Red Shed Brings Old-Fashioned Bike Shop to Olneyville

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Saturday, June 18, 2011

GoLocalProv Features Team

A large, red shipping container in an urban area may be the last place you'd expect an old-fashioned community bike shop. But you'd be wrong.

Set appropriately enough along the Fred Lippitt Woonasquatucket River Greenway Bike Path as it passes through Olneyville, the Red Shed Bike Shop offers bike repairs, sales of refurbished bikes, weekly rides, rentals and even free classes in bike repair.

The shop started as a way for the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) to promote use of the bike path and quickly grew to fill a need in the community for a bike center. Within three years, the shop has become a place where neighborhood youth repair and refurbish bikes for themselves and for resale at the shop. The unique seasonal bike shop is constructed out of two 40ft. shipping containers located at Riverside Park at 50 Aleppo Street in Providence, adjacent to the off-road paved portion of the bike path.

Grand opening for the season

The Red Shed's grand opening is today, Saturday June 18, with a bike sale from 1pm-4pm. At 2pm the WRWC will lead a group ride to Dame Farm in Johnston for strawberry picking. Riders will follow the off-road portion of the path, then hit the streets riding to Brown Avenue in Johnston. The ride is approximately 7 miles one way, and organizers promise a bike trailer will be available to carry your fresh picked strawberries back to Riverside Park. Free bike helmets, courtesy of the RI Department of Health, will be available to take home.

Weekly rides all summer

The Red Shed is also hosting weekly rides along the bike path starting Thursdays at 6pm. For the month of July, rides will start at the Hillside Avenue at the intersection in Johnston near Scramblers Restaurant and qill follow the river to Providence Place. For the month of August rides will start at the same day and time, but begin downtwon at the mall.

The Red Shed is open Tuesday through Saturday from 3-7pm. The Red Shed welcomes bike donations. Drop offs can be made ideally during normal business hours.