THE SANCTUARY OF THE FORMER CALVARY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST IN TURTLE CREEK, WHICH IS NOW THE RED LANTERN BIKE SHOP AND OPPORTUNITY HUB. | PHOTO COURTESY OF RED LANTERN BIKE SHOP

A church sanctuary packed with bicycles is probably the last thing you’d expect to see in the Calvary United Church of Christ in Turtle Creek.

But the church is the relatively new home of Red Lantern Bike Shop, a nonprofit bike repair and thrift shop that provides affordable bikes and repairs as well as free bikes for children.

Red Lantern had previously operated out of a shipping container in Braddock and had outgrown the space. It fully opened its doors for an open house on May 4 after using only a small section of the church space since 2020.

THE FORMER CALVARY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST IN TURTLE CREEK IS NOW A BIKE SHOP AND THRIFT STORE | PHOTO COURTESY RED LANTERN BIKE SHOP

The idea for Red Lantern Bike Shop started when Brian Sink, president of Red Lantern Bike Shop, was volunteering at Free Ride, a second-hand bike repair shop in North Point Breeze. Looking for a site for a new shop, he got into contact with John Fetterman, U.S. Pennsylvania senator who was then the mayor of Braddock. Fetterman suggested Sink open a repair shop like Free Ride in Braddock. 

The name Red Lantern comes from the 2,000-mile Tour de France. Lanterne Rouge, which means Red Lantern in English, is the name of the award given to the person who finishes last in the bike race. It is a celebration of their perseverance. This is the mindset that the owners – Brian and his wife Maria Cruz-Sink — hope to pass on to their customers. 

The shipping container offered a limited area for the volunteers to work. There was limited electricity, space and no running water or bathrooms, which made it hard to bring in volunteers or to take in large numbers of bike donations. 

Right before the pandemic hit in early 2020, the couple was introduced to the congregation of Calvary United Church of Christ, a church in Turtle Creek not far from Braddock. 

Church members were adamant about giving the space to the Sinks to allow them to expand. After donating the space partially to repair adult bikes, the congregation decided to pass down the ownership entirely. A GoFundMe was set up in 2021 to help raise the funds to renovate the former church into the fully-operating bicycle repair shop it is today. 

The shop is built on the idea that money should not be a hurdle in being able to make memories of riding a bike, so they want to make sure the repairs and bicycles are affordable or free. 

The shop also offers bike riding classes and instruction on bike maintenance.

“There’s a lot of access issues, especially in the Mon Valley. [Bike riding] is also a therapeutic exercise…” said Maria, secretary of Red Lantern Bike Shop. 

During the pandemic, bike riding became a very popular pastime, which brought a lot of business to the shop. They started expanding the services to include repairing and selling adult bikes at a low cost and continued to run the thrift store, started by the church, that had been around since the 1970s. 

The couple dedicates a great deal of their time to the shop despite holding full-time jobs. They are hoping that this bigger space will bring in more volunteers, even those who have no experience working with bikes. 

“As much as we need people that have bicycle experience, we also 100% need people that don’t necessarily have any bicycle experience” to provide customer service, says Maria. 

In the past two years Red Lantern has repaired and sold about 1,000 bikes. 

The shop holds donation drives throughout the summer and accepts new and used bikes fit for all ages. Shop hours are Thursdays 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop is located at 125 Shaw Ave. Turtle Creek, PA 15145.