Doing things for others comes naturally to Dave Farrell. To him, it’s like riding a bike – or more like fixing one.Since 2005, Farrell has been finding and fixing bikes and then giving them to kids at Christmas. “This past Christmas, I gave 12 bicycles to the Helping Hands Food Pantry,” he said. But Farrell has found that the need for bicycles is year round. He is already working on a new batch of bikes he would like to have finished before the snow melts. “I have eight children’s bicycles, and I’m going to be working on those this summer,” Farrell said. “I know if I were a kid and didn’t have any money or wasn’t old enough to work, I’d love to have a bike.”For Farrell, each bike is different. He said some of the bikes that people give him are like new. Then, there are others that need a complete overhaul. “I make sure they are right. New tires, tubes, brakes,” he said. “Whatever they need.” Farrell said he is always looking for donations. “It doesn’t have to be a full bike,” he said. “I’m always looking for parts.”But when his supply of bikes runs low, Farrell said he hits the junkyards in search of more. “I buy the used bikes for a buck or buck and a half from junk dealers,” he said. “But I’m also planning to go to the police departments and hit them up for their bicycles.Although Farrell has only been refurbishing bikes for the last couple of years in Falcon, he has quickly been nicknamed “The Bicycle Guy.”A disabled Vietnam veteran, Farrell first started to work on bikes for kids while he was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. In July 2005, Farrell went to Newington, Conn., to a rehabilitation program to treat his PTSD. One of the projects was refurbishing 60 bicycles. Over three months he said he saw how much the kids enjoyed receiving a free bicycle. “To see the look on those kids faces,” Farrell said. “I like to see kids happy.”Farrell was born in New Haven, Conn. He graduated from Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford, Conn., in 1963 and two years later joined the service. It was the U.S. Army that brought Farrell from the East Coast to Colorado Springs. “I was stationed at Fort Carson for a year and a half before I got out in August 1968,” he said.It was in the service where Farrell met his wife. “I went in to town to get a cup of coffee where she was a waitress,” he said. “I winked at her and that’s what clinched the deal.” The couple just celebrated 39 years of marriage on Jan. 11.After getting out of the service, Farrell went to work for the city of Colorado Springs as a welder/mechanic in the wastewater department. In April 1996, he retired from his job with the city. He’s enjoying retirement. “It is so relaxing. I have no schedule, and every day is Saturday,” he said.Farrell has had no trouble staying busy. In addition to refurbishing bikes, he also builds hot rods and writes novels and short stories.Farrell and his wife Janice have lived in Falcon since 1979.More on Dave FarrellWhat is your favorite thing about Falcon? The view from my house. It’s a million-dollar view. And I can walk out into my yard and hear birds, and I love that. I like the solitude.Name someone you admire and why.Bill Cosby. He’s my hero. He tells it like it is, and he is a solid individual and he likes kids.What is your favorite memory?The day I met my wife. Something just told me this is the gal. Boy was she feisty. Well, she still is, I guess.What is your favorite book?Anything that is turn of the century and deals with industrial history is my favorite. But I suppose one of my favorites is one of the books I’ve written.
