Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

A few weeks later, Gansert had received more than 120 used and new bikes.

As a part of his recovery from addiction in recent years, Gansert has been fixing bikes and then giving them for free to Auburn children, mainly those whose families have also been affected by addiction.

The costs of the repairs have been coming out of Gansert's own pocket, but with the rising prices of materials, it has been increasingly difficult for him to pay for the work himself. Although he is normally reluctant to ask others for help, he said he needed to "release the ego" and seek assistance. He posted on social media in July, asking people to let him know if they had bikes to donate or sell cheaply.

Gansert, known as "Uncle Eli" to many Auburn children, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV he was overwhelmed by the responses to his post.

"I didn't even know what to say. I'm just glowing, like, 'Oh my God.' My phone would just start dinging," he said. "On Facebook, I'd have 50, 60 messages."

This avalanche of wheels has kept Gansert happily busy. Lately, he has been waking up as early as 6 a.m. to pick up, drop off and repair bicycles. He has often been awake until 11 p.m. responding to Facebook messages from people donating or asking for bikes. Twenty-two helmets and 43 bike locks have been donated as well, he said. Including bikes he was repairing and giving away earlier this year, he has given over 60 bikes to children so far this year. People will be able to drop off bike donations at an event from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at  on 1671 Clark St. Road in Aurelius.

Gansert is grateful to all who have donated bicycles, including Stephen and Cortney Crissafulli of Five Star Clutter Removal, who donated eight new ones. Bikes have been instrumental to Gansert's recovery from addiction, he said, so he has been thrilled to put them in the hands of local children. He loves their ecstatic reactions when they first lay their hands on the handlebars.

"They're shining with a bright light in their souls and they're so happy," he said. 

Gansert has found himself with a lot to be grateful for in recent years, including the people and local resources he feels saved his life. Raised in Jordan and Auburn, he went on to live in Hawaii and Florida, among other locations. He moved to Auburn after he was displaced by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The move, he said, helped set the stage for his recovery. 

In severe pain due to his disability, Gansert was addicted to pain medication for 15 years at that point. He started going to recovery organization Nick's Ride 4 Friends that December, and it's now been nearly six years since he took pain medication. He later struggled with alcoholism, he said, but has been sober since February 2020 thanks to the support of Nick's Ride and the local recovery community.

Before he became known as "Uncle Eli," Gansert started fixing up bicycles and giving them to his nieces and nephews in Auburn in spring 2019. However, one dangerous event later that year inspired him to reach out to the community. That September, he was attacked while riding a bike, causing brain damage and landing him in the trauma ward at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse for four days.

The support Gansert received from people who heard about the incident made him want to repair bikes and give them to children more consistently, he said. In 2020, he began building a rapport with local families. He also started buying cheap bicycles he saw at garage sales, fixing them and giving them away. He thanked Pat Nolan of Nolan's Sporting Goods, who handles the repairs Gansert can't.

Gansert said his gratitude is the reason he has devoted so much time, effort and money to repairing and donating bikes. 

"It's a good way to show my higher power that I'm grateful for my sobriety," he said.

Along with keeping him focused during his recovery, bikes were once Gansert's main source of transportation to meetings at places like Nick's Ride. He now has a car, but still prefers riding bikes everywhere. They led him to embrace a healthier lifestyle, he said. He wants to create a nonprofit called Bike for Life to encourage children to bike as well, steering them away from diabetes and obesity.

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said he has known Gansert for a few years, meeting him through the sheriff's work with Nick's Ride.

Schenck has also seen Gansert's efforts on Facebook, where his page features pictures of smiling children he donates bikes to, or selfies with them. The sheriff and his family recently donated four used bikes to Gansert. Within days he replied to Schenck, saying three of the bikes had already been refurbished. The sheriff praised Gansert for his work.

"The fact that he's taking old bikes and refurbishing them and getting them to people that really need them is just really incredible," Schenck said.

Although some of the bicycles require a lot of work and Gansert has received more than 150 requests, he said he is going to try to fulfill them all. 

"I didn't expect it to grow this fast, and I'm not going to turn my back on any child," he said. "If I can make it work, I'm going to make it work."