Last week while taking a tour of the Sparks Building, I noticed a corner packed to the brim with bikes. Inside, I found Armory Bike Union.
- Terry Larkin has been fixing bikes for 12 years through the Armory Bike Union program.
- He works with disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities to repair bikes, then gives that bike away.
- As someone who battles PTSD, Larkin uses his personal experiences to connect with those he helps.
For Terry Larkin, fixing bikes is about much more than mechanics.
WATCH: Lansing bike repair program helps disadvantaged youth find purpose
What one Jackson says about the power of taking apart a bike
“Well, we’ve been through a lot of bikes,” Larkin said with a shrug. For 12 years, Larkin, of Armory Bike Union, has been fixing bikes, just as he did with his 1964 bike when he was 15. “When I was 15, I needed a bike. My dad bought me a second-hand bike and says ‘If you want to fix it, you fix it,'” Larkin said.
He works with disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities to repair them, then gives the bikes away to them. “I ask them if they can find what’s wrong with it. They say, ‘How do we do that?’ I say, ‘We take it apart,'” Larkin explained…