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On yer bike

On yer bike

Having your own bed or bike is pretty common for Kiwi kids.

But for refugee settlers who come to Ashburton, having something to call their own is a special kind of freedom.

“Some of the people who come here are very good at riding bikes, but for the first few families, it was very novel,” said local Malcolm Dellow.

For the last few years, Dellow has taken in second hand bikes from the community and repaired them, for free.

The bikes are given to refugees when they arrive in the district to help them get around.

But Dellow’s putting out a call to any teenage boys and men in need of one.

The women’s bikes tend to go quickly, but the height and design of some men’s bikes means they’re sat unloved for a while.

“These are too big for Afghan women, they’ll suit teenage boys or men,” Malcolm’s sister Denise said.

“We’re trying to identify community groups that we can get these bikes into.”

The pair have contacted charities, the Mens Shed, and more, but so far no one has come back to them with a yes.

“I’ve even thought about making labels for them and leaving them out on the street, as community bikes.”

She said she’s left bikes on the roadside, but the kids passing by refuse to take them in fear of people suspecting they’re stealing.

The pair aren’t keen on selling the bikes.

“We did think about it for a while, thinking we’ll need some money for our buggered bikes, but we’ll find a better way to raise that money.

“I’d just like to see them go into the hands of someone who really needs transport.”

Malcolm said his volunteer work started with one bike.

“The first refugee family came here probably four years ago,” Dellow said

“I had a bike lying around, so I gave it to a teenage boy.

“And [the refugee settlement service] thought, ‘that’s a good idea, let’s see if we can get more bikes’.”

There are rows of fixed bikes and a pile of busted ones that struggles to shrink.

“I just had piles and piles of them, couldn’t work out what to do with them all.

“But now my sister’s come back to live in New Zealand, she’s stripped them all down, and now the pile’s a third of what we’ve thrown away.”

Malcolm said while there’s an abundance of bikes, the workshop’s always short of good tubes, tyres and helmets.

His sister Denise is an avid biker, and hates seeing good vehicles scrapped.

“I just like bikes, and I hate waste,” she said.

“If some of the bikes can’t be fixed, we recover what we can.”

She reckons the lack of public transport is a great reason for people to get themselves some wheels.

“I’d love to encourage not just the refugee settlers, but everyone, to get on a bike.

“There’re really good cycle lanes on Walnut Avenue, and Harrison Street, and there’s probably heaps that I haven’t found.”

By Anisha Satya