Meridenite of the Week: Charles French

His name is Charles French, but everyone calls him “the bike man.” There are two reasons for that: First, he rides around town on his three-wheeled bike. And second, he fixes up broken and abandoned bikes for underprivileged kids. Lots of bikes.

The nonagenarian (he’s 96 to be precise) says he repaired and donated about 300 bikes last year. “And I love it,” he swears.

It all started about seven years ago when someone gave French an old bike that was falling apart. He fixed it, “and that was the beginning of it,” he says.

Since then, his nephew, who works for the police department down on the Connecticut shore, has organized an effort to collect abandoned and broken bikes and bring them to French. The bike man repairs them and passes them along to the Meriden Fire Department to hand out to kids who can’t afford bikes of their own.

When he first started working on the bikes, he used his own money for the parts, but now donations cover the costs, he explains.

“It’s good for him, and it’s good for the kids,” says Maureen Hall, receptionist at the Bradley Home, where French and his wife of 71 years now live.

Bikes aren’t the only thing French repairs, Hall says. The other residents at the Bradley Home go to him all the time when they need something fixed. From watches to jewelry to equipment, “He can fix most anything,” Hall attests.

French, who was born and raised in Meriden, has done many things in his long life before becoming the bike man. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, raised a family, and worked as a photographer for Meriden’s International Silver Company for 28 years.

Right now, he's also taking part in the Senior Citizen Police Academy, a five-week program to familiarize older citizens with the workings of the police and fire departments and the crime lab. 

“We really enjoy having him here,” Hall insists. “He’s really great.”