About a thousand bicycles each year are either thrown away at the local landfill site or donated to Bicycles for Humanity.  Believe it or not, this lovely old Motobécane had been pitched out at the Dump.

In the Spring of the year, the bicycles flow like water to the Dump in Thunder Bay.  During Free Dump Week, a period that spans eight, twelve hour days each Spring, it is not uncommon to collect as many as 100+ decent bicycles, most of which are the mountain bikes of today.  But about twenty percent of all bikes salvaged, during Free Week and the rest of the year, are old road bikes, roadsters and/or antiques.

Spring, being a busy time of year, at least two trips per week must be made to the landfill site.  And, during each of those trips, it is quite likely to fill a pick-up truck with good bicycles.  Not only does the truck get filled, but as often as not some of the dumped bicycles and/or parts are of little use.  These can be set aside and sold for scrap, at a later date, however; Bicycles for Humanity cannot sell the dumped bicycle for scrap.  Only the scrap metal company who owns the metal discarded at the landfill site can do that.  They are under contract with the City of Thunder Bay and have rights to the metal.

With that in mind, some of the more rusted, bent or otherwise inappropriate bikes are simply transferred to a metal disposal bin.  And, it was on the "found the Motobécane day" that just such a situation cropped up.

Upon first checking the Dump that day, it became immediately obvious that there was not a full load of bicycles to transport to the Bicycles for Humanity storage facility.  But there was a bunch of junk that needed to be tidied up.  However, the day was dragging and fatigue had set in.  The decision to do it the next trip was made, and the truck snicked into gear.

But conscience took over, the truck was turned off and the clean-up began.  And lucky it did.  As the pile drew closer, it became apparent that there was an old road bicycle, sans wheels, tucked in behind two rusty, weed and grass infested mountain bikes.  And that road bicycle was a mid to late seventies Motobécane Grand Jubileé.

NEXT - BUILDING THE GRAND JUBILEÉ