(Enlarge) Keith Oberg, with Bikes for the World, will collect donations at the Stop, Swap and Save bicycle expo Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Carroll County Ag Center, in Westminster. Donated bikes are given to people and organizations in Third World countries, where they serve as affordable transportation. (File photo by Don Watkins)

Keith Oberg admits he's not a professional bicycle mechanic, but he sure has the tools to put bicycles into the hands of the right people.

Oberg is the director of the nonprofit Bikes for the World, based in Arlington, Va., which collects new and used bicycles to donate to organizations and people in developing countries.

His project will wheel its way into Westminster on Feb. 14 for the 13th annual Stop, Swap and Save bicycle consumer expo, to be held at the Carroll County Agriculture Center. Admission to the expo is $5.

"In the last 20 years, bikes have become a throw-away item," said Oberg.

But instead of viewing used bikes as trash, Oberg's organization has worked since 2005 to recycle bikes into alternative transportation and job opportunities in places such as Costa Rica and Uganda.

At next week's expo, in the Ag Center's Danielle Shipley Memorial Arena, volunteers will accept bike donations and prepare them to be shipped overseas.

Oberg got involved in Bikes for the World when he worked for a federal agency in Central America and the Caribbean. He said he noticed how valuable bikes were for workers to get where they needed to be.

The bikes are useful in various scenarios. For instance, a worker in Central America might recondition a bike and use it to go to work and earn wages, while in Africa, a donated tandem bike can be used as a taxi. In other countries, volunteer nurses use the bikes to get to hospitals and clinics.

In some countries, the prospect of having a bike is seen as an incentive -- students earn the bikes by completing a year of secondary school, he said.

Bikes for the World has donated more than 41,000 bikes in five years, Oberg said.

The group must pay to ship the bikes and receives some subsidies from partner organizations. But it still needs more cash to make up those shipping costs.

"We started, out of desperation, asking people to donate $5 along with their bikes," he said.

People were OK with the suggestion, he said, and as the donations came, the organization had to tell more about where the money is going and what it is used for.

"Now we're asking for $10 for each bike donated," he said. "People are donating it, so that gets us about 40 percent of our support."

Bikes for the World also accepts sewing machines and used cell phones to support other programs -- but the organization's focus remains on bikes.

Expo works on pedal power

In addition to donating a used bike at the Stop, Swap and Save, people can certainly buy a new one, too.

After all, what better time is there to think about riding a bicycle than when the winter air is as frosty as can be?

About 3,500 people showed up for last year's expo, which features seminars, deals, freebies, food and more. It's one of the largest mid-Atlantic bike expos.

"Everybody wants a deal," said Robin Culver, of New Windsor, who organizes the event with her husband, Bruce Culver.

The economy can bring out bargain hunters, she said.

"I think the shops are hurting during the winter time, and they want to unload last year's models," she said. "And everyone wants a bargain."

The Culvers know the ins and outs of the bike business. They cycled competitively and owned Liberty Bikes, in Eldersburg, for 10 years until they sold the store years ago.

At the Shipley Arena, visitors can peruse the latest models and accessories from bike stores and vendors -- even donate blood to the American Red Cross (without falling off a bike) and help other charities, too.

At the swap, vendors sell cycling apparel, shoes, vintage bikes, frames, parts, used bikes and new bikes, Culver said.

Attendees can even sell their used bikes, if they want. Just drop the bike off and staff will lock it up and call the owner over the public address system when someone is interested. The haggling is up to you, Robin Culver said.

"We basically baby sit their bike as long as we're there," she said.

And if it doesn't sell? Well, there's always Bikes for the World ... and a tax deduction.

If you go

13th annual Stop, Swap and Save, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Danielle Shipley Memorial Arena, Carroll County Ag Center, 700 Agriculture Center Drive, Westminster

Admission: $5.

For details, go to www.stopswapandsave.com.

Bikes for the World

703-528-0931

info@bikesfortheworld.org

www.bikesfortheworld.org

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