Over a year ago we had the fortune of meeting a special man named John Wiser. Interesting last name for a wise man. John is a Rotarian and a cycling enthusiast. He had the idea of sending rebuilt bikes to the people affected by Hurricane Charlie which hit the Southern Florida Gulf coast in 2004. Those bikes would be distributed through the Boys and Girls Club. The Rotary Club reached out to the great people of the Tampa Bay area and as a result, we were able to recondition about 85 bikes that were sent down to our neighbors to the South. Unfortunately, we were delayed in starting this project, since that year we too had our own hurricane problems and were lucky enough to have Charlie turn inland sooner than he was expected to. We were just finishing up the Hurricane Charlie bikes when Katrina rushed up the Gulf past us and hit the Northern Gulf coast. Within days, we were in the process of restoring over 200 bikes that the Rotary Club transported . Those bikes were also distributed through the Boys and Girls Clubs, the majority going to adults who won't be able to afford cars for a while. The Rotary Club of Clearwater East, did a fantastic job getting people to donate old bikes (plus clear out their garages a bit). Our own customers were also great donating about 50 bikes. We also sponsored a Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser ride and had flyers in the gift bags requesting bike donations for the hurricane victims. It took about 300 bikes to put together the 200 or so. Thats a lot of bikes. And we have over 150 left with more arriving almost daily, so we have already started restoring bikes for this and future hurricane seasons. As sponsors of Tampa Bay Freewheelers, http://www.tbfreewheelers.com we have been discussing the possibility of having some of the club members spend some free time at our shop helping to prepare some of the bikes we have on hand. Another project we did was to give a class on bicycle safety to a group of Cub Scouts. We intend to continue and grow this project. You may have seen the following on TV or read about it. Bobby Magee is a local airline employee working out of Tampa International. As I write this, he is cycling across the country with a few other people to raise funds and awareness of the plight of the 33 airline employees killed in the September 11 attacks on our country. Bob trained out of our shop and we were able to get Jamis bikes to provide the fantastic bikes they are riding. Please visit http://www.Airlineride.org for more information. Theirs is a great story. We have the ability to help people not just in their cycling enjoyment but in other ways. We all have the ability to help in some way some how. We intend to continue to do what ever we can to assist people, some day we may need their help. Always be a believer in the saying that giving is receiving.