All posts by Michael Sabrio

Quirky Bikes

November 21, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Fall 2025 Newsletter

The range of bicycles Pedals for Progress receives is quite amazing. Our generous supporters donate bicycles that cover almost every era. From the classic yellow Schwinn to modern full suspension mountain bikes fresh out the box, we have accepted and shipped our fair share of interesting bikes.

We get thousands of bikes per year at our collections, so it can be hard to keep track of some of the more interesting bikes we receive. This year two bikes especially caught my eye.

The first was Bob’s old skip tooth that was dropped off our collection in Clinton NJ with the Clinton Presbyterian and North Hunterdon Rotary Club. As soon as it was unloaded, it was turning heads at the collection like a time capsule from another life.

Bob told us a little bit about the bike. It was one of his first bikes as a kid more than 50 years ago that helped him all around town. Like many bikes from our childhood, one day he stowed it away in his family barn, where it sat for years.

The age of the bike conjured up a lot of questions like “Is it good enough?” “Is it too old?” “Do you accept antique bikes”. In short: yes. For the most part this was a fine bike that simply had a lot of years behind it. It was mostly kept in a barn, so the elements did not push it beyond the repairable condition we typically ask our bikes to be in. Upon learning about our friends in Guatemala at Masa Critica and their interest in vintage bikes, I knew right away who would appreciate this special bike.

The guys down in Guatemala love these vintage bikes and were very encouraging to me when they heard we sometimes get antique bikes at our collections. The same bike culture we have of fixing and restoring old vintage bikes is alive and well in Guatemala. FIDESMA was able to sell the bike to Muhammed who was absolutely excited to see Bob’s skip chain find its way down south. This important sale goes right back to FIDESMA community outreach efforts to complete the full cycle of our program.

Now in Guatemala, Muhammed will be sure to put plenty of care and respect into this blast from the past. It is a simple reminder of how our memoirs are stored in these bicycles and lived on through others around the world. Thank you, Bob, for sending your special bike to a new home.

Another funky bike we received is this custom beach cruiser we picked up down the shore with the Monmouth social club. I always like using these examples of quirky bikes to illustrate the grand potential of P4P. While this bike isn’t practical as a commuter bike, it certainly tells a story about the person who rode it.

This is simply a whimsical bike. Every time I look at it, it just makes me smile. The long handlebars and the all-black paint job combine a sort of silliness and ruggedness that totally clashes with the beach-bike frame. I can totally picture this bike being ridden down the boardwalk. To me it just screams Jersey Shore.

I love New Jersey, so sending this bike to one of our partners was a complete joy. We always speak of the practicality of Pedals for Progress and the importance of our bikes as tools of personal empowerment. While this bike may not get you to work as quickly as a sleek road bike, it spreads simple happiness and joy to our recipients, illustrating a different side of our mission.

I rarely try to track bikes: I don’t want to burden our partners by having them look out for special bikes among the hundreds they unload from a container they are trying to return on time.

I snapped this photo of the bike simply because it made me smile. Sure enough, one day, months later, I see the same bike with a happy new owner on GoBike’s Instagram page. By sheer coincidence, I was overthrown with happiness seeing our proud new owner of this unique bike.

His smile in the photo, next to the quirky bike, gave me a newfound appreciation for our organization. He knows it won’t be the most practical, or the best bike to get from point A to B, but this man also saw the joy inside the bike and wanted to give it new life. I love imagining the heads turn in Kosovo as it rides down the streets infecting people with smiles and laughter seeing a foreign bike from a wacky country called New Jersey.

To whoever donated this wonderful bike, thank you. Thank you for illustrating the joy and happiness bicycles can bring for people in the developing world. So keep those bikes coming, in all forms, to help us keep spreading the joy of cycling.

Collectors

Thank you to Marty’s Reliable Bike Shop: Our 100th bike

November 21, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Fall 2025 Newsletter

This year we quietly introduced a bicycle drop-off program with our friends at Marty’s Reliable Cycle. In an effort to help field some off-season drop-off requests, we have partnered with Marty’s to help us collect bicycles yearlong across their three locations.

