Today we hear from SFYBP’s passionate co-founder, Mary Kay Chin:
“When you’re on a bike you interface with the world around you differently than when you’re in a car…”
If you could describe SFYBP in three words, what would they be?
MK: Bikes, Community, Education
How has SFYBP evolved since its first official day as an organization?
MK: We are a community grassroots organization, so we’ve really let our community tell us what to develop.
We’ve found there is a huge need for kids bikes and low barrier adult bikes,so that is where our focus has been.
Describe how you feel when you walk into the shop; what makes you most proud?
MK: Honestly, that we even have a shop to walk into!
Tell us how the name “Yellow Bike” came to be.
MK: Yellow Bike evolved from the colored bike programs from co-ops. These bikes were painted a specific color to identify it as a community bike, a bike available for everyone to use but not to keep. We feel the name and color still works and thought, “why change it?”
If you could bike anywhere in the country, where would you go and why?
MK: Detroit and Chicago. When you’re on a bike you interface with the world around you differently than when you’re in a car. I’d love to bike around both of these cities, checking out the community, the architecture and the art; of course this would NEVER happen during the winter.
What has been your greatest memory thus far in creating Yellow Bike?
MK: Watching volunteers who started with no mechanical experience teach a workshop; it’s a proud moment when we see a student turn into a teacher and share the knowledge.
