Blog

give the gift of education
give the gift of self-sufficiency
give the gift of youth leadership

All of our donations go straight to tools, parts, and supporting our volunteers to serve everyone who rides in the Springfield.

Please give:  https://www.paypal.me/radspringfield

Join us on Sunday, November 18th to honor cyclists and pedestirans lost to vehicular accidents.

2pm at Springfield City Hall

MGM Springfield opened in August.

Stevie Wonder came to town Labor day weekend.

ValleyBike Share has 10 of 14 bike share locations open.

Eight trains a day are now available to New Haven with a new pilot project opening to Greenfield.

Springfield is Changing and we want to make sure you’re able to ride your bike safely through it all.

Hit us up if you have any questions.  413-271-7293

Bring your ride downtown to start learning how to fix it up today.

DIY Bike Repair
2-6 Mondays (starting August 13th)
Make-It Springfield
168 Worthington St.
Springfield

Starting in March, every last Friday of the month will play host to a Critical Mass ride starting in downtown Springfield and organically weaving its way through area streets.

Critical Mass is an event that began in San Francisco in the early 1990s and has since spread to hundreds of cities around the world as bicyclists spontaneously come together to ride the ordinarily car-clogged streets of their cities. Critical Mass focuses on the rights of bicyclists and the rights of pedestrians on our own streets.

It is a leaderless ride, free and open to all, where bicyclists take to the streets to promote bicycling as the best means of urban transit.

Be bright, wear costumes, come ready to have fun!

We’ll gather on Worthington St (Make-It Springfield to Stearns Square) at 5pm and depart at 5:30 every last Friday of the month.

My  name is Nathan Lavergne and I have been riding bikes for 10 years. I’ve also been working on bikes since I was 9 and it’s a fun hobby. Now I’m about to graduate high school and go to school to learn auto mechanics.  Since I’ve gotten older I don’t consider working on bikes a hobby – it’s more like my job.

When I was 14 I finally ventured out on long bike rides which made my biking experience more fun – although I did find many problems when riding around or near the city. People didn’t respect the bikers including myself. For example:  I got screamed at by a lady on the side walk because I didn’t know you couldn’t ride on the sidewalk.

I live in Springfield Mass .  Yes some roads have bike lanes, but people don’t always respect that.  When riding in the city you always need to be on the lookout or you can get hit by a car.

Right now we are starting to take action as not many people respect us bikers, possibly because of how the young ones in the biking community treat the streets. The more experienced riders try to work with the younger ones, but at times it seems like young kids have no respect for cars. After all, we can’t stop them because we have no place to put these big groups of kids.

 

One good idea is building a BMX / skate park and this will definitely help because a lot of kids will go there.

 

 

In 2017 I found Rad Springfield where I now work as a community mechanic and youth coordinator. This community bike shop has changed me a lot.  Having a shared set of tools and resources has taught me a lot more about bikes.  New friends both older and younger than me have helped me build up my communication skills.

 

It feels good to know you work in a place where you can teach others about bikes. I think Rad Springfield is bringing a change to Springfield.  In the future there will be more respect for bikers and the community will definitely benefit from this.

 

That is when Rad comes into play because we are here to help and figure out ways to move these groups of kids out of traffic and into safety.

Keep riding.  Let us know if you need lights.

Call 413.271.7293 for more info.

Rad’s vision is to be able to help anyone with any bike issue – through a network of volunteer mechanics and a fleet of donated bikes.

We believe in Springfield as a community where people help each other out.

As we’re limited by volunteer availability, we appreciate all of those who can make it to our regular workshops.  If you are not able to get to us, we will do our best to get to you – all you need to do is ask.

Your ask might be a repair or replacement part.  It might also be to earn a bike even if you have no cash.  The first step is to ask.

As a non-profit entity, we encourage people to contribute – cash, bikes, parts – to help us sustain access to our network of tools and parts.

A community can give in ways that aren’t cash, however.  Think of ways you might help us build our network and let us know.