cycling and getting out of cars,” said Hodge.

Over the past decade, BBG has shifted the way they operate. They’ve pivoted from a massive one-day giveaway at Argyle Arena in East London, to more small, intimate handouts.

“We find it nicer this way because we have time to talk to the people,” said Hodgson. “It is not rushing people. We don't have time for them ….Now we can at least hear their story and enjoy their happiness for the bike.”

Their shift in operation came during the pandemic. They began catering to ‘essential workers’ and have since helped many new Canadians, especially those arriving from Ukraine.

A London charity, Big Bike Giveaway, will donate more than 500 recycled bicycles in 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“They are now Londoners,” said Hodgson. “Anybody that is Canadian will get a bike if I can give it to them. It's unfortunate I can't give everybody a bike, but I’m only one guy. I have a couple guys that helped me but 90 per cent of these bikes are done by me.”

Applications begin June 1 for the more than 500 bikes they’ll donate this year.

“I’ve got a good rhythm right now and I'm getting a couple extra hands so I’m able to keep up,” said Hodgson, who works three-to-four nights per week on repairs.

He believes as long as he’s healthy, he’ll keep dedicating his time to those in need.

“I can see another 10 years at least, or more,” said Hodgson.