Together we can do it better

Do you know where TARA community centre is? We think you should find out as it becomes a bit more important now once you own a bike…

The apple does not fall far from the tree

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope. Barack Obama It sometimes occurs to us suddenly that […]

‘…I want to ride my bicycle…’

The average family earning minimum wage spends 141 percent of their income struggling to meet basic needs – food, shelter, clothing.  Sherrod Brown We met Labbonti today. He was a bit late but he said that he has had a busy night last night. We patiently listened to his story. He lived in Wales in […]

Louder than words

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Dr. Seuss Leeds is such a big place. It is mentioned as a capital of the North on numerous occasions. With every great story comes an untold tale of things that often get omitted by the mainstream media: the social isolation, the lack of access to […]

It is fine not to know

Common sense is not so common. Voltaire It gets extremely difficult to impose imagination and aspiration onto people. It is arduous to emphasise the importance of remaining imaginative while maintaining a helpful and cooperative approach. The teaching is a long process and it takes a lot of patience. It also consumes your time and energy […]

In it all together?

Many activities and team play participation will give you a training that will prove invaluable later on in life. Walter Annenberg It is busy at The Bikes College. People are calling from as far as Yeadon to donate bikes. Kids need bikes in Pudsey. If we were honest it got slightly overwhelming lately… But what […]

Too much for a few

Strive not to be a success but rather of a value. Albert Einstein We struggle to explain to the majority of people on our way that what we do is not for profit. Despite our soon-to-be legal structure we are not working like a standard company. When the bikes are being given away we prepare […]

Behaviour breeds behaviour

A teacher affects eternity as he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams Remember J. from few days ago; J. who was taught by C. how to repair a puncture? He came back again with a friend of his. S. is 8 years old and he knows J. as they live closeby. This time again […]

What would you do with this gift?

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. Confucius We give an astonishing number of bikes away for free. We get them refurbished to safe standards and simply seek kids in the area that need a bicycle. For numerous reasons there are plenty of children around Leeds (and beyond we believe) that simply […]

How to talk to strangers

We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken. Fyodor Dostoevsky It was a normal day at The Bikes College– sunny day, a few kids around with typical bike problems: few punctures, few dropped chains… One of the […]