Knights of Columbus in Burnaby thought things couldn’t get any worse for their annual bicycle drive last year after their major partners pulled out over LGBTQ+ issues.

Then the pandemic hit.

Yet, despite all the odds against it, the 2020 Knights of Columbus bicycle drive turned out to be a big success, and organizers are hoping for the same later this month.

The Knights at Holy Cross Parish have been collecting, refurbishing, and donating used bicycles for charity since 2006. But last year, just two months before the annual drive, the Vancouver-based PEDAL Society withdrew its support and two other bike companies refused to work with them citing differences of opinion on LGBTQ+ rights. 

“It was a bit disappointing,” Knight and drive organizer Graham Darling told The B.C. Catholic, since the Knights had been collecting and refurbishing bikes alongside PEDAL from the start.

“We got along great in all the years we worked together with these groups. There was never any controversy on site. I think they knew we were Catholic and we had some idea of where they stood on various things, but we stood on the common ground that we wanted to serve the poor.”

He thinks somewhere along the line things turned political, and PEDAL, The Bike Kitchen, and Kickstand Community Bikes pulled out of working with the Knights.

They forged ahead with plans for the bike drive anyway. Then the COVID pandemic hit. The Knights found themselves scrambling to adjust to ever-changing safety protocols, host the drive at a completely different location from previous years, and make new partners.

Despite all the challenges, 128 bicycles were collected last year, beating the annual average of 80-100.

With partners Bicycles for Humanity Vancouver and REC for Kids, the Knights plan to keep rolling ahead under that momentum this year. This year’s bike drive is planned for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 29 at Holy Cross Church and school parking lot in Burnaby.

A Knights council at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Richmond has already collected 40 bikes in support of the event. “We’re getting bikes from all over Vancouver,” said Darling.

Any bike brought to the Holy Cross site for donation May 29 will be inspected, sorted, and packed up by partners and Knights volunteers. REC for Kids will take a portion of the bikes for impoverished youth in the Greater Vancouver area, while others will be shipped by Bicycles for Humanity to a developing country.

Last year, 103 bikes were donated to REC, 11 bikes were sent to South Africa, and 14 were declared unfit for human travel and recycled.

Bicycles collected by Knights and partners were delivered to a rural school in South Africa last year.

Cyclists are also welcome to drop by for a free tune-up, where on-site mechanics can take a look, fix anything that doesn’t require new parts, and explain what they are doing so riders can learn to perform their own tune-ups in the future.

“This is open to bikes from everywhere,” he said. “If you are ready to travel and bring a bike there, we are ready to receive it.”

The Knights’ record is collecting 300 bikes in one year. Darling said he is not expecting that result again this year, although after last year he’s prepared for just about anything.