When Talia Perlman first showed up to volunteer at Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange with her women's riding group, she had no idea she was about to discover a new family tradition. Two years later, she and her 13-year-old daughter Hannah are regulars at the shop — arriving in matching bedazzled aprons, leaving with new skills and making a real difference for people in their community.
Some volunteer stories start with a grand sense of purpose. The Perlmans started with a bike group and a curious kid — and found that purpose along the way.
"I heard about it from the women's biking group I ride with, Partners in Climb," says Talia. "And I brought Hannah shortly after I came for the first time."
Hannah, who is heading into 8th grade, didn't need much convincing. "I liked riding bikes and I liked learning how to fix them too," she says simply. "I think it's really cool."
That was about two years ago. Since then, the two have become fixtures at SVBE's women's bike nights, Saturday workdays and the occasional co-ed session — logging hours, learning skills and getting, as Talia puts it, "a little messy."
Learning the Ropes — and the Cables
Hannah works on a bike in the shopNeither Perlman arrived knowing much about bike repair. But SVBE's volunteer instructors, Helen Hsiu, Veronica Chouinard and Shelly Cohen, changed that fast.
"They taught us everything we didn't even think we needed to learn," says Talia.
Hannah has taken to the work with particular enthusiasm. Her specialties? Wheel truing and tire changes — and, it turns out, replacing brake cables with impressive hand-eye coordination.
"I didn't know how to replace brake cables," Talia admits. "Hannah showed me how to do that. And she's shown me a lot about how to clean bikes, including all those places I didn't realize existed. She's taught me a lot."
For her part, Hannah points out that the learning goes both ways. "We both learn," she says. "It's really cool."
The work isn't always quick. Hannah recalls one bike that came through three sessions in a row — what looked like a simple cleanup revealed bent pedals that couldn't be removed, leading to a full crank replacement. They stayed six hours on a Saturday to see it through.
"We even stayed an extra hour," Hannah says. "But you just make it right."
More Than a Hobby
For Hannah, SVBE has woven itself into several parts of her life. She earns Scouts BSA service hours there — including six hours for a Citizenship in the Community merit badge. And when it came time for her Bat Mitzvah, she chose Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange as the organization she spotlighted in her speech to a congregation of around 200 people.
"Everyone in my class picked an organization we wanted to support," she explains. "Part of it was financial support and part of it was volunteering and learning about it."
Hannah talked about SVBE's role in keeping bikes out of landfills, giving people access to transportation they might not otherwise afford and building a community around repair and reuse. Some congregants donated after hearing her speak.
"That's a great feeling," Hannah says, "when you get people to donate to your passion."
She also takes afternoon bike rides around her neighborhood after school, navigating the hills near her home. She thinks she should be allowed to ride to school, too — her mom isn't so sure about that one yet.
Why It Matters
Hannah truing a wheel in the shopFounded in 1993, Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange accepts donated used bikes, repairs them with volunteer help and, through community partners, donates them to people in need of transportation. The number of bikes donated over its lifetime is somewhere north of 13,000.
Knowing the scale of impact has shifted how Hannah thinks about her time there.
"It makes it seem really important," she says. "I didn't know there were that many bikes."
When she's working on a smaller bike, she thinks about the kid who will ride it. "I think it's really important that kids get to ride bikes, even when they may not be able to otherwise."
Talia described how Hannah framed it during her bat mitzvah speech: SVBE essentially recycles old bikes and gives them back to the community, keeping them out of landfills and putting them in the hands of people who need them.
A Space to Connect
One thing neither of them fully anticipated was what volunteering together would do for their relationship.
"I love how it's an amazing space for me and Hannah to get to connect and do something fun together," Talia says. "We’re working on problem-solving and learning something new in a really great space. That's the biggest positive impact: exploring and learning something together."
They usually work side by side on the same bike, though Hannah is sometimes so absorbed in wheel truing that she draws Talia in. ("That's all you wanted to do last time," Talia says. Hannah agrees.) Like many dedicated volunteers, they've earned their SVBE aprons, but theirs come with a personal touch: names spelled out in glitter letters. A little extra sparkle for the shop floor.
Hannah wants to eventually bring her old Huffy, a bike she's had since she was seven, in rough shape but deeply loved, in for a dedicated repair session. She's also hoping to bring some of her Scout troop along someday.
Come Try It
Talia and Hannah working on a bike together in the shopFor anyone thinking about showing up — especially a mother and daughter on the fence — the Perlmans have a clear message.
"It's a super fun organization," Hannah says. "You get to learn a lot while you're also helping people. It's just a great learning experience."
"It's a really nice, welcoming, supportive environment," Talia adds. "Everyone is happy to show you how to do something. Even if I don't know what I'm doing at the beginning, I always leave with new skills."
Women's bike night is a particularly good entry point, Hannah says — there's always an instruction class at the start, and new faces show up every session. You don't need experience. You don't even need to love bikes, necessarily.
"You just have to be a little curious about how they work," Hannah says.
That curiosity, it turns out, can take you pretty far.
