BUCKHANNON – A Buckhannon-based nonprofit will put free bicycles in the hands of Upshur County children at a one-day giveaway next month.
The Ride and Shine 2026 Bike Giveaway is set for Saturday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Upshur County Recreation Park, the site behind Buckhannon-Upshur High School where the community’s bike trails are located. Organizers plan to give away at least 20 new bicycles, each paired with a helmet and a bike lock.
Ride and Shine: Bikes for Upshur Kids was founded in November 2025 by Julia Kastner and is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its purpose is to provide free, new, bike-shop-quality children’s bikes to Upshur County kids who face financial barriers to owning one.
“Every kid deserves the experience that many of us consider a universal experience of being a kid: biking around the neighborhood,” Kastner said in a March interview. “This is to provide kids in Upshur County who have financial barriers with bicycles, along with a helmet and a bike lock, which is what we consider your most basic equipment.”
The June 13 event will also feature guided social rides and tabling by local community organizations.
The program serves Upshur County children in kindergarten through fifth grade whose households meet income eligibility guidelines. Families can apply for a child to receive a free bicycle at the Mountain CAP office, in person at 30 E. Main Street in Buckhannon, or by phone at (304) 878-1115.
Ride and Shine is accepting donations online through the Tucker Community Foundation.
In its mission statement, the nonprofit says it believes in removing financial barriers “so that every kid (in Upshur County and eventually maybe beyond) who wants to have a bike can have one.” The group sums up its approach in four words: one kid at a time.
Learn more about Ride to Shine by clicking here.
