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ReBicycle Bike Rodeo

  • Bike month!

      19 January 2017
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    Kia ora koutou katoa,

    Around these parts February is known as Bike Month! And we're hoping to take that to the next level.

    We've got the funds for our bike trailer/float thanks to all of you lovely people. Now it's time to put it all together. Once again, we need your help!

    ReBicycle Trust is pretty much run by me with a huge amount of support from my partner Mike. He works all day to pay the bills then helps out in the weekend to fix up bikes. We also have two small assistants, ages 3 and 1, who are yet to master the art of truing a wheel but are pretty happy to help pump up tyres and get into the box of spare parts. My family has given up most of our garage, half our dining and a whole lot of my time to make ReBicycle work. Now it's time to do something for them.

    Mike and I need a bunch of time to bring the 50-odd bikes stacked in our garage back to life. We also need time to fix up the trailer for the bike rodeo. We need time to design, build, and paint the obstacles for the skills course. We need time to organise events. We need lots of time!

    Since ReBicycle's inception I've spent about 10-20 hours a week, in between nappy changes, daycare pick ups, mealtimes and 'real' work. So far we've made it work. But things are getting a bit tight. Both the bank account and the garage have no more wiggle room left.

    So here's my brilliant plan:

    Mike has a few weeks off in February which he can put to good use, to help fix bikes, juggle kids while I plan events and we build obstacles...but as he's a contractor this will be unpaid. If we could raise enough money to cover our bills and the kids daycare, we could make this work. That's about $1500 a week for the 4 weeks of February.

    ReBicycle is (soon to be) a charitable trust and so far has no employees. I'm not paid for any of my time. But for the month of February, I'm asking our awesome supporters if you could help us cover our bills so we can dedicate our time to take ReBicycle to the next level?!?

    Thanks,

    Hilleke

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  • We did it!

      22 December 2016

    We did it! Or should I say, YOU did it!

    Thank you. Thank you for making this possible.

    This crazy little idea we had, to help give more kids - especially those living in poverty or other difficult circumstances - a chance to have a bit of fun on a bike is becoming a reality.

    Why are we doing this?

    Because we've seen too many kids who don't have the opportunity to learn to ride a bike. Because too many kids don't get enough opportunities for exercise. Because there aren't enough safe places for kids to bike or free supervised activities for kids to do. Because bikes help kids develop confidence, a sense of adventure, spatial awareness, risk assessment... they're fun and good for your health.

    What are we doing next?

    The money we've raised on Give a Little will be matched by another $2750 from an awesome local trust. With the total we will pay for a trailer we've got 'on hold', fix it up to carry our bikes and skills equipment, and get signage to promote the Bike Rodeo. We'll keep you updated on progress!

    Who else is helping?

    Wellington City Council has contributed funding for the skills course and tools.

    Nikau Foundation has given us funding which we can use to cover costs of initial events.

    CAW, the Mechanical Tempest and Sustainability Trust have helped fix up bikes and offer all sorts of support.

    iRide, Bicycle Junction, Burkes Cycles and Mud Cycles have all helped collect donated bikes and service them.

    And all the awesome Wellington peeps who have donated bikes and other gear.

    And now you too!

    Where will you see us next?

    Newtown Festival and Kilbirnie Festival have invited us to be part of their events.

    We'll be at Go By Bike Day on the Waterfront in February. We might do pop up events over winter and will continue to support Pedal Ready to provide cycle skills training to schools around the region.

    Let us know where else you want to see us and we'll try make it happen!

    We're pretty excited about all of this. But we're also very busy, so apologies in advance for the sporadic updates. This week we've fixed up and delivered another 5 bikes, collected 4 donations, been in touch with half a dozen different people to organise all of this and managed to look after several small people without losing any. All of the Trustees have young kids so we're now going to take a much needed break and come back refreshed in the New Year.

    Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, a wonderful holiday season and many good things in the New Year!

    James, Leah, Mike and Hilleke

    ReBicycle Trustees

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  • Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

      20 December 2016

    We're not quite there yet, but we've been overwhelmed by the support we've received from so many awesome people. It's been a bit crazy trying to do this before Christmas - I'm sure we're not the only ones with no spare time - which makes us doubly appreciative of all your donations, shares, likes and general support. So this video update is about two weeks too late, but gives you a bit of background to what the Bike Rodeo is all about, and what it might look like. Again, thank you! Ka mau te wehi!

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