I still remember the first bike I soloed on. It was a tan and gold Huffy with a banana seat. I remember pedaling in front of my house as my dad held on to the chrome handle on the rear of the banana seat. I was exciting and petrified, “Don’t let go Daddy”, I yelled. As I pedaled faster and faster I struggled to keep my balance, I looked over my shoulder and suddenly realized that I was all alone, my father had let go and was cheering me on from the distance. I didn’t pedal very far before I lost my balance but I had already felt the wind in my face and the exhilaration of freedom.

One day my sister offered me a turn on her bicycle. It was a silver Kent 10 speed with suicide brakes and friction shifters on the stem. I jumped on, shifted gears and couldn’t believe how fast I could go. I zoomed down the street and back to the house, turning onto the front walkway. As I approached the front steps I began to backpedal, expecting to apply the coaster brakes and instead quickly learned that an object in motion is suddenly stopped by the front door. You see, we didn’t wear helmets back in the 1970s, and as my sister laughed in shock she soon realized that she forgot to tell me about the hand brakes. Yes, I rode up the front walkway, right up the front steps, and crashed into the front door. That was my first experience on a road bike, and the fact that I crashed and made a complete fool out of myself didn’t matter in the slightest. By God’s Grace I wasn’t hurt, but I was hooked.

My love for cycling continued to grow and in 2006 I took a bicycle building class at a non-profit bike shop in Providence Rhode Island. Together I was finally able to bridge my love for fixing things with my love for cycling.

Over the years God has helped and blessed me in so many ways that I have decided to combine two of my passions and use them to help others, so I started Bread and Fish Cycling.

Bread and Fish Cycling is a Christian Ministry that began in Central Rhode Island in 2006 and then relocated to Orting Valley Washington in the winter of 2022. Its goal is to take used bicycles, repair and refurbish them, and give them away to people or families in need. All bicycles are given away free of charge, however donations are accepted and will be used towards repairs of future bicycles.

Let cycling bring out your inner child like it was the first day you soloed. Experience all of God’s beauty again and again, as you feel the freedom, solitude, and friendship of cycling.

- Anthony