Definitely the best picture I've ever taken.

Listen: Amongst the many wonderful activities the Wisconsin Bike Federation put together for this year’s bike to work week, there was one I didn’t recognize — an open house and award ceremony at the Valid Bike Shop in North Division High School. That school is absolutely jam-packed with surprises (like dental school facilities, an olympic-sized pool, etc.), so I wasn’t terribly surprised they had a shop that could accommodate bike repair in the complex. But an active bike mechanics training program? That grabbed my attention.

So, I biked over after work and what did I find? A mess of bikes (see below) and a handful of able and charming teenaged bike mechanics (see above). I poked around, checking out the Valid Bike Shop (see the Wisconsin Bike Fed’s promo video here), and eventually managed to get a few interviews.

Bikes, bikes, bikes!

The first of three interviews (the other two interviews will be posted later this week) is with Giovanni McVicker, a kid that’s as cool as his name leads you to believe. Check out Giovanni’s experiences with Valid Bike Shop.

Briefly, let me share story of how the picture at the top of the post came together: I said, “Hey Giovanni — can I take your picture?” Giovanni said, “Sure. No problem.” And then he struck that pose. The picture came out like a cover for the best R&B album ever, right?

Learn more about the Wisconsin Bike Fed, the Milwaukee Workforce Investment Board, North Division High School, and make sure you check out that video on the Valid Bike Shop. And! Students will be there all summer fixing bikes to sell — if you need a new used bike, they’re the place to go.

Produced by: Adam Carr