Gate City Bike Co-Op (GCBC) held their annual Bicycle Sale on Saturday May 2. The Nashua nonprofit refurbishes and distributes used bikes to community members. Over 50 volunteers work on the bike restoration and repairs to prepare for this event. The bicycle sale is the group’s largest fundraising event of the year.
Richard Schwartz is the president of GCBC. “The money supports our mission here at Gate City Bike Shop. We have expenses to pay for utilities. We have a lot of consumables, as you might call them, parts and lubricants, things like that.” Said Scwartz adding “In my wildest dreams, we would have a van that would be taking bikes downtown. Because our location here, we were originally downtown.”
John Burkitt was one of the founders of the group which began in 2017 in connection with the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter. John served as president of GCBC until his death last year. His spirit and influence were present in the sale event.
The all-volunteer organization repairs donated bikes and works with social service agencies in the Nashua region to distribute them to people in need. Recipients receive bikes free with vouchers from the agencies.
In 2025, the co-op processed about 500 bicycles, including 98 sold at the annual sale. Each bike requires an average of $100 in parts and two to four hours of labor. About 300 bikes went to Nashua clients, 150 to other New Hampshire towns and 50 to Africa.
Audrey Tringali of Hollis brought her sons, James and Thomas, to buy bikes.
"My son has recently gotten into mountain biking, which I know nothing about, but he is excited about," Tringali said. "Once we saw that they were having the sale, we thought it might be a good opportunity to get something nice for a fraction of the price. The quality seems really good, and they both are really happy with the ones they picked out."
Gate City Bike Co-op accepts donated bicycles, parts and accessories and welcomes new volunteers. More information is available at gatecitybikecoop.org.
