If you’ve spent more than a few moments at FCCB over the past few years, you’ve likely received some help from Alan Tucker, FCCB’s volunteer mechanic extraordinaire! Alan has volunteered countless hours in the service of our shop community, and has restored dozens of bicycles for sale or re-donation.  He puts special attention into each restoration, and goes above and beyond when carefully detailing vintage road bikes, especially. Alan is always willing to offer a helping hand when FCCB needs help outside the shop too – he’s been a regular presence at our mobile-workstation events around the city, including Cyclouvia, Hal and Ben’s Bike-In, and at Churchill Downs’ Backside Learning Center. Alan has volunteered hundreds of hours at FCCB, far more than any other volunteer, and has become an intrinsic part of our shop membership. Alan – we are truly thankful for your contributions to the FCCB community!

As a small token of FCCB’s gratitude, Alan received a new USB-rechargeable LED headlight and taillight for his wintertime after-dark rides along the waterfront and to Indiana over the Big Four Bridge.

(Note that FCCB has “made it official” and contracted Alan to serve as Bike Restoration Specialist as of January 2019 to help refurbish our backlog of vintage road bikes)

We asked Alan to answer a few questions so our readers can get to know him better:

FCCB: What’s the best part about volunteering at FCCB?
Alan: Meeting new people who want to learn and sharing time.

FCCB: Why do you ride? What’s your favorite ride/route?
Alan: For fun and health. I love to ride and explore.

FCCB: What’s the most interesting skill you’ve learned while volunteering with FCCB?
Alan: Talking to strangers and having something to share with them

FCCB: Tell us about your bike – do you have a favorite bike now, or perhaps one from your past?
Alan: I have several good bikes. My Schwinn aluminum 564 has 100,000 thousand miles on the frame.  I have used up a lot of tires, chains, and cassettes.

FCCB: What can FCCB do better to serve you and others?
Alan: Listen to my ideas.

(Alan gets straight to the point!)

Falls City Community BikeWorks is fortunate to have friendly and resourceful volunteers.  We’d like to recognize Lydia Stephens as an Extraordinary Volunteer for her commitment to our bike shop and community – she’s been a regular presence at the shop for several months, and has continued to volunteer long after earning her Sweat Equity Membership!  In addition to our thanks and appreciation, Lydia will receive an FCCB T-shirt and $20 shop credit that can be used for new bar tape, a new chain, cables, etc.

We asked Lydia to answer a few questions so our readers can get to know her better:

FCCB: What’s the best part about volunteering at FCCB?
Lydia: My favorite thing about volunteering at FCCB has been growing in my knowledge and skills with bike repair! I’ve learned a lot from all the other volunteers as well and it’s been pretty fascinating to learn hands on how to identify and fix things on a bike that I can apply at home or on the road with my own set of wheels.

FCCB: Why do you ride? What’s your favorite ride/route?
I ride mainly for exercise and personal enjoyment! I was part of a tandem bike racing team for 4 years at school and that’s had me hooked ever since!
My favorite route is the Heritage Trail that snakes through the neighborhoods of Terre Haute, IN! It’s a great way to see beauty of the community in a simple way.

FCCB: What’s the most interesting skill you’ve learned while volunteering with FCCB?
How to fix a flat tire! I used to take my bike into a shop every time, but now that I’ve learned the skill myself, it’s so much easier for me to do it on my own.

FCCB: Tell us about your bike – do you have a favorite bike now, or perhaps one from your past?
I currently ride a Dolce Elite road bike, but my favorite bike that I’ve ridden was a Giant, my very first road bike.

FCCB: What can FCCB do better to serve you and others?
We definitely could use more space to work with at FCCB! There are so many good things happening there for the benefit of its members and the surrounding community, but the impact could be even greater given more resources and room to serve well!

Lydia is right about needing more space! During Open Shop days in Fall 2018, FCCB regularly saw 30 visitors or more, with 8 or more bike workstations in progress at any given time!  Below is a panoramic photo of a busy shop day – it’s a crowded shop, but everyone is friendly and we’re always willing to make room for new community members!