Drop-off locations provide a convenient way for you to donate your bicycle to Pedals for Progress. The best way to donate is still through our collections held in the spring and the fall, and we encourage you to check our schedule for locations near you. To mitigate an overflow of bicycles for the staff at Marty’s, we are slowly introducing the program to test its sustainability and overall effectiveness.

We still highly encourage and suggest our usual $20 donation per bike to help offset shipping costs. P4P still needs financial assistance to move the bikes from Marty’s to our warehouse to complete the full transit of the bicycle overseas. To do so, we have drop boxes conveniently located at each register for cash and checks, and for you to receive a receipt of donation.

Along with special funding received from the HOLT family foundation, we are happy to be able to introduce this new endeavor more formally to our network of close supporters. Marty’s team has graciously offered time and space, so we’d like to respect their helping hand as much as possible. Please drop off bikes during normal business hours. Please make a monetary donation with each bike. And please have bicycles in repairable condition.

Guatemala

Report from Guatemala, Fall 2025

November 21, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Fall 2025 Newsletter

Clearing the Container Through Customs

FIDESMA‘s 26th container arrived August 9, 2025. As always, with the support of our authorized customs agent, we made all the necessary tax payments to authorize the release of the container. The only inconvenience this time was that the container was flagged “Red,” which caused many delays. Several days went by without clearance, and the problem was that they unloaded everything, then reloaded it, and now they don’t know how to properly arrange the bicycles inside. Then, for anything they don’t like, they want to impose a fine, which increases the payments and greatly affects the final import costs.

Despite the problems at customs, we managed to get the container released as quickly as possible, and after many unplanned days, it was finally transported to Chimaltenango. Costs have risen compared to five years ago. Even so, we continue moving forward and doing our best to ensure that the bicycles are available in the ECOLOBICI (Spanish facebook) Chimaltenango shop.

This is not the first time we’ve had problems clearing customs

Receiving the Bicycles at our Chimaltenango Location

Once the container arrives at the Chimaltenango warehouse, we unload it with the support of a group of friends and volunteers who also love bicycles and understand their social and environmental benefits. They are young people who come to help us unload the bicycles whenever we call them.

Usually, we are more than 15 people helping on unloading day. This time, the container arrived at 2am in the morning — even so, we were there to store the bicycles in our facility.

We finished unloading at dawn, as the sun was rising. We were tired but satisfied, knowing that all the effort had been worthwhile and that we could move on to the next phase — inventory, pricing, and special deliveries to people in need, sports enthusiasts, and workers who want a bicycle.

Bicycle Sales

In the sales phase, we prepare and organize the bicycles by type and quality to make pricing easier, offering promotions depending on the population being served.

We look for children who need a bicycle, young people who don’t have one and would like one, and we encourage them to use bicycles for sports, training, helping with household transport, or commuting to work. We also reach out to older adults who work far from home and need transportation. We always strive to offer the lowest possible price so they can take a bicycle home.

Additionally, when selling bicycles, we aim to distribute them in many different communities and towns to avoid discrimination about who receives one and who doesn’t. We try to deliver bicycles to all kinds of people — men, women, children, youth, and even some elderly individuals.

Activities for Bicycle Donations

During the first 10 months, we planned to donate more than five bicycles in various communities in Chimaltenango and beyond. We primarily focus on finding children among those in need to give them a bicycle. We can see that each recipient is very happy to receive their bike.

The photos show how everyone takes their bicycle home to use it on their streets and in their daily lives.

Social Activities Funded by Sales

In addition to bicycle sales — which benefit both adults and children, and the annual bicycle donations — we also provide support to community groups in need. Each year, we identify communities and groups that require assistance due to poverty, illness, lack of local education, child malnutrition, or the needs of women artisans.

Every year, we look for where and how to offer help within our means. Sometimes, we complement aid from other institutions through coordination and partnerships so that together we can better assist communities facing social challenges.

We are very grateful, on behalf of the ECOLOBICI–FIDESMA project, for this shipment of bicycles, which is number 26–2025. We are certain that the people — children, youth, and adults — will be very thankful when we deliver these bicycles to their communities and towns, where they can use them for work, sports, exercise, travel, and transportation to distant places. Everyone agrees that using a bicycle is a great benefit.

