We’re trying to get more people out there riding, so we figured if their bikes are safe and they ride real smooth they’ll be whole lot more likely to put the pedal to the metal.
And so we started our Big Bike Fix-Ups in December last year. We held the first one in the Hastings CBD and weren’t really sure how many people to expect.
We had five bike mechanics at the ready, to churn through free safety checks on everything from BMX bikes to tricycles, but would the people come? Well, yes they did.
They came in their hundreds! We had over 300 people turn up on the day and our mechanics worked away furiously, fixing 214 bikes. Mean! Since then we’ve had two more Fix-Ups, one in Flaxmere at the Flaxmere Family Festival and one just the other weekend out in Havelock North.
Three events in and the Fix-Ups are proving just as popular. In Havelock we only had three bike mechanics because the weather was a little iffy.
They were supposed to be at the domain for about an hour, but in the end we had to double it, as a couple of hundred people turned up and we fixed over 100 bikes.
It was definitely a hit with the locals, people were coming along to take a look at what was happening and then driving home to pick up their bike and bring it back for some expert tweaking.
Heaps of kids turned up and it was also great to see mums and dads looking to start riding again, now their old ride had been given a new lease on life.
So many people told us they had been meaning to get back on their bike but couldn't because it had a flat tyre, dodgy brakes or some other problem.
The Fix-Ups were just the ticket and got their bikes back in tip top shape. The Fix-Ups have been so popular, that there’ll definitely be a few more in the pipeline….maybe when it warms up a bit.
When's the next one - at the Oct 7 Clive walkway official opening??
ReplyDelete