Hermantown Man Refurbishes Old Bikes to Give Free to Families

Mike Blatnik has turned a passion for fixing things in to a way to give back to his community

GARY NEW DULUTH, Minn. – For many families buying new bikes can be too much of a financial burden, which is why Mike Blatnik decided to put his passion for fixing things to good use.

Most days you can find the Hermantown man with a wrench in hand, tucked away in his garage.

“I’m just putting tires on it, put new tubes in it,” he says, as he fixes up a purple bike for his granddaughter.

For a couple hours each day he disappears. “If i don’t know where he is, I know he’s in the garage,” says his wife Gayle.

For years, Mike spent most of his time fixing up old cars until one day changed all that.

“It was about ten and a half years ago he had a stroke,” said Gayle.

Mike was left fighting for his life, suffering brain injuries that left parts of his body with nerve damage. “He was so bored,” said Gayle. “After work he’d come home and have nothing to do.”

So Mike headed back to his garage, taking on a project a bit more manageable. Something he’d only worked on as a child growing up in Gary New Duluth.

“He just started fixing one bike and it grew from there,” said Gayle. “Now he’s fixing them all the time.”

Unable to lift heavy objects, lightweight bikes have become the perfect outlet to staying active.

Now, five years in and Mike has repaired and rebuilt more than 500 bikes, all of which he gives away for free to families who can’t afford bikes.

“We dropped 17 off three weeks ago and they went in a matter of hours,” said Mike. “Then [my brother] called me back and he said you got more bikes? I said not yet, so now i do.”

Over in Gary New Duluth Monday morning, Mike dropped off dozens of refurbished bikes, of all different colors and sizes, outside his brother’s auto repair shop along Commonwealth Avenue.

Throughout the day, kids and adults stopped by to pick up a new set of wheels.

“My oldest niece didn’t have a bike so now she’s happy,” one man said. “She’s got something to ride around Gary.”

His way of giving back to the community, one bike at a time.

“I love it,” Mike said. “Makes me happy helping people out.”