We will continue to share updates on our promotional activities, sales, donations, fundraising, and social initiatives throughout the rest of this year.

Many thanks to David, to Alan, and to all the colleagues who support you in the United States.

Sincerely,

Arnulfo Catu and The FIDESMA Team

Fidesma staff and Alan — Analy, Pedro, Alan, Margarita, Alfuno

InGear - The Newsletter of P4P

President’s Message, Fall 2025

November 21, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Dear Pedal People,

Happy Holidays! Thank you for your support to Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace.

This is my favorite time of year as it gives us the chance to look back at all the great work we have accomplished. There is always so much, that I find it hard to know where to begin.

Start domestically, where each bike begins its journey, I’d like to thank our donors for parting ways with their beloved items and donating them to our cause. Theres a special kind of sentimentality that is felt with a lot of these items that are donated by the people we meet at our collection events across the tri-sate. The bicycles and sewing machines we collect have a life of their own and we appreciate your trust in us forwarding these items to others in need around the world.

Material objects like these have a unique function as they are operated by people. To operate a bike or machine, your body has to literally engage with the machine, using both your feet and your hands. They require you to almost hug and hold the bike or machine as your pedal forward or push fabric through the feet of the machine. The people operating these machines have felt them, literally held them in their arms in thousands of hours of operation. Thousands of miles peddled, thousands of miles sewn. It’s this connection of man and machine that injects life into these tools.

That life contained in an object creates the sentimentality we feel when letting go. It’s a fact of life that we must let go at one time or another. At many of our collections I get the special honor to watch people let go of these beloved items. I love to listen to our donors talk about their items as they unload their car. As they are in this phase of letting go, you sometimes see people re-live some of the greatest times of their life. Sometimes it means letting go of a bike they rode daily across campus. Maybe the bike they took cross country. Or a childhood bike they rode on their paper route and left it the rafters for 50 years.

The machines can hit the hardest. It’s often a mother or grandmother who has passed away and their next of kin is not sure what to do with the machine. I’ve heard endless stories of the Halloween costumes, the prom dresses, the mended jeans and coats, all the loving creations that were made behind some of the machines we’ve collected.

Regardless of the story, or the memories associated with them, it is always a pleasure to hear these stories and be able to confidently assure that we will indeed find a new home for your item. There is a lightness, a relief, that people show when they know that the item will not be forgotten, that those memories will not be forgotten as we pass them onto their new homes.

Looking internationally, these items truly change the way people live. They are tools of personal empowerment that radiate a sense of independence and freedom. The same objects that were once reminding our donors of who they were or where they’ve been, become objects that are now motivating our recipients of who they can be or where they can go.

These inanimate objects infect people with idea that they can go anywhere or do anything. As our recipients receive these important items, they are able to go out into the world and create their own lifetime of memories and successes. The connection of man and machine continues to grow and continues to inspire.

Your old bike that helped you around campus, will now help someone get to a school of their own. The bike that you rode across our beautiful country will continue to cross another. The bike that helped you on your paper route will continue to employ another young person on their budding career.

The machines continue to create dresses, costumes, and execute emergency repairs needed to keep life going. They are machines of powerful implications, once used for hobbies in the US, now being used in the trades in Uganda. The machine used by a beloved grandmother will be loving used by a new mother all her own in Guatemala.

We are proud to be able to extend your pre-loved items and extend the memories of those bikes and machines. I hope you enjoy the following stories and reports that illustrate some of what we hope to achieve with P4P and reminders of why we do what we do. I really cannot thank you enough for supporting our mission. And Thank you especially for making the sometimes-difficult decision to donating your pre-loved bicycle or sewing machine.

Sincerely,
Alan Schultz, President P4P and SP

InGear - The Newsletter of P4P

President’s Message, Spring 2025

June 24, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Dear Pedal People,

First and foremost, I’d like to thank you for being here on our website, reading our news, showing your support. This newsletter is our way of showing you the progress we’ve made in the first half of the year, shipping the donated bicycles and sewing machines we’ve collected in the tri-state region. Thank you for taking a moment to read about the work you have allowed us to do.

