'I just want everybody to have a bike': This New Brunswick man fixes kids' bikes for free
A Riverview, N.B., man is doing what he can to ensure children in his area have a bicycle that works properly.
John Chatman has been fixing bikes since he was a little kid in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Now, he is offering his services for free to children in the area. He says bikes that need to be repaired are being dropped off at all hours of the day.
"I just want everybody to have a bike. One day I was going down the road and I saw these kids running around. I stopped and I asked them why they were running and they said, 'We don't have bikes,' and that's how it started," he says.
Chatman covers all the costs himself. In some circumstances, his kind work has been praised on social media.
"That's nice, but I just do it. They're just kids and everybody should have one," said Chatman. "Everybody should be out looking, and if they see one, just take it home and fix it and just give it to somebody. It's easy to do it."
Currently, there are about 20 bikes in Chatman's yard in different stages of repair. When one is ready, a parent and their child swing by to pick it up.
"They're happy. The kids are usually just driving around on the road before they leave. I always get them to test them out before they leave to make sure they're good. I don't want anyone to break their neck," he said. "I get them to drive them and make sure they're happy and then off they go."
While Chatman doesn't accept any money for the repair jobs, he did come home one evening to find a fresh, warm lobster on his doorstep and gratefully accepted the gift.
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