Agoura Hills donor is on a mission

Giving bikes away has become
a joyful cycle



MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn  ONE DOWN, MANY TO GO-Volunteer Dennis Miller adjusts tires on one of the  bicycles  that were repaired by Conejo Valley Cyclists on Saturday at Mark Blum's house in Agoura Hills.

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn ONE DOWN, MANY TO GO-Volunteer Dennis Miller adjusts tires on one of the bicycles that were repaired by Conejo Valley Cyclists on Saturday at Mark Blum’s house in Agoura Hills.


Giving bikes away has become

a joyful cycle

By John Loesing

Acorn Staff Writer

The holidays are more than a month away, but Mark Blum’s garage in Agoura Hills already looks a lot like Santa’s workshop. Old bicycles and dilapidated parts occupy every nook and cranny, but soon they’ll be shiny and new.


Each year, Blum repairs used bicycles and donates them to charity, but with his muscles failing and his eyesight practically gone, the 49-year-old multiple sclerosis patient said he needs more helpers in his shop to get the work done.


Blum started his home-based organization, Mission With Bikes, in 1996 and has since given away 1,330 bicycles. He fixed the first 75


himself, then turned the work over to his volunteers when his health began to fail.


Last year Blum gave away 260 bikes. This year he’s donated 170 so far, but with Christmas and Chanukah coming, he says he’ll easily donate another 50.


"I just thank God I found a niche," said Blum, speaking from a wheelchair equipped with a large front to carry his tools and spare parts. "I needed something to do and this is a 24-7 job for me."


Blum is a retired insurance executive.


Groups receiving the Mark Blum bicycles have included Conejo Youth Outreach, Hillsides Home for Children, Head Start of Thousands Oaks, Lutheran Social Services, City of Hope and Interface.


His handiwork has been delivered to states as far east as Connecticut and even to children in Mexico and Russia.


Last weekend, two dozen men and women from the Conejo Valley Cyclists club visited Blum’s home workshop on Lindero Drive and refurbished 30 bicycles. The club members arrived with their tools and bike repair stands and went right to work. They also donated $1,000 to pay for spare parts.


Earlier in the year, Capt. Jim Glazar of Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station helped organize a donation through the Malibu Lions Club in which 30 of Blum’s bicycles were given to Los Angeles inner-city school children.


"That did a huge, huge thing to the morale for the kids because last year the kids who had perfect attendance [only] got a certificate for a pizza," Blum said. These bikes were all shined up and ready to go. Some of the kids said if this is what we’re going to get, I’m going to crawl to school if I have to."


Well, now they can ride.


Other volunteers who have helped repair the bicycles include Matt Finders, an Agoura Hills resident and musician in the Jay Leno band, and Richard Mason, a member of the Simi Valley cycling club, "Old Cranks."


In the past, Blum has conducted bicycle repair classes for the Triunfo YMCA and held workshops for Boy Scouts, Big Brothers and Big Sisters.


Troubled teens come by to lend a hand as well.


"We do community service for schools and the courts," Blum said. "Really it doesn’t get much better than doing this."


With the holidays approaching, Blum needs volunteer help the most, but said he can always use more bikes and spare parts.


"People who want to donate bikes—that makes them feel good, too. I tell people I’ll find good homes for them … I don’t want to turn that away, but I’m looking more for volunteers."


If you can help or want to make a donation, please call Mark Blum at (818) 991-5805.




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