We’ve had a really awesome spring season that honestly surprised me with its results. Heading into spring, I was white-knuckling it unsure of how well we’d do, or what world events might come up that could jeopardize our work. Coming off the heels of the longshoremen’s strike in the fall, we thought the shipping world couldn’t get any tougher. Then came tariffs.

I’m not here to comment on or critique them, other than to say they have affected our operations. The shipping industry is clutching its pearls and has slowed down significantly due to the large number of unknowns in the world. Working under tight time constraints, balancing a small warehouse, and organizing volunteers becomes much harder when the world is at odds with us. Big problems like these leave big strains on small operations like ours.

While there have been more challenges getting our bicycles out the door, we’ve managed to weather the storm thanks to your support. I was blown away by our donors once we started our spring season. In these polarizing times, I was unsure how the public would respond to our cause this spring. Thankfully, it’s become clear to me that Americans remain united and ready to help their neighbors.

While the news and media seem ever more divided and discombobulated, the experiences I’ve had on the ground are filled with amazing community efforts. The words of encouragement we’ve received this spring have been deeply moving. People are rooting for us to continue serving our neighbors abroad, with a sense of sincerity I’ve never felt before. This support and the stories I’ve heard from our friends overseas have helped me tremendously to keep going.

I hope the following stories motivate you to keep going too. They shine a light on dark corners of the world that are full of love once discovered. Belize holds the title for some of the toughest living conditions in the world, with the lowest GDP in Central America. Kosovo is a nation marching for recognition, overshadowed by other complicated European politics. Sierra Leone and Togo have been placed on travel bans, while posing no threat to the U.S. Wire transfers from Albania and Guatemala are still flagged by our banks. And yet, these are all countries fighting for their voices to be heard. These are all countries we proudly support.

We hope this newsletter shows you why it’s worth standing behind our friends around the world. Rallying around the simple symbol of freedom a bicycle represents can be a guiding force in how we live our lives. Thank you for supporting our world through the gift of donating a bicycle, giving people the freedom they deserve.

Sincerely, Alan Schultz, President P4P and SP

bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

Report from Guatemala, Spring 2025

June 24, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Spring 2025 Newsletter

For the last 25 years, Pedals for Progress has made annual shipments of bikes and sewing machines to FIDESMA, a community outreach program located just outside Chimaltenango, Guatemala. FIDESMA serves its community of San Andrés Itzapa through various programs focused on food security, educational support, and women’s empowerment in business.

Using their EcoBici program, they extend their community impact through the distribution and sale of our donated bicycles. FIDESMA and its EcoBici bike shop have sustained themselves for 25 years and serve as a textbook example of what Pedals for Progress aims to achieve. By selling some of their bikes at low cost, our partners help generate revenue to maintain their operations and fund their community outreach.

Working people who buy these bicycles have a vested interest in maintaining them. This not only promotes long-term use, but also feeds back into the success of the shop, which hires more people and helps develop specialized labor. The economic success of this small enterprise is how we’ve been able to contribute to the local economy of Chimaltenango while supporting FIDESMA’s broader mission.

FIDESMA’s current inventory includes many bikes we shipped back in October. The range of bicycles we collect in the U.S. ends up being a major selling point once they reach our international partners. From vintage Schwinns from the ’70s and ’80s to modern Trek mountain bikes, the variety helps shops like EcoBici serve a diverse customer base. This range is on full display at EcoBici, where bikes are organized by price category: older Schwinns ranging from $30–$50, mid-level Mongooses and Treks priced between $50–$100+, and even a top-shelf Specialized model tagged at $800. It’s a great example of a healthy storefront offering a fair, tiered marketplace.

This all ties back to the “theory” behind Pedals for Progress. We want our partners to succeed and earn a living through our donated bicycles. We are extending the life and value of products that hold real significance in smaller marketplaces like San Andrés Itzapa. Fanning the flame of a blossoming economy is how we can accelerate progress and stretch the impact of bicycles once headed for a landfill. We’re proud to stand beside partners like FIDESMA who take our mission to heart. Here’s to 25 years of impact—and many more to come.

Women’s Group and Bike Donation

The auxiliary programs we support in the developing world are often funded through the sale of bicycles we ship. In many places here in the United States, other charities that collect used bicycles will sell a large portion domestically to help offset their operating costs. At Pedals for Progress, we pass that same opportunity on to our partners overseas. We want our partners to benefit from the sale of bikes in their local markets, using that income to fund community outreach and development work where it’s needed most. As a result, we’re proud to say that P4P donates 100% of the new and repairable bikes we collect.

