Get on a good cycle and donate old bikes

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You know that bicycle sitting in the garage? The one with the flat tire and the seat that was never that comfortable? Time to upgrade to a new model and donate the old.

REI is partnering with Bike Oven, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit bicycle collective, in a bike donation drive this Saturday at REI’s Arcadia store. As part of REI’s ongoing program the Great Bike Corral, the company is encouraging people to donate their bicycles to local bike collectives such as Bike Oven (the store has also worked with Mar Vista-based Bikerowave). All who donate salvageable used bikes will get a 20%-off REI coupon to be used toward buying a full-priced bike (the store won’t be accepting kids’ bikes).

Bike collectives such as Bike Oven and Bikerowave are community-based organizations that promote bicycling as a viable means of urban transportation and teach people how to repair and maintain their bicycles. Some also organize rides around the city and other bike-centric social events.

This Saturday’s REI event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

— Jeannine Stein

A cyclist rides through L.A.’s Chinatown. Photo credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times