Pedal Power 'overwhelmed' with support for bike library, but more is needed to save it

The trouble with kids is that they keep growing – the clothes keep getting too small, and the amount of food they eat keeps getting bigger.

Local cyclist lobby group Pedal Power has solved one of the problem areas with a free bike library that enables parents to borrow a bike for as long as they need it and then trade it in for something bigger when the time inevitably comes. At no cost.

But it’s about to run out of funding.

The Bike Library is based at the Margaret Hendry School in Taylor in Gungahlin. It began life as an initiative of the Northside Community Service in 2019 before Pedal Power took it over in late 2023.

“People contact us and ask if we have a kid’s bike or whatever type they need, and we invite them to turn up, have a look around and find a bike that suits them,” Pedal Power executive director Simon Copland says.

“Our mechanics work on it to ensure that it’s ridable, you fill out some paperwork and off you go.”

Unlike other types of libraries, there are no late fees attached.

“We’re not fastidious in chasing people down … so sometimes if people have a good bike that suits them and they are riding around a lot, we’re quite happy for them to keep it.”

The school allows Pedal Power to use the premises for free while volunteers take donations of old bikes from the Canberra community and fix them up. It’s open to the public every Tuesday between 11 am and 2 pm and the first Saturday of every month for drop-ins.

The ACT Government provides one volunteer a week and helps pay for consumables like bike locks and helmets through ‘Mingle’, a community development program managed by the Suburban Land Agency (SLA).

According to the SLA website, this “supports local residents to create and run local associations, manage social channels and newsletters and run events or activities in Canberra’s newest communities”.

“Management of these programs and networks is eventually handed over in full to the community”, so Pedal Power wasn’t surprised to learn support for the Bike Library will come to an end “sometime next year”.

Demand remains strong, especially among young and migrant families.

“We get lots of people with kids who are obviously growing, and rather than buying new bikes all the time – which gets a bit expensive – they’ll bring their kids in for their first bike when they’re five and then come back six months to a year later and upgrade to the next size,” Mr Copland says.

“We get a lot of people who have just arrived in Canberra, too, and don’t have a car and want to figure out how to get around. And also people who just want a bike for commuting.”

The numbers fluctuate, but there are normally between 10 and 20 in the library ready to go and another 50 or so donations to repair.

“We’re also seeing an increased number of donations. There was a real lull at the end of last year. I think it was because of that transition from Northside Community Services and us, but now … we’ve got an average of 15, maybe even 20, bikes going out in a session.”

The mission now is to get the centre “running on its own two feet” through a number of fundraising events over the next six months. These include a couple of movie screenings at the National Film and Sound Archive, featuring Women Don’t Cycle and Anytime.

Early signs are good. An effort to draw donations over May managed to bring in more than $10,000.

“We’ve actually been really overwhelmed with the support,” Mr Copland adds.

“But we’re looking for a bit of a larger target than that to keep going, so we’re just going to keep fundraising over the next six months.”

All going well, Pedal Power doesn’t rule out expanding the bike library model across Canberra.

“We do have some desires to open it up to other areas of the city in the long run.”

Want to learn more about the Bike Library or make a donation? Visit Pedal Power.