Orderly piles of tires and handles in the attic of Jeff’s workshop. Credit: KIERA MCLAUGHLIN / Ledger-Transcript 
Jeff Powell in his workshop surrounded by organized chaos including different parts and types of bikes. Credit: KIERA MCLAUGHLIN / Ledger-Transcript 
Jeff Powell in his barn, now used as storage for part of his bike collection. Credit: KIERA MCLAUGHLIN / Ledger-Transcript 
“Wheel Palooza” in the basement of the Powell’s home. Credit: KIERA MCLAUGHLIN / Ledger-Transcript 
Robin’s nest perched on a kids bike hanging in Jeff Powell’s outside workspace. Credit: KIERA MCLAUGHLIN / Ledger-Transcript
Bikes of all sizes currently out of commission line the outside of Jeff Powell’s bike shop next to his home. Organized piles of tires, tubes, pedals, rims, handles and anything else imaginable for bike repair fill the attic and workshop as well as Powell’s basement, known as “Wheel Palooza”.
And yet, in the structured chaos, Jeff knows where almost anything is located and which parts go next, and if he feels unsure, he is willing to find the perfect pairing of parts.
“I will sometimes have a three-bike deep part that goes to this part, that new part goes to this part. Kind of like a queue in my head of knowing that to get this bike ready, I have to do these other two bikes,” Jeff said.
Edie Powell, his wife, describes his work as a form of occupational therapy.
“It’s like making art when you’re in the zone,” she explained.
Jeff and Edie Powell live in Dublin and started Bikes for Peace, originally known as Bikes for Syria, in 2018. Since then, with the help of volunteers, Jeff has repaired over 3,700 bikes.
Bikes for Peace
Jeff and Edie started Bikes for Syria in partnership with New Day Syria and Bikes for Humanity, providing bikes to the Middle East and Africa until the pandemic.
In 2019, COVID-19 shut down shipments, and since then, the cost of shipping the bikes overseas hasn’t decreased.
At the time, their operation had more volunteers, fixing around 50 bikes a month.
“We would sometimes get pictures back two weeks after, and it was some kid in a refugee camp riding a bike. I couldn’t even get a letter to Italy in that time,” Edie said.
Then, the couple transitioned to giving bikes to people in New Hampshire.
The Powells have donated bikes through Pedal Together, Cheshire County Behavioral Health Court, Feed the Kids, Perfect Peace, Avenue A, Connected Families, Grapevine and individuals who reach out.
Anyone and everyone gets a bike, no questions asked. Jeff said the current list is about a month long.
They also take no monetary donations. Jeff made it clear they do not fix bikes for pay.
“That’s what bike shops are for,” he said.
Jeff welcomes anyone to come mend their own bike and help repair some for donation.
‘A gift to help us heal’
Jeff has been working on bikes since high school and has an obsession with bikes and SAAB model cars, as depicted on their website, peacetek.net.
Starting in the 1980s, he said lots of things haven’t changed, but when he encounters something new, he is ready to take it on. Although he draws the line at ebikes.
“I found when I started getting into this more, some things have not changed, some things have not changed in a 100 years, and my tools fit and my knowledge fits … and then these newer things come here, so it’s been a good learning challenge,” he said.
While Jeff has always had a hand for mechanics, the couple never pictured this path.
“This was the last chapter that was handed to us as a gift to help us heal,” Edie said.
When Edie and Jeff lost their son, Ko, in 2017, they found their form of service and haven’t stopped since.
“We did not sit around after our world collapsed and say, ‘Hey, let’s give bikes away,'” Jeff said.
Edie said they see this as their purpose later in life.
“We’re not particularly religious, but, boy, we got the message,” she said.
Power of giving
Edie said people love to donate their bikes and know something they treasured will be used by someone else.
“The great thing is that people feel connected if their bike goes off to somebody,” she said.
Jeff keeps a detailed journal documenting each bike he works on, keeping track of what he does, where it comes from and who it goes to, as well as adding personality and stories to each bike.
The couple works closely with families, local nonprofits, social workers and individuals. Often, they provide bikes for people or families in transitional homes or immigrants in need of transportation.
Edie is in charge of organizing which type of bike goes to each person based on their size and needs. Over the years, Jeff and Edie have both become experts in what an individual will most likely get the best use out of. This depends on a host of different factors, including if they want gears, the size of the bike and the type of wheels.
And don’t worry, Jeff has a collection of all types of bikes, including, but not limited to, kids’ bikes, mountain bikes, tricycles, adaptive bikes, tandem bikes and additions.
In partnership with social workers, the Powells provide kids and young teens with bikes. Jeff said sometimes the bike doesn’t fit with the recipient, so he recommends giving that bike to another kid and he will find a bike that works for them.
“Give that bike and we’ll get another bike. Now we know it needs to be a little bigger or they wanted gears,” Jeff said.
As previously stated, everyone gets a bike and there is more than enough to share.
Currently, Jeff is swimming in bikes and parts, but is in search of volunteers. He said he is more than happy to teach anyone how to work on them and welcomes people to donate some of their time to help their neighbors in need. For more information, go to their Facebook page: Bikes for Peace.