Mainland Regional offers a unique bike technician course
By Tim Quinn
A bike shop? I thought schools only offered auto and wood shops. Not anymore! Mainland Regional High School is the first school in New Jersey to offer a bicycle technician course to high school students.
The course is led by Tim Hanna, who began his career at Mainland Regional High School (MRHS) in the fall of 1999 as a special education and English teacher. This eventually led to his current role in Mainland’s Bike Repair shop. How does an English teacher end up in a high school bike shop?
COVID reshaped priorities
As we went through and then came out of the pandemic, schools went through dramatic changes and student motivation wavered. Hanna found himself questioning his role as a teacher. Retirement was an option, but he still relished the classroom. He craved a new challenge, something that would ignite his passion once more. And so, after soul-searching and countless conversations with his family, he came to a decision: he wanted to teach a hands-on, practical skill—one that would empower students beyond the confines of textbooks.
Philadelphia, with its scenic streets and magnetic charm, became his inspiration. Hanna spent weekends exploring the city on his bicycle with his wife and daughters. But a series of flat tires led him to an epiphany: bike technicians, much like skilled labor, were aging with no recruits in sight. Local bike technicians were in high demand and shops struggled to keep up with repairs. Skilled technicians were scarce. This is where he saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application.
A view of the classroom in between classes.
Project Bike Tech
Hanna’s research led him to Project Bike Tech, a nonprofit in Boulder, Colorado that specializes in bicycle repair curricula. According to its website, Project Bike Tech (PBT) uses bicycle education as a conduit to teach core academics, enhance lives, create career opportunities and inspire new generations to be passionate about bikes. It is the only program of its kind in the country, and it is the on-ramp for young adults to develop a lifelong engagement with the bicycle lifestyle while learning key academic concepts.
PBT’s primary program, Bike Tech in School, is an accredited high school elective that uses bicycle mechanics as a conduit to teach core academic standards and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) elements to students.
Project Bike Tech’s proprietary curriculum currently is classified under the Transportation Sector of Career Technical Education as an Introduction to Systems Diagnostics, Service and Repair. It incorporates career building skills and techniques as a component of the class. Students leave the course knowing the basics of portfolio building, resume writing and interview tactics.
Project Bike Tech has been around since 2007. The program got its start at the Bicycle Trip bike shop in Santa Cruz, California. The shop’s owner and founder, Berri Michel, worked with a team from the shop to build the program from the ground up. The curriculum was created and developed by PBT along with industry partners to give students a base in bicycle mechanics. Additional modules were then introduced to encompass career preparation. This aspect of the class develops a student’s professional skills whether they pursue a career in the cycling industry or any other field.
PBT provides the whole package of lesson plans, professional development and outfits classrooms with fully equipped workstations. The PBT program is now thriving throughout the Bay Area in California and is spreading nationwide. Over the years, PBT has successfully impacted more than 3,000 students.
Whether graduates directly enter the workforce or continue to college, they become aware of how core academic principles can be applied in real-world situations, how cycling can lead to a healthy and green lifestyle and how to properly present themselves as a prospective employee regardless of where they pursue a career.
Pitching the course to administration
Armed with this knowledge, Hanna approached school administration. He proposed an elective course—an introduction to bicycle mechanics. Administrators loved the idea, and soon, the wheels were set in motion.
Hanna was awarded a grant through the National Education Association (NEA) for additional professional development through Bike Teacher, which is a one-to-one, 40-hour, complete hands-on bicycle mechanics repair and maintenance training program designed individually for diverse audiences.
According to its founder, Arthur Rodriguez, Bike Teacher was created out of a passion for riding bikes and working with his hands as a mechanic. He realized how impactful cycling can be for your body and mind. Helping others get rolling again and giving them the tools to fix their own bikes.
The Mainland Regional Board of Education contracted with Project Bike Tech to provide all the workstations, curriculum and professional development needed. A lab classroom was transformed into a bike repair shop. Students donned aprons, wielded wrenches and learned to diagnose and fix everything from flat tires to chain malfunctions. The administration and school board had invested about $60K into the program but also in the future of these young learners.
In the planning stages, the administration had cautiously predicted two sections of the course. How many students would sign up for a class that involved grease-stained hands and the intricacies of bike chains? But as word spread through the hallways of MRHS, students from diverse backgrounds enrolled. At the end of course selection, there were five full sections—a full class load along with a wait list.
Students after riding down to Linwood City Hall to propose plans for the mountain bike trail on the MRHS campus.
