Thirty freshly painted bikes are being given away to children in need this year by the ReCyclery in Port Townsend.

Nhatt Nichols, ReCyclery program director, said the nonprofit entity refurbished and gave away more than 20 bikes last year.

“But we had a lot of kids who were not super excited about getting secondhand bikes,” she said. “We get that and wanted to make something that they could ride with pride, so we’ve made them look as close to new as possible with a new paint job and new stickers that proudly call them S’Kids bikes, keeping up with the idea that they are getting something special that our volunteers created for them.”

Kris Day, ReCyclery shop manager, is working with more than a dozen volunteers who are taking the bikes apart, greasing them and checking them out mechanically. And then the bikes are being painted professionally by Al Raichart of Port Hadlock, who paints cars for a living.

“This is the first year that we are getting them painted,” said Day.

Colors chosen for those “good as new” bikes are yellow, blue, red and orange.

“It’s automotive paint, so it is more expensive,” said Doug Ross, a volunteer who helped connect Raichart with the ReCyclery and is spearheading the Christmas bike program. Ross said Westbay/NAPA Auto Parts in Port Townsend has given the ReCyclery some donations of paint as well as discounts. Donations to offset the cost of the paint and other work on the bikes are also most welcome, he added.

Bikes being refurbished range from little kids’ starter bikes on up to bikes suitable for children from 6 to 7 years old, said Nichols.

“We had been working with Toys for Tots, and last year, they decided they didn’t want to give secondhand bikes,” Nichols said.

The ReCyclery looked around to see if there were any other organizations they could connect with and realized there were plenty of organizations willing to partner with them, from Jefferson Healthcare to the Boiler Room to the Port Townsend Food Bank to the Port Townsend School District.

“They were connections that were already established,” Nichols said.

The ReCyclery has created vouchers to hand out to those organizations, which would then give them to those who could use a fresh, “better than new” bike, one that has been checked out by a small army of bike mechanics like Rockie English and Gary Rone.

Rone, a Sequim resident, was working on a lime green bike recently that he had taken apart. He was greasing the wheel bearings.

“I restored motorcycles for 30 years, so I have mechanical experience,” said Rone one day in October. “I wanted something to do besides motorcycles. So this is my outlet.

“Friction is not your friend,” he said as he worked on greasing the bike.

Day said the bikes should be available from mid-December through the end of the year.

Day noted that he doesn’t want to be the one to decide who gets the bikes – so connecting with the organizations that have the vouchers is the best way for people to connect to the Christmas bike program.

Anyone who wants to donate kids’ bikes – or any size bike, for that matter – is also welcome to do so at the ReCyclery, which is at 1925 Blaine St., near Mountain View Commons. The shop is open noon-6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Call 643-1755 for more information.