Malden’s Bike Kitchen adds spice to the city’s growing cycling culture

“The bicycle is the noblest invention of mankind.” – William Saroyan, Nobel Prize winner

By Joy Pearson

Since April 5, 2024, the Bike to the Sea Bike Kitchen has offered free access to tools and supplies, along with knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers to breathe new life into bicycles and get them back on the trail.

Malden’s Bike Kitchen, as does bicycling, fosters personal health, self-reliance and mobility.  The Bike Kitchen itself promotes freedom of choice in transportation and boosts a cycling culture.

“[One] of the things about the [Bike to the Sea] organization that I’ve come to value most is the social connection it provides…We’ve brought all sorts of people together to participate in shared interests – and the Bike Kitchen is very much a part of that idea,” says Patrick Bibbins, Board President of Bike to the Sea (B2C), who was involved in the planning, organization and promotion of the Bike Kitchen facility.

Bicyclists who stop by the Bike Kitchen are assisted to learn do-it-yourself repair from B2C volunteers. They can work together or by themselves with the many tools and equipment that are provided. They can ask questions and receive assistance from the volunteers.  Since the set-up is outdoors, riders can just ride in from the bike path to get help.

Yurij Lojko, former B2C Executive Director who had previously volunteered at a Bike Kitchen in Somerville, brainstormed about having B2C members “get their boots on the ground” and contribute to a bike kitchen for Malden “to foster a community of outdoor living and alternative transportation.” It was Jonah Chiarenza, the current B2C Executive Director, who then turned the Bike Kitchen into reality. And so it happened.

Cyclists come to the Bike Kitchen for repairs, as a well as a sense of community.

Tai Lam, Bike Kitchen volunteer, says he has benefitted from the Bike Kitchen. “I was able to quickly fix a flat tire last month. I’ve also been able to make friends and get to know other Bike to the Sea members.

Franklin Losisiga who received help tuning up his new bike says, “The reason I got this bike one week ago is so I can explore many places.” Franklin came to Malden one and a half years ago from Nicaragua.

Brian McDonald, of Malden, needed to adjust the derailer on his ebike.

Adam Denigens just likes to tinker with bicycles. He may, he says, become a volunteer.

Brooke Ashleigh, a volunteer, introduced a woman she met on the bike path and told her to meet her five hours later when the Bike Kitchen opened.  Later, after they had eaten the supper the woman brought for both of them, they worked on the woman’s front derailer.

Mason Vega, a new participant, worked 3-4 sessions on building an everyday bike for himself from parts of a bicycle he found that had been in an attic for 10 years.  His other bike is a racing bike.

Gary Chin, B2C Board member, explains, “In 2024, Bike to the Sea has three main strategic goals, which are to 1) improve and expand access to the trail, 2) activate the trail through community events and installations, and 3) advance diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility proactively.” Bike to the Sea wants the Northern Strand Bike Path to be more fully utilized.

“We have a complete set of high quality tools that can be used for everything from basic to advanced bicycle repair and maintenance activities,” says Agnes Recato, B2C Program Manager, who is in charge of organizing the staff and volunteers to run the Bike Kitchen.  These tools and other equipment are housed in one of the donated containers.

Recato goes on to say that participants can obtain parts from donated bikes and a limited range of new parts. Local bike shop partners are available for the rest. Volunteers, she says, use the Park Tool YouTube page for instructional videos.  She says the Bike Kitchen accepts serviceable bicycles – adult, children’s (no training wheels), and trail bikes. Donated bikes are used to mine parts for repair or are fixed up to give away to those in need. In the four months since opening, the Bike Kitchen has given away seven bicycles to adults who needed them and some helmets through the City of Malden. 

To date, nearly 200 people have used the Bike Kitchen.

Quite a number of people have had a role to play in creating the Bike Kitchen.

In 2022, Bike to the Sea received a $10,000 grant from the Solomon Foundation. It then secured the present location along Canal Street. City Councilors Steve Winslow and Peg Crowe and Mayor Gary Christenson provided assistance. The Bike Kitchen’s containers were donated by the Lynn Brickyard Collaborative.  Funding to retrofit the containers, buy the tools and initial supplies came from Malden’s Director of Communications Ron Cochran who identified the MassDEP Sustainable Materials Recovery Program. National Grid also donated $5,000. 

According to the July 2024 Bike to the Sea newsletter, the organization received an additional grant in the amount of $15,200 from Mass Trails.  This award will fund landscaping, the design of a mural for the containers, a pollinator garden and tree planting to mitigate contaminated soil on the site.  All of these improvements will make the Bike Kitchen area a more welcoming place, beautify the neighborhood and create a new friendly attraction on the trail.

Everything related to bicycling is environmentally-friendly.  In many developed countries, transportation can be the largest part of an individual’s carbon footprint. Bicycling as an alternative means of transportation can reduce one’s carbon footprint and help ensure a more sustainable world for everyone. It is the least carbon-intensive way to get to work. 

Cycling is not just for recreation. A Bike to the Sea enthusiast Jeremy Garczynski, Melrose, says he bikes a couple of times per week about 7-8 miles to the north end in Boston.  He says, “I ride alone unless I run into a friendly face on the way – which happens every so often (can’t say that about driving!).  My main reason for biking in is that I’m in charge of my commute: no traffic, no parking fees, no MBTA service disruptions (which happen less frequently now). Also, it’s more efficient than driving my kids to school then commuting into the city on the T.”

Another Bike to the Sea enthusiast William Spaulding commutes to Seaport five days/week from Wakefield.  He has been cycling to work for 30+ years.

Malden Mayor Christenson says he couldn’t be prouder of Jonah Chiarenza and the Bike to the Sea organization.  Christenson says, “Based on this success, I can’t wait to see what Jonah and the Bike to the Sea come up with next!”

“In a time when so many forces – politics, many forms of media, the economy – are engineered to divide us, building a common space where interests and opportunities can be shared feels like a revolutionary way to exercise some freedom and independence,” says Bibbins.

The Bike to the Sea Bike Kitchen is open on Wednesdays 6 P.M. -9 P.M. and Saturdays 10 A.M. -1 P.M. at 158 Canal Street, across from Cambridge Health Alliance and, of course, next to the bike path.  Participants must sign a waiver to participate. FREE AND OPEN TO ALL.

Malden resident Joy Pearson found a niche as a citizen journalist for Neighborhood View after she retired in 2020.  She has loved bicycling since childhood.

Corrections Note: The original version of this article had inadvertently omitted the name of Jonah Chiarenza, B2C Executive Director, in the history of how the Bike Kitchen was formed.