Bicycles have been part of Russell Beahn’s life since the Roaring ’20s.“I was 5,” Beahn, a 90-year-old West Akron resident, said in recalling his first bike-riding experience, in 1926.Now he’s passing along his love of bicycles.Until this month, Beahn’s garage was filled with old bikes. There were dozens upon dozens of usable bikes and countless bike parts jammed into his garage and along his driveway. He had collected and worked on them for decades.A local veterans advocate and a bicyclist, Cassie Schumacher, has come up with a plan that has cleared most of Beahn’s garage: She wants to get the bikes into the hands of veterans.The group Warriors Journey Home paid Beahn about $300 for the bulk of the bikes earlier this month. Schumacher, 39, a long-distance bike racer, and other volunteers took more than 50 bikes from his collection.Most of the bikes are being stored in Schumacher’s garage in Akron. Several others have been given to Freedom House, a homeless shelter for veterans in Kent, and some bikes went to a group of female veterans in Akron.Schumacher would like to find someone with room to help her store the bikes and also is looking for volunteers who can help fix them.Beahn, a retired electrician and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran of World War II who turns 91 in November, said he has been fixing bikes for as long as he can remember.“I’m awful glad to see my driveway clear,” he said as bikes were removed.Schumacher, a chemical dependency counselor who plans a cross-country ride next year to promote veterans causes in the Race Across America (RAAM), was inspired to work for veterans’ issues because her father, Robert Schumacher, is a Vietnam veteran.Matthew Slater, program manager of Freedom House, said he is amazed at Schumacher’s dedication and energy.“Our veterans need this support,” he said.His organization, Family and Community Services of Portage County, is building a similar shelter in Akron, to be called Valor Home, on East Waterloo Road.“Repairing bikes for children and people in need is another opportunity for veterans to give back,” Slater said.Vietnam veteran Bruce Killian, 64, a former Army helicopter pilot from Akron, was aware of Beahn’s garage full of bikes. He is involved with Warriors Journey Home and had bought bikes from Beahn for his kids over the years.He told Schumacher and Warriors Journey Home about Beahn’s collection.Beahn’s wife of 65 years, Thelma, said he got a lot of joy out of fixing bikes.Schumacher praised Beahn for parting with his beloved bikes.“He is a guy who has lived his life deeply, and he wants to give back,” she said. “He is a fine man.”Schumacher is planning the Veterans Bike Tour for Oct. 15 as a fundraiser for Valor Home. To contact her about bikes for veterans, call 330-835-1487 or email her at wheels4change@gmail.com,Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or at jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.