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Thriving neighborhood backyard bike club- much like a neighborhood house or a men’s shed- a place for locals to meet and fix bikes

The Forbes St Nunnery Community Bike Workshop (it’s not really a nunnery, just a place where some nice ladies live and work) in the inner city suburb of Newtown collects abandoned bikes and parts to create working bikes to put back into the community.

Residents were inspired to form the club which promotes sustainability and fostering local community when they attended the 2005 Students of Sustainability Conference.

Over 40 bike loving volunteers meet each week, and their club has no sponsors, external funding or government support.

The Bike Club’s website proclaims:

“Come and learn to fix bikes, show us how to fix bikes, fix your bike or a friend’s, or just come and have some tea and coffee. Everyone is welcome!”

One of the club’s founders, Briana Rocheta told The South Sydney Herald the club is a “challenge to throw away culture,” and that they are constantly amazed with the quality of bikes thrown away during hard rubbish collections.

“During Council clean up we find a bike on almost every street. Often they just have two flat tyres so we pump them up and ride them away.”

While volunteers are invited to ride home the bicycles finally assembled from assorted parts; the bike club is planning to send bikes and wheelchairs made from bike parts to Ghana through David Peckham’s Village Bicycle Project.