‘‘The WBP is a local community initiative aimed at helping people get out riding again,’’ he says.
‘‘Basically we recycle old pre-loved bikes, donate them to people who need them and also help others fix their bikes so they can keep riding safely.’’
Mike, the project co-ordinator, says most nights they are busy as there are always people coming down to help out, help others, donate old bikes, find a bike or just learn how to fix their bikes.
‘‘Last week, a bloke came down and asked us for a bike as he needed one to help him get a job, we were only too pleased to help with a bike and get him set up, especially when we learned he had walked eight kilometres to get to us.’’
The project tries to supply anyone who needs a bike.
‘‘They are free with no strings attached and no questions asked. We also gladly take in any old bikes people have lying around and have no further use for because they're either broken, or the kids have grown too big for them.
‘‘We then tidy them up if we can and pass them on for others to use,’’ he said.
At the recent Big Day Out event in Rangiora, the WBP gave away 30 bikes.
‘‘We used up all our stock on that day and now we are looking for more to replace them as the demand is still there,’’ Mike said.
Mike, who works locally as a cycle safety trainer for schools, joined the project a month after it started a year ago as a collaboration between many community groups and the Waimakariri District Council.
The idea for a community-based cycle project originated from the Government’s Mental Health Working Group report, which identified repairing bikes as a way of teaching young people new skills, improving confidence and giving them an affordable mode of transport. Mike says it also reduces waste by ‘‘taking bikes from landfill and giving them another life’’.
He said all the spare parts they use either come from parts stripped off unusable bikes or donations from the ‘very generous’ cycle shops in Rangiora.
‘‘They've helped us out immensely, we are very grateful for their support.
‘‘When we get a bike, it’s assessed on its repairability.
‘‘If it’s good, then we have many volunteers here who will work to fix it up and pass it on. If it isn’t usable, we carefully remove what spare parts we can reuse and recycle the rest.
‘‘This gives us the stock of spare parts we need to keep all the other older model bikes going.’’
Anyone with old bikes lying around can call Mike on 021 0294 7597 to help get someone mobile.
The WBP is also planning on holding bike maintenance courses next year to help people maintain their bikes.