For lack of a better term, a kind of “trickle-down” economy begins to take shape. While our partner bike shops generate revenue, they are also running a local business and using their extra funds to support their communities. FIDESMA in Guatemala continues to be an incredible example: several of their offshoot programs provide aid through feeding programs, bicycle donations, and support for indigenous women.

During my visit to FIDESMA, I spoke with some of the main people behind their work. It’s mostly a family-run operation, and they welcomed us like family. Pedro, the son of Margarita, FIDESMA’s founder, said very simply, “In San Andrés Itzapa, FIDESMA is famous for helping.” They’re the place people turn to when they’re in need.

That sentiment rang especially true when we learned that the town had begun building a new public park and asked FIDESMA for bicycles for children to use inside the park. FIDESMA gladly donated 15 children’s bikes at no cost. We were fortunate enough to be there in person when the town came to pick them up. After years of loading bicycles onto trucks in the U.S., I had the incredible honor to help load on the receiving end.

A few days later, we were invited to a ceremony at the new park to celebrate FIDESMA’s contributions to the town. The event also honored the indigenous women’s group that FIDESMA supports. Through this initiative, women create and sell handwoven tapestries and traditional clothing using long-established Mayan techniques. Margarita, an artist herself who makes jewelry, helps these rural women bring their handmade goods to larger markets, increasing both their reach and their profits.

These women also benefit directly from the sewing machines we ship alongside our bicycles. While they continue using traditional techniques, the machines supplement their work, allowing them to expand production and grow their income.

At the ceremony, we also had the privilege of donating a bicycle to a local farmer who had been struggling to make ends meet. Identified by FIDESMA for his strong work ethic and long walks to work each day, he was selected to receive a donated bike. Having the opportunity to see him accept the gift and ride away was a deeply moving reminder of why we do what we do.

Stories like these remind us that a bicycle or sewing machine can be an important tool for a pathway to opportunity. With each shipment, we’re not just delivering aid; we’re supporting organizations like FIDESMA that are deeply rooted in their communities and building better lives. Thank you for your continued support.

bicycles, Guatemala

Cycling Reaches Critical Mass in Guatemala

June 24, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Spring 2025 Newsletter

The cycling culture in Guatemala is on the rise, moving beyond simple utility and evolving into a lifestyle of leisure and fun. Cycling groups, the growing popularity of mountain biking, and an increasing interest in vintage bicycles—trends we’ve long seen in the United States—are now taking root and gaining momentum in Guatemala. Riding that wave for more than 20 years, Masa Crítica Guatemala has been at the forefront of the country’s cycling movement.

During our recent visit to our partner program FIDESMA, Pedals for Progress had the opportunity to join a group ride organized by Masa Crítica. FIDESMA and Masa Crítica have worked closely together, co-sponsoring group rides, cycling expos, and other events throughout Guatemala City. FIDESMA has supported the group through bicycle repair services, rentals, and sales, all of which help advance Masa Crítica’s mission of expanding the cycling community across the city and country.

Masa Crítica has become a strong voice for cyclists in Guatemala City. “Critical Mass” group rides first started in the 1990s and have popped up worldwide ever since. In Guatemala City, the movement began in 2005, and its timing couldn’t have been better. In a city where crime rates are among the highest in the country, strength in numbers offers a safer way to ride. One participant told us they had once been held at gunpoint while cycling alone, but now feels much safer riding with a large group.

Beyond safety, these group rides are simply fun. Riders of all ages and backgrounds show up to enjoy the ride. Themed rides are especially popular. On the day we joined, the group was decked out in Hawaiian shirts and vintage bikes, celebrating an upcoming vintage bike expo. Riders proudly showcased classic bicycles, many restored and modified by the talented Julián Méndez (in Spanish). The passion for cycling was unmistakable.

