Donating an unused bike
When my sister moved abroad a few years ago, she left behind a really lovely practically new bike. It had been stored in my parents house but through a former work colleague she heard about a bike shop (watch video here) that was looking for bike donations to pass to people recently arrived to Ireland from Ukraine. Paul from River Cycles fixed bikes for frontline workers for free during the pandemic and now he is fixing up unwanted and unused bikes and making sure they are then given to Ukrainians who are in need of transportation.
So my sister asked our father to take it out of the shed where it was stored and then she asked me to drop it down to River Cycles when convenient for me. I needed to plan to organise the delivery on my day off as I would have to take the bus to my parents house and then cycle the bike to the shop and then take the bus home.
I made a plan to drop the bike today but before it could be dropped to the bike shop I sent a message by What's App to the bike shop owner Paul to see if he needed this donation. He said he did and that he had a lot of requests for bikes.
So with the help of my Dad I collected the bike (and a lock) from my parents house and cycled it down to River Cycles which is on the quays. It was a grand cycle taking only 20 minutes and all downhill!
The bike itself is a "Flourish" by Giant and it has two baskets which makes it really usable for going shopping or doing other chores where you need to carry things on your bike. It's comfortable to cycle on and feels really sturdy. I think someone is going to be really happy when they receive this bike!
Here I am pictured before I set off on my cycle to deliver the bike (I brought my helmet & gloves with me on the bus)
Donate your unused bike!
I have come across two bike shops that are taking donations of bikes for Ukrainian people. One of them is River Cycles, which I mentioned above, and the other is the Bike Hub in Dun Laoghaire.
If you have an unused bike that you would like to donate, you can contact which ever shop is more convenient for you and see if they want to take it.
Here's the contact details for the bikes shops:
River Cycles: paul@rivercycles.com or whatsapp 086 265 6258 - great video here that shows the fantastic work that Paul is doing
Bike Hub Dun Laoghaire: upcyclers@thebikehub.ie - see here for more
Spread the word.....
And if you don't have a bike to give away, you can still help by spreading the word. So feel free to share this blog post with anyone that you think would be interested!
With thousands of refugees arriving in to Ireland there is going to be a huge need for bikes, so let's get all of those unused bikes up and cycling again and used by those who need them.
Or if you are in a different country outside of Ireland, there may be bike shops where you live who will take bikes in and make good in order to donate those that need them.
In addition, I would say that lock and other bike accessories are probably needed too. So if you have any spare bike accessories you could drop the shops an email to see if they need them. They probably have a need for bike seats for babies and kids - so again if you have one you don't need, why not try donate it!
Edit - here's a further update - Bike Mechanics are now needed to help with fixing up bikes as there is a long list of Ukrainians looking for bikes including a request for an adults tricycle for an older person.
17/12/20220 - A further update can be read by clicking here - look how many bikes have been donated to Ukrainians in Ireland!
There is also a crowdfundraiser in order to raise funds to provide helmets and other accessories with each bike. Click here to support the fundraiser on Go fund Me.
