Freewheel Connection—Getting Tehama County Rolling

It is safe to say that, once sparked, you can never extinguish the passion for bikes in a little kid’s or a big kid’s heart.

This has been the case for three men in Red Bluff. Jason Johnson, Jason Bauer and Brook Taplac have loved bikes for as long as they can remember and now they want to help fulfill the bike dreams of Tehama County residents through their organization, Freewheel Connection. The main mission? Get, not just kids, but more people of all ages on bikes!

Grassroots effort affords biking freedom

“Bikes, for me, have always meant freedom,” says Taplac. “I started racing BMX bikes at Boomtown when I was 4 years old. Then later, I got into racing mountain bikes and have never stopped. I want other people to feel the joy of rolling along at any speed—they don’t have to get into racing to enjoy the pure benefits of biking.”

“This grassroots effort, Freewheel Connection, has been going for about a year,” Johnson says. “The three of us noticed that, compared to the old days, we didn’t see as many people out riding bikes. Freewheel Connection’s goal is to buy, sell, trade and ultimately restore broken bikes and to see people rolling again.

Another goal of Freewheel Connection is to have a central hub in Red Bluff where people of all ages can volunteer and help restore the bikes. They’ll offer tuneups and safety checks. They want to teach people how to fix flat tires and how to maintain bikes. “We need to bring back the lost art, or lost skillset, of bike mechanics and bike maintenance,” Johnson says.

Salvaging “unsalvageable” bikes

“Bike repair can be intimidating and people lose heart for the sport when they don’t know how to fix their bikes,” Johnson says. “We have seen bikes come in that were left to rust with something just as simple as a flat tire. We want to help people feel more confident in maintaining their own bikes.”

Bauer has appreciated learning how to repair bikes with Johnson and Taplac. “Brook and Jason came into this with a lot more experience fixing up bikes. I am thankful they have taught me their skills so that all three of us can repair bikes. Our dream is to have a brick-and-mortar location where a child or adult can come in and build a bike from scratch if they want to. This shouldn’t be a problem with the inventory we are gathering of both new and recycled bike parts. It has been so fulfilling to keep bikes out of the landfill. The landfill has been one of our partners in our effort. We take the bikes and, if needed, disassemble them and see which parts are usable. If anything goes back to the landfill it is already broken down and can be disposed of correctly.”

Freewheel Connection: a labor of love

So far, Freewheel Connection has mostly been operating out of the trio’s pockets and at their homes, with all three holding other jobs. Johnson works for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. Taplac owns True Craft Tile and Bauer works at the Chamber of Commerce. Johnson says, “This has never been a financial endeavor for us, but we are looking for partners and donations to see the effort come to fruition.”

The men plan on using the coming winter to refurbish bikes and to be ready for spring and summer giveaways at the farmers market. “At one farmers market recently,” Taplac says, “we gave away 7 bikes and it was so fun to watch those kids immediately jump on their bikes and ride around the downtown market.”

Community support for free bikes

Besides the big need for a storage facility and workspace, Freewheel Connection is looking for the following items to help their winter projects:

• Single speed bicycle chains
• Multi-speed bicycle chains
• Bicycle grips
• Child’s size bicycle seat
• Child’s size bicycle pedals
• Bicycle cable kit
• Bicycle service supplies
• New child-size helmets

The items list is on the Freewheel Connection Facebook page and can be shipped straight to the Chamber of Commerce Office, 100 Main Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080. Used or new bike donations can also be brought to the Chamber Office.

“We are thankful for local agencies like Empower Tehama and NCCDI  (Northern California Child Development Inc.) who are sending referrals for local families in need of bikes,” Bauer shared. “We want to revive the biking community as a whole.”

Johnson says, “We don’t want to take away from any of our great bike shops in the North State. We just want to serve the Tehama County community here in Red Bluff. This will remain a non-retail, nonprofit, effort for used bike repair and restoration.

When I was a kid, growing up in Red Bluff, bikes were central in our lives,” Johnson says. “Today parents are battling technology use and they are busy running their kids all over for sports and other activities. No one has time to repair or maintain their bikes, let alone prioritize their use. It would be great to see more families out riding together.”

Visit the Freewheel Connection Facebook page or email questions to freewheelconnection@gmail.com  or call (530)567-7690.

Kate Hiller has fond family-bonding bike memories starting with learning to ride on her banana-seat bike to bigger adventures like the Wild West Gravel Grinder in Red Bluff or biking the beautiful San Juan Hut system in Colorado. She still needs to learn how to fix a flat.