Small win for one, big win for the community

Terry Purcell, of the Niwot Market, lives car-free by choice. With a community like Niwot, commuting is easy with a bicycle, but recently, someone stole his.

"People say, 'Hey, I don't see your bike,' and they worry because I'm in here working," he said. "Even though I wasn't trying to make a big deal about it, word started getting around."

That's where Eve Lempriere enters the story. A cyclist herself, she reached out to other cyclists and people around Niwot, asking for their help to get Purcell a replacement. Her call to action was heard by many: community members offering to loan him a bike, someone offering to donate one, and Niwot Wheel Works reportedly offering to assist as well.

"I wanted to help and knew that others in Niwot would want to help also," Lempriere said. "I reached out to other Niwot cyclists and friends who frequent the Market asking if they would like to help, and it spiraled out from there."

Word spread so quickly, that within days, community members raised enough money-more than $500-for a new bike. Purcell said that he even had to turn some people away since the goal was met, but that he was immensely grateful to them nonetheless.

In an email circulated to the bike donors, he said that this experience was about more than a stolen bike, or even the money raised to replace it. Instead, it's about kindness, community and supporting each other.

"Thank you so much for my sweet new bike," he wrote.

Most of the donations he received were anonymous, but sometimes he meets someone in the Niwot Market asking about the new bike, "so then I know," he said with a smile.

For both Purcell and Lempiere, the bike replacement is a testament to the Niwot community; it's a demonstration of kindness. The entire network of donors is still unknown, but appreciated nonetheless.

"The people who backed me on this, they need to be recognized," said Purcell.