UpCycles’ Community of Bike Ambassadors (COBA) programme will host its next Bike Fixation session on Saturday (April 11), inviting locals to pick up practical repair skills, improve bike safety knowledge, and help restore donated bikes for reuse.
Founder Chris Foggin said he loved bikes.
‘‘I ride bikes. I love them — it’s my thing — and this programme helps people enjoy them as much as I do.’’
Several times a month, UpCycles ran Bike Fixation sessions, where donated bikes were repaired, parts repurposed, and practical skills shared.
Anyone was welcome, from experienced cyclists to beginners or keen volunteers.
‘‘It’s for people who have bike knowledge or those who don’t — people can come along for the bikes, or just to learn something.’’
UpCycles began more than a decade ago and COBA was launched in 2023. It has since rapidly expanded.
The sessions focused on trail etiquette, road safety, essential riding and first-aid skills, and its impacts were already being felt, Mr Foggin said.
In one case, a young rider trained through COBA treated and splinted his friend’s broken arms after a fall, impressing ambulance staff with his quick thinking.
In another, a primary school student used his training to assist his injured brother on a local trail.
‘‘We’re finding more and more that bike ambassadors leaving our programme are seen as an extra layer of safety for those riding with them,’’ Mr Foggin said.
UpCycles also worked to make cycling accessible to everyone, offering adapted bikes for neurodivergent riders and those with mobility challenges.
Its reach extended into local retirement homes through the Cycling Without Age programme, using trishaw-style bikes to give residents a safe way to enjoy the outdoors.
For Mr Foggin, the goal was simple, he said, to keep ‘‘changing lives one bike at a time’’.
