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TOPIC: Helping families get on their bikes

Helping families get on their bikes
14 Jun 2022 23:20 #6477

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Join the crowdfunding effort to set up an innovative Family Cycling Hub in Enfield.

Families cycle on Fox Lane 2020 676x841

Cycling is a healthy and fun way to spend time together - but kitting out everyone in the family can be expensive

Cycling is on the up, both as a means of transport and as a leisure activity, and at long last both national and local government have been providing some better infrastructure for people to ride along without being intimidated by a minority of drivers who disregard the security of other road users.

At weekends it's now common to see whole families using the bike lanes through Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill for a healthy and enjoyable outing. But what if you'd love to join them but your family doesn't have enough bikes for everyone or the money to buy them? And kids have an annoying habit of outgrowing the bikes that you forked out for only last year. And what do we do with the one who's still too young to have their own bike? These days there are plenty of specialised bikes and accessories designed for family use, but for a whole family the total cost can be problem...

Coming to the aid of families like this is a new social enterprise. The Family Bike Club and Library is the brainchild of Enfield resident Luke Balnave. Luke is renting premises adjacent to Enfield Chase station which he plans to turn into a cooperatively managed Bike Hub and Library. With the help of the Aviva Community Fund he's crowdfunding the cost of sprucing up the vacant shop and stocking it with a range of bikes of all conceivable shapes and sizes. Long-tail family bikes, child trailers, front and back child seats, cargo-carrying trailers, trailers for dogs, cargo bikes, e-bikes, and just plain old-fashioned pushbikes will all be available to rent out.

Luke's ambitious ideas also include organising group rides, running cycling lessons, providing expert advice on bike servicing and cycling routes, providing bike buddies to help people build up their confidence.

To find out more about Luke's plans and about the range of rewards for people who pledge, visit the Arriva Community Fund page and the Family Bike Club website. The crowdfunding campaign runs until 28th June, and if pledges made by then add up to half the target, the charity Power to Change will match the amount, bringing it up to 100 per cent!

family bike club logo with slogan join the club today

Find out more and make a pledge

LInks

Website: www.thefamilybikeclub.com

Twitter @TheFamilyBike

 

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Helping families get on their bikes
18 Jun 2022 00:42 #6478

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Here's a video interview with Luke Balnave about the Family Bike Club.

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Helping families get on their bikes
03 Jul 2022 22:17 #6486

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When the fundraising campaign finished on 28th June the total pledged to get the Family Bike Club off the ground had reached £10,153. This was made up of money pledged by 78 supporters, additional contributions from Aviva and match funding by Power to Change.

This is the latest message from Luke Balnave on the Aviva Community Fund page :

A GARGANTUAN THANK YOU TO ALL!

Dear newest amazing members of the TFBC family!

This is just a short message just to express a HUGE & HEARTFELT "THANK YOU" to all of those who so kindly pledged; helped share & sent us kind words to help us climb the mountain to our target. It has been truly inspiring, appreciated and has positively emboldened us to deliver ALL the qualities of our project for the benefit of our community.

We are BLOWN AWAY to report that, courtesy of this generosity and generally amazingly positive sentiment, we exceeded our target & raised OVER £10K!

We were also successful in applying to two funds, in addition to the large contribution from Aviva, which has meant individual public donations have effectively been TREBLED in the end!

It has felt like a small whirlwind so far but we are very aware that the real work begins NOW to repay the goodwill we have ourselves received & to truly deliver for local residents. We will be in touch occasionally to let you know how we are getting on in this next part of our journey, and for you to see (hopefully!) all the multitude of outcomes that soon will flow from your show of support.

A massive thank you once again

The Family Bike Club Team

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