Traffic conditions in Guatemala City are also notoriously intense. Drivers often engage in a dog-eat-dog mentality, and traffic laws are merely a suggestion. But again, safety in numbers prevails. Group rides can stop traffic at intersections, giving cyclists safe passage where they’d otherwise be vulnerable. Guides equipped with high-visibility vests and whistles help the group stay organized and secure as they navigate the streets.

Seeing progress in the U.S., like new bicycle-passing law in New Jersey, is a promising reminder that similar protections can take hold in Guatemala. Cycling is becoming more popular, and we’re excited to help keep it growing around the world.

bicycles, Guatemala

Rolando: Reseller of P4P Bikes in Guatemala

June 24, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Spring 2025 Newsletter

This is Rolando, a shop owner and bike mechanic at Dbicis Taller S.J. (Bike Workshop San José). He has been running his small business for 16 years, serving his rural community with bicycle sales and repairs.

Located deep in Guatemala, San José Poaquil sits over an hour from the Ecobici bike shop in Chimaltenango, accessible only by tough, winding mountain roads. For the last two years, Rolando has been purchasing bicycles from Ecobici thanks to his longtime friendship with Alfuno, co-founder of FIDESMA. Through this relationship, he has been able to acquire higher-quality used bicycles from the United States—bikes that outperform the imported Chinese models he previously relied on.

The decision to source from FIDESMA has helped Rolando bolster his inventory and offer his customers more durable, reliable bicycles. American brand bikes—especially used Trek models—are highly preferred and can sell for around $200 USD, compared to roughly $100 USD for a new, off-brand Chinese bike. That price difference reflects a big gap in quality. The used bikes from the U.S. far exceed their lower-end counterparts in performance and longevity.

Rolando makes use of every square foot in his compact 15×8-foot shop. Tools and spare parts cover his workbench, while bikes and wheels hang from the walls and fill every corner. It’s a modest space, but it allows him to earn a living doing something he’s passionate about—fixing bikes and serving his neighbors.

For years, Rolando worked alongside his son, who helped run the shop before leaving two years ago to pursue construction work in the United States. Clearly, mechanical talent runs in the family. Rolando continues to make incredible use of limited tools and supplies. Several bikes were hanging from the walls, drying after being freshly spray-painted. He even uses an angle grinder to modify larger bicycle frames to better fit the smaller stature of the local population.

Despite his skill and resourcefulness, Rolando faces challenges when it comes to repairing newer, high-end bikes. While Trek remains the most popular brand, some newer models are beyond his current expertise. He occasionally relies on help from a fellow mechanic in Chimaltenango, but the hour-long drive makes it hard to keep up with demand.

Eager to improve, Rolando hopes to expand his knowledge so he can better service these newer models. Entirely self-taught, he has learned through trial and error and dreams of starting bike repair lessons for others in his community. He recognizes the growing interest in cycling throughout Guatemala and wants to help others keep up with the rising demand.

Pedals for Progress is proud to support small bike shops like Dbicis Taller S.J. Rolando is just one example of how our work helps foster economic development, entrepreneurship, and access to mobility in the developing world. Every bike sold in Rolando’s shop goes into the hands of a hard-working person in rural Guatemala. His story is a great example of the kind of sustainable progress we aim to support—one bike, and one mechanic, at a time.

Belize

Note from Belize, June 2025

June 10, 2025 Michael Sabrio

Dear Pedals for Progress and Valued Donors,

On behalf of God Cares Outreach, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your generous donation of bicycles and sewing machines. Your ongoing support is instrumental in helping us establish sustainable platforms that not only sustain our programs but also create vital employment opportunities for families across Belize.

Thanks to your kindness, we are able to provide low-income families with reliable transportation, empowering them to access education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. Furthermore, your donations enable us to make a profound impact on the future of Belize by offering over 100 scholarships annually — including tuition, uniforms, and school supplies — to children from impoverished communities.

This sustainable model is transforming lives and shaping the trajectory of our nation. By investing in the education and livelihood of young people, we are giving them the tools to pursue their dreams and break the cycle of poverty. We firmly believe that every child deserves equal access to quality education, and together, we are making that a reality.

Thank you, Pedals for Progress, and all those who keep this incredible organization moving forward. Because of your generosity, Belize is on a path of progress and hope.

With deepest appreciation,
Derrick Pitts
God Cares Outreach
10 June 2025