Community Fund – The Bike Station – March Update

Despite the bitterly cold weather we’ve had a very busy month at the Bike Station.

Spring cleaning and garage/shed clearouts resulted in 211 donations of bikes from our supporters which is great as we can get them fixed and back on the road at an affordable price. Every bike donated to us is one less destined for landfill and even when a bike is damaged we will still strip all parts for re-use. In March we refurbished and sold 202 bikes, with those that weren’t safe to fix (126 bikes) being sent for recycling.

Our mechanics have also been busy with customer repairs and servicing, getting Edinburgh’s cyclists ready for the sunny weather which is just around the corner (honest!). Midlothian schools will be the next to benefit from our mechanics’ skills in the coming weeks as we embark on a series of bike safety checks before the schools start Bikeability classes.

With the weather improving and increasing numbers of cyclists on the roads, we are starting to arrange a series of public events around Edinburgh. More details will follow but the first diary date is the Innertube Postcode Challenge on Sunday 28 April. Now in its third year the  Innertube Postcode Challenge is a ‘Treasure Hunt on Wheels’- and this year there will also be a ‘Treasure Hunt on Foot’ for all you walkers out there! It is a community cycling event, aimed at all ages and abilities, on the Edinburgh “Innertube” off road path network.  The main aim is to raise awareness of the paths and their potential as a means of travel across the North of Edinburgh, as well as to get people active in a fun and community fuelled way. The event is part of the Bike Station and Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust’s Innertube project, supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery.