Dexter is a small town just west of Ann Arbor. On a recent ride there, a friend pointed out one booth at the Farmer’s Market. Nestled under a canopy I saw a handful of people, a rack of tools, and a few bikes. The Bike Medic was open, giving out free bike repairs. A woman came out to greet me and explain what they do, and she handed me their brochure.

We chatted for a few moments, and it turns out she is Dee Rittinger, wife of Bill Rittinger, the Bike Medic. Bill was out of town this Saturday, up north on Bois Blanc Island. I gathered some contact information from Dee and made plans to chat with him at a later date.

I came back a week later for coffee with Bill, the Bike Medic.

Bill Rittinger grew up in nearby Saline, Michigan. When he was young, he rode his bike all over town visiting friends. Along with his brothers, he fashioned some bike jumps trying to be Evel Knievel. Like many others, he took a break from riding for college, at the University of Michigan. Then marriage, kids, and a career as a Certified Public Accountant. Fortunately for Bill (and for us), he came back to bicycling. In 2003 a friend invited Bill on a 10-mile ride, Dexter to Delhi Mills Metro Park and back. As Bill told me, “Huron River Drive is neither flat nor straight, so it was a challenge. I’d never been on the open road before, and I enjoyed it. I caught the bug, and have been riding ever since.”

His current bike is a carbon-frame Specialized Roubaix, plus a mountain bike at the family cottage on Bois Blanc island. I asked about his riding, roads vs. trails. “You know” he said, “that’s changed over the years. I used to do a lot of road riding. Now I ride a lot on the Border to Border Trail here in Dexter. Unfortunately, one reason for changing is that drivers are distracted. There’s more accidents, and I’m more cautious.”

He’s got an interesting Saturday gig, the free bike repairs at the Bike Medic. I asked him to explain why he does this. His answer:

“Partly because I like biking, and I like to expose people to biking. The better your bike works, the more you enjoy it. The other thing is, I just like to serve my community. As our brochure says, I like to do that in a way that offers something free to folks and make them happy. Wow, something is really free…get them to think about that.”

There’s more to the story. This is part of a Christian outreach program, and two local churches help sponsor the booth. Bill has an explanation for outreach based on scripture, and you can read more  here.   Bill has a clear set of reasons why he should give up his Saturdays.  With a dozen or more volunteers on his staff, I was curious about their motivation. How did Bill get their values to line up with his, and get them to come work for free?

“Well, that’s interesting” he replied. “I just asked if they want to come share in this ministry, that’s all. Most of the volunteers attend either Scio Community Church , or  Dexter Gospel Church. I’ve had communication with both churches, and they understand my motivation. On Friday we had a training session and talked about the mission of the ministry, along with how to change tires and adjust derailleurs.”

Bill and his crew have picked up repair knowledge by study and repetition. The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair is in use, and they power through routine repairs- cables, rim brakes, derailleurs and chains. Some repairs are too big for the clinic and get referred to bike shops: cassettes, bottom brackets, hydraulic brakes, and bent hangers.

I brought along an old road bike, to get some equipment removed from it before selling it: a non-functional computer & sensors, and some aerobars. Bill’s crew did that and more, including cleaning the chain, checking the derailleurs, and making the bike pretty again.

There is nothing aggressive about their Christian outreach. Bring in a bike and they’ll hand you a brochure. While they are happy to talk about their faith, they also are cautious about being too fervent. If you bring in a bike for repair, it will be cleaned and repaired for free, whether you talk with them or not. As Bill says, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Dexter Bike and Sport used to be Bill’s favorite bike shop, but they closed the shop a while back.  Now Bill likes  Aberdeen Bike in Chelsea, and Wheels in Motion in Ann Arbor. I asked Bill if there was any pushback from the local bike shops: “No, in fact they offer parts at a discount if I mention what I’m doing.”

What’s the budget to run this operation? And what metric does Bill use to justify his time and effort?  “You know what, I don’t pay too much attention to the budget.” (Interesting comment from a CPA.) “The churches support me, they contribute enough to buy tubes and tires and some other supplies, and one of them even provided the repair stand. On a typical Saturday we probably run through $30 or $40 of tubes & tires.” Bill is also thrifty, recently scoring a box full of inner tubes at a bike swap meet.

But effective Christian outreach is tough to measure. So what is it that drives Bill and his crew to come back next year, or even next week?

“Well, it’s interesting because we serve at the pleasure of the Farmer’s Market. If they don’t invite us back, we’re done. The fact they’ve invited us back 4 years in a row speaks to that. They’ve been asked ‘when is the bike medic coming back?’ That gives me encouragement. I also think about – is there a stream of bikes coming in for repair? If bikes are coming in, I’m needed. I’ve got volunteers lined up to serve, so I’m needed. ”

I wondered aloud to Bill if there was anything in our interview that I missed, or that he’d like to tell about. “We live in a time where people are very jaded, so one of my goals is giving (the public) a pleasant experience about what a Christian can be. I want people to walk away thinking ‘oh, that’s different than what I thought’; that’s all I need.”

You can see Bill and his Bike Medic crew at the Dexter Farmer’s Market on Alpine Street, Saturdays now through June 29.

For questions or comments about this article, or to learn more about some great bike tours, please drop an email to jim@biketourvacations.com

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