Proud Bailey keeps wheels turning

Bailey Kenyon is on a mission: to give as many children as possible a bike to give them a chance for fun, fitness and confidence.

From Glen Eden, the 16-yearold has set up Baileys Bikes For Kids which sees him rescuing old and broken bikes and refurbishing them for children in need.

He’d ridden bikes since he was three-years old and when he spotted a little abandoned bike on the side of the road about six months ago, he picked it up and carried it home.

His bike rescue work had begun and he set to fixing the rusted chain and flat tyres. The crank needed to be tightened and a friend helped him with that. He still has that little bike and is looking for a new home for it through a nomination process he started on his website.

Half way through that first project, his father brought another bike home. “I needed to take it back to bare metal and repaint it because of rust damage and I’ve given that to a very nice little boy,” he says.

Bailey’s done nine bikes now and he’s proud to pass them on to those who need them but who don’t necessarily have opportunities to get a bike.

“I’m home-schooled so have a lot of time in which to work on the Bailey Kenyon says he has wheels in his blood.

bikes and I’m always on the lookout for donations of old bikes and parts,” he says.

“I get a lot of satisfaction and I’m proud that we’re keeping these bikes out of the landfill and enabling kids to ride to school instead of being dropped off by car. It’s benefiting our environment – the reduce, reuse, recycle message is important.”

Bailey’s also started volunteering at EcoMatters’ Bike Hub but says he plans to keep on doing his own thing as well, until he ‘runs dry.’ “I might even work with bikes all my life as I’ve grown up in a racing family so wheels are in my blood.”

He says there’s been a lot of positive response from people impressed with what he’s doing and he’s received a lot of donations of parts and even helmets for his venture.

“There’s a lot of good people out there,” he says. To donate old bikes or parts or to submit a nomination to receive one of Bailey’s bikes, contact him through baileysbikesforkids@gmail.com.

– Moira Kennedy

213 – 215 Woodlands Park Road, Titirangi, Auckland 0604 Phone: 09 817 8495 or 09 817 6188 www.kenturnermotors.co.nz

26 The Fringe MARCH 2020 Brent Bielby, team leader of EcoMatters’ Bike Hub Initiatives at New Lynn with some of the great children’s bikes available at the first of three EcoMatters bike hubs.

The New Lynn bike hub opened at Olympic Park in New Lynn in April 2017. It offers used bikes for sale and loan, maps and route information and bike parts and accessories. Community bike mechanics provide free advice and support, including inflating tyres and repairing punctures, configuring your bike, tuning and adjusting your brakes and gears and maintaining your chain.

Visitor numbers continue to grow in New Lynn. In the year to June 2019, there were 3431 visitors and 1111 bikes repaired.

In November 2018, EcoMatters opened a second bike hub in Henderson, in the Falls Hotel car park. After eight months this is seeing similar visitor numbers to New Lynn. Pop up bike hubs have been staged at Silo Park along with a series of Saturday Bike Fix drop in sessions in Glen Innes. These have proved so successful, EcoMatters opened a permanent hub there in December 2019.

Search for EcoMatters Bike Hubs to join the Facebook group and think about donating old bikes to your nearest bike hub. New Lynn is open Thursday – Sunday, 10am-2pm and Henderson is open Friday – Sunday, 10am-4pm.

The bike hubs are supported by the Whau, Henderson/Massey, Waitākere Ranges and Whau local boards, Panuku Development Auckland, and Auckland Transport.