Now in its second year Bike Club is a weekly club for young people from at risk or socially excluded areas around East Brighton and the Lewes Road area. It provides them with access to cycling and related activities.

Bike Club is run solely by volunteers with help from staff at the 67 Centre in Moulsecoomb. Bike Club aims to provide a safe space for vulnerable young people to learn bike mechanics skills and to develop their interpersonal skills. During the school holidays young people can take part in mountain bike excursions which help to improve cycle skills.

The three main components of Bike Club are:

Project Bike is a leaning tool which the group of core volunteers use to work on and develop their skills. The project involves building a bike using donated parts. The bike is then put up for auction on gumtree or via local networks. Monies generated from the sale are used to purchase new parts and spares for the young people to use to improve their own bikes.

Brighton and Hove Youth Award

Bike Club attendees are also able to work towards Brighton and Hove Youth Award, which is a locally developed accreditation scheme for young people aged 11 – 25.

The young people set and work towards their own set of agreed goals.

-Bronze Awards – 10 hours participation – Silver Awards – 20 hours assisting with activities – Gold Awards – 40 hours leading activities

Bike Club has just started offering a bicycle servicing scheme. Bikes are serviced for a small fee by young people who attend the club and are checked by a Bike Club volunteer mechanic. The fee is used to give the young person who services the bike credit to purchase new parts for his or her own bike, as well as a small amount to buy tools and equipment for the project. The young person also gains credit towards their Youth Award.

This project encourages environmental citizenship as the community will be more aware of their impact on the environment from pollution as they might choose this alternate route of travel.

https://brightonbikeproject.wordpress.com/