Editors: This story was originally published in Issue 164 of our quarterly Tube Times magazine, one of many perks of membership in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
As someone once said (or should have said): The couple that volunteers together stays together. We recently caught up with one of our favorite pairs of volunteers — Mike Machala and Jonas Crimm — to see what keeps them coming back.
Ever since their beginning as a couple, biking has been an integral part of Mike and Jonas’ story.
“Jonas biked to our first date at Land’s End,” Mike said. “I drove, but to be fair, it was a Sunday, and I was living in the South Bay at the time. I also had two dogs with me, in hopes of wooing Jonas. But I biked to our next date!
“One year, Jonas even planned a bicycle-centric scavenger hunt for my 30th birthday,” Mike said. “I had to bike all around San Francisco and the South Bay in a downpour to meet various friends and find hidden clues. I would say it was a very wet success.”
When it comes to volunteering, Jonas lit up.
“Volunteering is important to us because we fully believe in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s mission: promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation,” Jonas said. “The SF Bicycle Coalition does so much to make San Francisco more bike-friendly and to get more people riding, and we feel it’s important and rewarding to contribute to the community.”
When asked about summer plans, Mike and Jonas said that their travels centered around their wedding in central Oregon in June.
“I’m also currently partnering with the SF Bicycle Coalition and the San Francisco Bike Kitchen to coordinate a Bike it Forwards program for students at San Francisco International High School, the public high school for recent immigrant students, where I work,” Jonas added.
“We love the SF Bicycle Coalition,” Mike said. “All of our volunteering with the organization has been awesome. We love the energy, creativity and general happiness.”
Want to get in on the volunteer fun? Join us for a Community Repair Night or any of the dozens of other ways to volunteer with SF Bicycle Coalition. Sign up at sfbike.org/volunteer.
