 "Photo: Andrea Lai")
People and pedal power moved an entire bike shop in East Austin Saturday.
The Yellow Bike Project, a nonprofit group that runs a community bike shop, moved the contents of its main store on 51st Street to its new location on Webberville Road with the help of dozens of volunteers. Without the use of cars, the group pedaled, pushed and pulled trailers of bikes and parts 2.4 miles to storage trailers on a lot where the shop will eventually be constructed.
Lines of volunteers passed the shop's contents from the bike trailers and loaded them into the storage trailers after the trip to the new location.
The move displayed the support of the Austin cycling community, said volunteer Zach Hall.
"I think [the community] is really strong, and it's getting a lot stronger," Hall said.
Construction on the new store is expected to be completed in six months and will be finalized when negotiations over the contract terms are finished. The timeline for the shop's construction is also determined by fundraising for the project, volunteer Peter Wall said.
The group has raised $90,024 of its $250,000 goal for construction of a store, according to the shop's Web site.
Wall said the main shop receives between 30 and 40 people per day and has attracted 2,700 people in the year and a half since it started a database for such figures. He expects these numbers and the size of the Austin cycling community to continue to grow with rising gas prices.
Hall helped during the group's move of a satellite store in January from Guadalupe Street to its current 12th Street location and said the group started a trend with its pedal-powered moves. He said several people have expressed interest in similar moves for their houses and furniture.
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