'Bikes can change your life and we are proof of that' – How a Colorado bike shop gave one family a fresh start after fleeing war-torn Ukraine

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have sought refuge in the United States. Forced to leave behind their homes, careers, and loved ones, many arrived with little more than hope and determination to start anew.

For Ievgen Potykun and Hanna Boiarska, along with their three sons, the transition was filled with uncertainty—until an unexpected lifeline appeared in the form of a small bike shop in Boulder, Colorado, offering them not just work, but a chance to rebuild the safe, peaceful life they had lost.

"We had never imagined leaving [Ukraine] for good.”

Potykun and Boiarska, both in their mid-30s, had successful careers back in Ukraine, where they lived and worked near Kyiv. Potykun sold high-end rugs while Boiarska managed a shopping mall. Neither rode bikes until the war started.

“After the war started, there were problems with getting gasoline, so I started riding my bike to work,” Potykun says. “I would ride a couple of days a week with a friend, maybe 10 miles each time, so I had some experience with bikes, but not like I do now as a bike shop owner.”

As the intensity of the war increased, so too did Potykun and Boiarska’s concerns for their children’s safety.

Through the Biden administration’s Uniting for Ukraine program, the couple and their three sons—now ages four, five and 11—made their way to the Rocky Mountains in mid-2022. They arrived with the promise of shelter from a generous couple who had opened their home to Ukrainian refugees.

“When we left Ukraine, it wasn’t a decision to permanently move to the U.S.,” Boiarska says. “We thought it would be a summer holiday — a chance to leave the war and give our kids safety for a few months until things settled down. We loved our life in Ukraine; it is a wonderful country, and we had never imagined leaving it for good.”

Boiarska and her three young boys arrived in the U.S. first, while Potykun stayed behind in Ukraine for six more months to wrap up some family business.

Struggling with limited English skills and arriving with only the bare essentials in their suitcases, Boiarska turned to the Nextdoor app, posting a plea for donations of clothing and necessities from the community.

It was Chuck and Laura Ankeny, the original owners of Freedom Folding and Electric Bikes, who saw Boiarska’s Nextdoor post and offered to take Boiarska and her sons to Target for a shopping spree. Here, the family obtained clothes, cooking utensils and groceries.

“I told Chuck and Laura that we needed friends, people to chat with and spend time with,” Boiarska says. “The first few months in the U.S. were so isolating; we really wanted friends. Chuck and Laura quickly became like our parents.”

What began as a temporary escape has stretched into two years, leading Potykun and Boiarska to make the life-altering decision to stay in the U.S. permanently as the war rages on. And, as the Ankenys move toward retirement, the Ukranian couple is stepping in to take over Freedom Folding and Electric Bikes, securing both their livelihood and a future in their new home.

Learning the Tools of the Trade

At the beginning of their friendship, the Ankenys invited Potykun and Boiarska to visit the bike shop to chat and practice their English. But the Ankenys soon discovered that the Ukrainian pair had a knack for fixing bikes, engaging with customers, and managing the ins and outs of a small business.

In early 2024, the Ankenys offered Potykun and Boiarska a unique opportunity: rather than selling Freedom Folding and Electric Bikes to some unknown buyer, they proposed a gradual ownership transfer, allowing the Ukrainian couple to take over the business and secure both the shop's and the couple's future.“It started out as a small gesture that has turned into a very large one,” says Chuck Ankeny via Colorado Public Radio. “It’s really because of the potential I saw in [Potykun and Boiarska].”

At the time, Potykun and Boiarska had pieced together a few part-time jobs that offered some independence and allowed them to rent a home in Longmont, just north of Boulder. But the opportunity to do what they loved—owning and managing a business—was too good to pass up, and they went all in on the offer.

“I know how running a business works, so that was helpful —[the bike shop] is just a different product from what I’ve managed before,” Boiarska says. “And Ievgen, he is good with his hands, so we work well together.”

The couple spent nearly every day of 2024 immersed in learning bike mechanics from Chuck Ankeny. The hardest part? Remembering the names of each bike component.

“I would keep a notebook of the bike part names in Ukrainian on one side, and in English on the other,” Potykun says. “When we were learning from Chuck, it took us some time to understand at first what people were talking about when they would explain what is wrong with their bike. Now though, we say ‘Bring it, and we will fix it.’ We can fix almost anything on any bike.”

The Future of Freedom

On any given weekday, you’ll find Potykun and Boiarska in their sunlit, welcoming bike shop, where the windows proudly showcase several Brompton models (they are an official Brompton retailer).

Although the shop name is Freedom Folding and Electric Bikes, the pair is pivoting their services to include all bikes. Road bikes, gravel bikes, mountain bikes, recumbent bikes — if it has two (or sometimes three) wheels, they’ll work on it.

And now that they’ve decided to make the U.S. their permanent home, the couple is immersing themselves even further in Boulder’s vibrant cycling community.

“Bikes can change your life and we are proof of that,” Boiarska says. “On weekends, we use our cargo bike to ride all around town. Sometimes we even ride to work. I really love all of this — riding bikes, running this business and the community.”

Even if you don’t have a bike that needs fixing, Potykun encourages you to pop in still and have a look around.

“We are happy to simply chat with members of the community and have them spend time in our shop,” Potykun says. “Come on by and be our friend.”