There is an old adage that advises making lemonade out of lemons – and one local bike shop has done just that.

R Community Bikes is a non-profit group that collects, repairs and distributes bikes to anyone who needs one in the Rochester area.

In June 2008, 30 to 40 bikes were stolen from the group's shop, but instead of letting the incident stop their efforts, volunteers say it brought more attention to their business.

Wednesday, the publicity and hard work paid off. The group celebrated giving away its 1,000th bike.

Group organizers say the 50 active volunteers range from bike riders to bike mechanics. They say their work keeps bicycles and bicycle parts from crowding landfills – plus, it's just a nice thing to do.

"We've been blessed in so many ways in our community, and not everyone has been as blessed as we are. So we just try to level the playing field a little bit and I think that's why most of the people are here today," said Dan Lill, R Community Bikes director.

The bike giveaways are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. They are given away using a lottery system.

R Community Bikes