A Cape Breton clown is breathing new life into old bicycles and saving them from the scrapyard.
Klutzy The Clown collects the bikes curbside, where they await the annual heavy garbage pickup.
“I just thought there's gotta be a way we can recycle these cycles,” says Dale Rancourt, Klutzy The Clown’s alter ego.
Rancourt fixes them up and gives them to less fortunate children.
“Instead of going to the landfill, I just figured somebody could share a smile and go for a ride on it.”
Some bikes need significant repairs, others just a new part or two, and then there are those that have been thrown away in good working condition.
“Look, the front brakes even work on it,” says Rancourt. “It doesn't even need air in the tires. It needs some WD-40 on the chain.”
Rancourt’s collection includes bicycles of all shapes and sizes - from mountain bikes to little trikes. However, he is still collecting donations, like the one from Dwayne Dalton’s children.
“I said, ‘I didn't give your scooter away. I know it's your favourite thing in the world,” says Dalton. “He (Dalton’s son) said, ‘you know dad, I had a lot of fun on it. Maybe some other little kid can have fun with it too.’”
According to Rancourt, that's the whole idea.
“Help your neighbour and watch them smile, because that's all I'm doing. I'm just helping all our neighbours to make them smile,” says Rancourt. “The people's smiles on their faces and waves as I drive by, I'll know which ones got the bikes we gave away.”
“Grading Day is just around the corner and kids shouldn't have to suffer because of circumstance,” says Dalton.
The bikes will be given away at the Polish Village Hall in Whitney Pier on June 1st.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
