Mitchell Connell is #MadeForKnoxville.

Biking has changed Mitchell’s life. Now, he plans to use bikes to change the lives of others.

Two Bikes is a non-profit that donates one bike to the community for every bike purchased. He hopes that through these donations the Knoxville community will have better access to a variety of the benefits that just two wheels have brought into his own life.  

“Bikes have changed my life, and I want to give every Knoxvillian the opportunity for their lives to be changed by bikes as well.”

In Their Own Words..

My name is Mitchell Connell, and I started the non-profit bike shop, Two Bikes, with Matthew Zingg in 2021.

When I was 16 I began an internship at a bike shop in Nashville. After discovering my love for riding and working on bikes, I volunteered as an instructor at The Oasis Center, teaching middle schoolers how to refurbish donated bikes. 

Since then it’s been my life’s passion to expand access to the environmental, social, and personal benefits of riding a bike.

We opened Two Bikes with the mission to do just that: increase access to cycling in my community. As bikes become increasingly expensive, I saw a need for comfortable, reliable, and affordable bikes in Knoxville. That’s why we recycle bikes that are headed to the landfill or are collecting dust in garages and turn them into tools for recreation, economic mobility, and transportation.

We named the shop Two Bikes because for every bike we recycle and sell, we donate a second bike back to the community for free. Bikes have changed my life, and I want to give every Knoxvillian the opportunity for their lives to be changed by bikes as well.

 

Interested in sharing your “Made for Knoxville” story? Submit here!