F.K. Day (above center) is the
co-founder of SRAM Corp.
July 2005
Bike Aid
Chicagoans gear up bike factory
in tsunami-ravaged Southeast Asia
text by Marla Donato
photos by Leah Missbach Day
IN MUCH OF SOUTHEAST ASIA, including some areas devastated by last winter’s deadly tsunami, owning a bicycle is a matter of survival. Not only are bikes used as primary means of transportation, but they serve an important function in the region’s commerce. Pedaling merchants peddle everything from vegetables to propane gas tanks from the back of their bikes, in much the same way some Midwest farmers use the back of their pickup trucks. But many of those bikes were swept away.
So, Wheels of Joy was started as a Chicago-based effort to bring bicycles to tsunami survivors.
It’s spearheaded by local photographer Leah Missbach Day, and her husband, F.K. Day, the co-founder of SRAM Corp., a Chicago-based global manufacturer of bicycle components. The couple hopes to involve bike manufacturers around the world in its efforts to raise funds to place orders for 25,000 bikes in a factory located in Sri Lanka, one of the devastated areas. The bikes would then be given free to residents trying to rebuild their lives.
“It keeps the money in the country and creates jobs,” said F.K. Day, adding that the types of bikes used there are very different from the multi-geared models most Americans ride for leisure or sport.
“Getting the people the right bikes is a big deal because if we send them bikes from Chicago they would scratch their heads wondering how to use them and how to keep them running,” he said. “An appropriate bike that they are accustomed to has one gear, a sturdy steel rack, larger wheels and is easier to maintain, because the daily usage, salt air and sand wear the bikes down like a piece of well-used chalk.”
To get involved visit www.sram.com.
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