The preparation: Wrenching in the summer
During the summer, Hanna spent four days at Project Bike Tech in Boulder participating in professional development and learning the curriculum. In addition, through the NEA grant, he was able to attend a five-day, 40-hour training program to gain bicycle mechanic certification endorsed by the Professional Bicycle Mechanics Association through Biketeacher.com in San Jose.
But Tim’s journey did not end there.
To fully understand the intricacies of the bicycle industry, Hanna spent his summer working at Tuckahoe Bike Shop in Atlantic County. Side by side with seasoned bike techs, he honed his skills, learning the art of wheel tuning, brake adjustments and gear tuning. Along the way he built solid relationships and was ready to present and troubleshoot issues effectively with his students.
His passion and enthusiasm for giving this opportunity to his students was fully embraced by not only Tuckahoe, but several other Ocean City boardwalk bike rental businesses. These businesses have been instrumental in the program’s success. They donate parts and provide jobs to students who have completed their first year of the program.
As the year progressed, the classroom transformed into a workshop. Six workstations, each equipped with tools and spare parts. Hanna guided his students through the basics—the anatomy of a bicycle, the art of tire removal and delicate brake adjustments. But it was not about nuts and bolts; it was about instilling a passion for craftmanship and problem-solving.
Opportunities
It has not been all smooth sailing. Challenges have arisen—the stubborn rusted bolt or irreparable part. Students have been presented with many troubleshooting situations that require critical thinking skills learned in the course. Many students have picked old, battered bikes out of the trash and repaired them. One student, Mason, took a trash-picked bike, redesigned, repaired and repainted it for a Father’s Day present for his dad.
Another student, Juventino, secured summer employment at Tuckahoe, just like his teacher.
“We did so much more in class than at work,” Juventino says. “We took entire bikes apart down to each nut and bolt and put them back together. At work, I just do the easy stuff—flats, gears, grease.”
Juventino loves going to work to fix things, but also the sharing of stories with customers and camaraderie among the staff. His career readiness has soared as he navigates customer service.
This program has benefited students and staff. Both can bring their bikes in for tune-ups and repairs for no charge. The students fill out work orders and complete them as they come in. Business has been so good that the district has had to use an additional classroom and outdoor storage locker to store bikes.
Bicycle repair class participates also in weekly bicycle rides around the local community. Prior to taking bicycle repair a student named Brad did not know how to ride a bike. Now he does.
“It’s my favorite class at MRHS, we ride bikes and fix them,” Brad says. “It’s great!”
Students on a ride down to 9th Street into Ocean City to watch the implosion of the smokestack at the BL England Power Plant.
Having a little fun
One recent trip was to Linwood City Hall to meet with the planning board. The students presented plans to build a BMX course on district grounds. They laid out all the specs for the board and were granted approval.
The district agreed to the project if it was student driven. Mainland Regional is providing the dirt for the track and the students collaborated with the computer-aided design classes on the layout. The students will move all the dirt themselves and complete the course at no charge to the district. Down the road, they hope to explore starting a competitive BMX club.
Moving forward
This year the program will expand with a Level 2 component that addresses more than just the repair portion of bicycles, but the physics and design of the bikes themselves. There is so much more to bicycles than just riding and repairing them. The curriculum expands on math, music and English skills in many ways. The course is a pathway for any educator to have students working with their hands and expanding their knowledge from there.
On a recent site visit, NJEA Vice President Steve Beatty, an avid cyclist, met with one of the classes and was impressed with the students’ enthusiasm and work they have accomplished.
“I have been to many schools and toured many shop classes, but never a bike class,” Beatty says. “This is an excellent opportunity for students to work with their hands and gain real-world career readiness skills.”
Who would have ever thought that a bike repair shop class would ever happen? Hanna did and has done it.
Tim Quinn is a full-time special education teacher at Mainland Regional High School and a past president of the Mainland Regional Education Association. He can be reached at timquinn87@yahoo.com.
Tim Hanna, who is featured in this story, has served MREA as president, vice president and grievance chair at various times throughout his tenure, in addition to his teaching duties. For more information on how to start a bike repair shop in your district, email Hanna at thanna@mainlandregional.net.
Resources
Project Bike Tech
Project Bike Tech (PBT) uses bicycle education as a conduit to teach core academics, enhance lives, create career opportunities and inspire new generations to be passionate about bikes. It is the only program of its kind in the country, and it is the on-ramp for young adults to develop a lifelong engagement with the bicycle lifestyle while learning key academic concepts.
Bike Teacher
Bike Teacher is an independent bicycle mechanic school located in San Jose, California. It offers beginner to advanced courses, certifications, and service repairs.