TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

By Steven Mayer

Californian staff writer

Sixteen-year-old Dulce "Duck" Lozano doesn't mind getting her hands dirty.

In fact, she relishes it.

On Tuesday she was in the "bike kitchen" at Bike Bakersfield learning how to repair her bicycle.

"This is her transportation," said her mother, Suzan Lozano. "She's interested in learning how to do it, learning how to be self-sufficient."

Ducky said her dad no longer lives at home, so she doesn't have anyone around to teach her how to change the oil on the car or fix a bicycle tire.

"This guy just taught me how to replace the tubes on my bike," she enthused. "Now I can do it all by myself. This so means the world to me."

Founded more than five years ago by local civil engineer and cycling enthusiast Bob Smith, Bike Bakersfield is a nonprofit cooperative of sorts with one primary goal in mind.

"We wanted to get more people on bikes in Bakersfield," said Smith, who regularly commutes to work by bike and prefers the quiet, two-wheeled experience over the hermetically sealed environment of the modern automobile.

The benefits are obvious, he said. Cyclists save money on ever-rising fuel costs, reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and cut down on the valley's chronic air pollution problem.

The obesity epidemic in Kern is well-documented, he added, and cycling is a fun and practical way to burn calories and increase cardiovascular health.

The organization works with school districts through its Safe Routes to School program. Organizers hold bike safety presentations, give away helmets, promote bike rodeos and youth cycling teams and advocate for bike lanes and other infrastructure to help cyclists and motorists more safely coexist on Kern County's roads.

But the bike kitchen, located in the basement of the organization's headquarters at 1708 Chester Ave., may be Bike Bakersfield's most innovative effort yet.

Like a dismantling yard for bicycles, the workshop sports a dozen or more used bike frames hanging in the back room, along with tires, rims, handle bars, seats and other parts.

Brian De La Cerda, a Safe Routes To School coordinator at Bike Bakersfield, said the Recycle-a-Bike program is comprised of a bike mechanic, lots of volunteers and tons of donated resources.

The way it generally works is people in need of a bicycle can build their own bike with the help of a mechanic. It'll cost them 15 hours of volunteering at the shop and attending an orientation and safety class.

De La Cerda estimated at least 75 recycled bikes are being put on the street annually -- and the folks at Bike Bakersfield would like to see that number grow.

There are tons of people in and out of the United States who are jumping on this concept for reasons that are completely obvious, he said. And despite the inevitable "negativity and naysayers," organizers hope to repeat those successes here.

High school and college students in need of cheap transportation make up a good portion of Bike Bakersfield's client-volunteers. But you'll also find middle-aged and older people looking for a way to get from Point A to Point B and beyond.

One man living at a local homeless shelter used his newly built bicycle to get to job interviews. Others say the downturn in the economy has left them with fewer choices.

Bakersfield resident Robert Tubbs, 56, said he's worked all his life, but he's been unemployed for several months.

Last week he was in the bike kitchen volunteering his time in hopes of riding away some day with his own bike. His knowledge of bicycle mechanics was immediately evident.

"I'd like to work, but there's not a lot of work out there," Tubbs said. "This is a great thing."

On Thursday, 17-year-old Ridgeview High School student Danny Medina was in the shop learning how to work on brakes, gears and wheels. Bike mechanic Matthew Peterson walked him through the steps, hands-on, as they tuned up a blue mountain bike.

"I have a working bike," Medina said. "I'm doing this to become an Eagle Scout."

He figures the volunteer hours should count as community service, and as a bonus, he's learning how to be more self-sufficient.

After using a hand pump to air up her newly replaced tire tubes, Ducky Lozano said personal independence is the name of the game.

"I always wanted to learn how to do stuff like this," she said. "I get a real thrill out of it."