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ADMIRABLE NEIGHBORS Stuart Harrod: The
Bicycle Saint By Jared B. Schultze
Sometimes honorable actions of others cause us
to avert our attention from ourselves long enough to reevaluate the way we
think, of which usually brings forth some sort of self-proclamation. For instance, you may witness a powerful CEO
taking time out of his busy schedule to teach some troubled teen how to
succeed; “That’s a wonderful thing,” you’d tell yourself. Or, you
find yourself holding the hand of a relative struggling with cancer,
suddenly realizing that she is comforting you; “Such a
fool I’ve been,” you’d say, “never again will I waste my life
complaining.” Still further, you may for the first time
discover the life of Lincoln or Gandhi or Mandela, having your soul so
stirred that you fall to the floor with admiration; “Limitless are the
achievements of Man!” The following is about an individual who is not
an icon or gracefully suffering from cancer or even a powerful CEO, but,
although absent of an extraordinary title, has found a way to change
someone’s life for the better almost every day. The actions of Stuart
Harrod are the very type that would lead one to a self-proclamation. In a matter of months, Stuart Harrod has sought
out, obtained, repaired and refurbished over fifty bicycles for
individuals all over the Frankfort community. The astonishing thing is
that he does it for free and even pays the cost of replacing and
refurbishing the needed parts himself. Stuart Harrod has had a love affair with
bicycles ever since he obtained a job repairing them at Thornberry’s
Toys in Louisville at the age of fourteen. Now he is a seasoned
connoisseur on bicycles. He can tell you the make and model, whether
it’s well made or not and how much it’s worth within the first few
seconds of seeing a bike. Upon entering his house one will, at any given
time, see around fifteen bikes neatly parked in his dining room, most of
which are pending to be sent off to some lucky new owner. The others he
has built for himself and his two sons, Tyler and Denver. Upon asking him why he would put so much work
into something at no profit, he seems to infer that, in his case, the
pursuit of something he is passionate about brings him much more
contentment than any pursuit of profit ever would: “If you enjoy it,
it’s not work; it’s easy.” Harrod has taken bike building to a different
level. Out of the bikes he owns, two have electric motors that power the
front wheel, one has a homemade gas motor and wagon attached to it for
hauling large equipment and another one even has a blender mounted to the
back that is powered by the circular motion of the back tire. Sometimes he
takes the “Blender Bike” to the Thornhill Learning Center where the
kids “go nuts over taking turns making themselves Smoothies.” H. G. Wells once said, “Every time I see an
adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the human race.” Stuart
Harrod is the epitome of an adult on a bicycle. He makes it very clear
that he “wants to promote bicycling as not just a sport, but a viable
means of transportation.” The more air-polluting cars and wasted gas he
sees replaced by bikes, makes him a happy man. He started this
finding-repairing-giving process when gas hit four dollars last summer and
it has been growing ever since. Harrod has a dream of eventually providing
Frankfort with its own non-profit co-op bike shop, of which he has already
created in his mind: The FolkBike Re-cyclery. His goal? To get as many
people a bike at the lowest price possible, as well as provide a one-stop
shop where people can repair and build their own bikes. He also thinks one
of the problems with Frankfort is that there aren’t enough hangouts for
teenagers, which leads them to trouble. FolkBike Re-cyclery’s doors
would always be open for kids to buy a pop and hang out. It would also be
a non-profit 501(c)(3) co-op business, in which used bikes would be
refurbished and sold at marginal cost; meaning everyone in Frankfort would
be able to own a bike for around twenty to thirty bucks. This would not be the first time a bike shop
like this has been developed. You can find bike recycling shops all over
the country, such as The Recyclery in Chicago or Recycle-a-Bike in New
York City. As of today, Kentucky has yet to establish any such
establishment. If Harrod can get his dream off the ground, he would be the
first ever to do so in the state. If you were to take a tour of his basement
you’d find that he’s basically already developed his own bike shop.
Flat tires, rusty handlebars and other dead limbs of forgotten bicycles
are literally hanging from every corner. However unbecoming, it seems to
serve its purpose quite well. Every day, Harrod settles into his “bike
shop,” brushes off his tools and starts to make magic happen. Gradually,
dead bicycle parts are pieced together, polished and tested until a once
forgotten bike now lives and breathes again. This is Stuart Harrod’s
passion and he’s been hard at work. More than a few children in need
received bicycles this Christmas thanks to his efforts. Word about Harrod’s dream, the FolkBike Re-cyclery,
has reached many people in the Frankfort community, some of which have
taken action to help him reach it. For instance, a man named Walt Baldwin,
who owns the Kentucky Coffee Tree, has taken it upon himself to build
Harrod a website. You can find it at www.folkbikerecyclery.org.
If you have an old bike you would like to donate, Harrod claims he will
come pick it up at no expense. You can reach him through email at tylden@aol.com
or Facebook or even call him on his cell at 502.682.5246. |
