Kids & Family

Moraga Couple Busy Again With Their Annual Bicycle Recycling Program

Bobbie and Tom Preston have collected used bicycles that are refurbished and given to needy children for the past 16 holiday seasons

The idea for a bicycle recycling project started, ironically enough, on one of those big garbage pick-up days.

It was 1995 and newlyweds Tom and Bobbie Preston were driving through their neighborhood, looking at all the old bicycles laying on the curb for the trash trucks.

"It made me crazy to see good bikes just going to the garbage dump," said Bobbie.

So, she and her husband decided to start a "cycle recycle" program, a program they fully launched in 1998.

This is now their 16th year of asking people to drop off used bicycles on their driveway.

The couple donates 200 bicycles every fall to the Marsh Creek Detention Facility in Clayton and the Trips for Kids organization in Marin County. Inmates at the detention facility and volunteers at the children's foundation fix up the bikes and distribute them to needy kids during the holiday season.

"It's so little skin off our noses," said Bobbie, "and it makes such a huge difference to these kids."

"When you're doing something for others, it makes you feel good," said Tom. "This is such an obvious need and it's so simple to fill it."

Tom added the program is also good for Marsh Creek inmates who learn a skill and do something good for society.

"It's a win-win-win situation," he said.

The couple asks for bicycles and tricycles in any condition as well as usable bike parts. They do, however, ask that no skateboards be dropped off.

The bike and trikes can just be left on the Prestons' driveway at 1307 Larch Ave. They accept donations until Nov. 30.

Bobbie has volunteerism in her blood. Her mother was a Girl Scout leader when Bobbie was growing up in Texas, among other volunteer stints. Her mother was also one of the first female Presbyterian elders.

Bobbie is a retired Kaiser Permanente radiologist. She's on the board of Hospice of the East Bay and is active in Moraga Garden Farms, among a long list of volunteer projects. She was also the first president of the Mt. Diablo Habitat for Humanity when it formed in 1992.

Tom, an Arizona native who worked in marketing and sales for Johnson & Johnson before retiring, has done some volunteering for the Scouts as well as helping out on some 10K fundraising races.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here