ELLSWORTH (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- A man from Ellsworth has taken a passion and turned it into an all-out mission to make sure everyone can experience the freedom of riding a bike.
“It’s simplicity. It’s paying it forward with pedals,” Ken Allen said.
Allen has fixed up nearly 100 bikes over the last six months and given them away to people all over the state.
"I like it so much!" said four-year-old Samuel Hanson as he rode his new bike alongside his brother at their home in Ellsworth.
Hanson’s parents found the bike on Allen’s Facebook page where he allows users to say they are interested and then selects a “winner” at random.
"We could afford a bike for one kid, but not two,” Samuel’s father, Andrew Hanson, said.
Allen, a bike enthusiast himself, has collected hundreds of used bicycles in need of repair in his driveway and garage. He said he has picked them up from several generous donors who wanted to support his mission..
"It's the support of the community. These are strangers that I don't know in any way,” Allen said.
When he first started the Facebook page, Allen said he never expected it to be so successful. He said he has been working on bikes nonstop between his day job and spending time with his family, including his wife.
"She's very patient and it's clear that she loves me, but I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm crazy!” Allen said.
Crazy or not, Allen is determined to continue giving bikes to those who need them. He even hopes to establish as a non-profit eventually, all to keep on “pedaling” it forward.
"It feels good because you know they're going to good places, and it feels good because the story of each bike continues on,” he said.
You can find more information on Allen’s mission on his Facebook page here.