Begging Bowl

With regret the Bike Aid participation in the Latitude Festival has been cancelled. See the relevant post for details. This remains here just as a record.

In order to create a Bike Aid cycling 'community centre' at the Latitude Festival, we need to obtain the following resources. Any offers of assistance or leads are welcome. 


We will need this by 11/7/12 in IP19. All the donors will be profusely thanked and linked to here and on the stand.


We believe doing this will greatly leverage the other resources we already have and so bring considerable benefits to the local community and wider Suffolk and cycling nationally. Ask us how.


Update: we are getting offers on some stuff. We'll tick off what we have secured soon as confirmed. Things marked ** are consumables, the rest we just need to borrow. It's all a matter of perspective; we think we don't need to buy anything new, most of these things we've seen thrown away or know they lying forgotten in storage somewhere.


done

structure
            tent or gazebo up to 6m
            groundsheets or waterproof matting
            rope
            stakes
            mallet
        decor
            bike aid banner
            bunting & flags
            poles
            bike aid pointers
            gaffer tape**
            cable ties**
            staple gun
        furniture
            folding tables
            folding chairs
            padlocks
        uilities
            powerstrips
            powercords
            smoke detector
        display
            leaflet display racks
            paper weights
            pinboards
            lighting
            projector screen
            projector
            laptop/dvd
        volunteer room
            sleeping bags
            airbeds
            billy set
            stove & gas**
            coolbox
            water carrier
            tea & coffee etc.**
            first aid kit**
            thank-you gifts**
            multi-plug solar charger
            hygiene supplies**
                wetwipes
                bin bags
                loo paper
                dry cloths
                hand wash
    bike aid facility
        bike tools
            bike workstand
            wrenches
            levers
            allen keys
            pliers
            cycle pumps w/ valve fittings
            puncture repair kits**
        bike stand
        tool collection tubs
        kit making demo
            clean empty Tetra Pak cartons**
            mailing tubes w/ caps**
            presentation liquor boxes or tubes**
            vinyl bike aid labels**
        refreshments**
            cupcakes & doughnuts
            local juices
            cups & spoons
            local food samples (non per)
    information facility
        leaflets
            topics
                arts
                amenities
                community development
                cycling
                tourism
                transition
                transport
        maps of local routes
        posters
        freebies
            local food samples (non per)
            beer mats
    comms
        hardware
            3G dongle
            mobile phone
                charge
        graphics/printing
            cost of
                leaflets
                signage
                pointers
                banner
                stickers
            someone to
                design a  leaflet
                design a sticker
                design & produce info boards
        media
            photographer to document
            people to tweet 
            press release writing and distribution
            festival programme
                content
                stand copies**
    transport
        small van
        wheelbarrow
    people
        onsite volunteers
            Weds
                schlep & set up
            very early thurs
                 schlep & set up
            Thurs
                Tour de Latitude stand
                bike aid stand
            Fri
                bike aid stand
           Sat
                bike aid stand
            Sun
                bike aid stand
            late Sun
                wrap & schlep
            Mon
                wrap & schlep
        support volunteers
            sustenance
            media
            transport
            art/design

Bike Aid sponsored by Suffolk ACRE

Suffolk Bike Aid can announce it has secured the rural development charity Suffolk ACRE as an in-kind sponsor to shoulder the small outgoings and insurance requirements so there will be a Bike Aid presence at the Latitude Festival at Henham from 12-15 July. It is now possible for Bike Aid to create a cycling community centre in the campsite amenity area for the 35,000 visitors to Latitude. Look for the banner above we've just ordered.

We are asking for any support that cycling-focussed organisations can give us with supplying local cycling and tourism literature, tents, folding tables, info boards, bike tools, puncture repair kits, folding chairs, lighting, bunting, banners, bike stand, stickers etc.

Along with information about Suffolk ACRE's work with rural communities, we aim to include information about local transition, local food groups and other things that fit in with the Bike Aid ethos of building communities and social capital by cycling; in the hope of course those groups will support Bike Aid somehow in kind. Bike Aid will be collecting unwanted bike tools and bike bits from the Tour De Latitude riders to recycle as bike aid kits or deliver to a local cycling workshop providing training and employment to disabled people.

We also need to recruit a few local-cycling-knowledgeable volunteers (i.e. people who actually cycle in Suffolk sometimes) to man the stall.

If you can help us in anyway, please get in touch, email is best, from the contact page.

Host Profile: The Ship at Dunwich

At the Ship at Dunwich - once a haunt of smugglers - you will now find a traditional coastal inn with local real ales, homemade food and real fires, comfortable, traditionally furnished bedrooms, an enormous garden and a beach that really is just a short stroll away. In the famous village of Dunwich and surrounded by nature reserves, heathland and beach, The Ship is a perfect base from which to explore this wild and wonderful coastline.

Please ask in the bar for the Bike Aid kit.

Ship Inn
St James Street, Dunwich IP17 3DT
01728 648219

image © Copyright Paul Shreeve and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Host Profile: The Westleton Crown

Perfectly situated for exploring the delights of the Suffolk Heritage Coast; the Westleton Crown combines the character and charm of its coaching inn heritage with the comforts of contemporary living: smouldering log fires, 34 stylish bedrooms, award winning AA 2 rosette restaurant, sophisticated wine list and delightful terraced gardens. Ask for the Bike Aid kit at the reception.

Westleton Crown

The Street Westleton, Suffolk IP17 3AD
01728 648777

Suffolk Bike Aid is supporting the Tour De Latitude.

This year Festival Republic and Marks & Spencer are teaming up for adventurous way of travelling to the Latitude festival in 2012 – the Tour de Latitude. This initiative is set to raise funds for orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya and Julie's Bicycle who help make environmental sustainability intrinsic to the creative industries.

Tour de Latitude will take place on Thursday 12th July, giving festival goers the chance to get from one of the three start points along the route, on a tour of country villages from London to the Latitude site, before the entertainment begins in the evening. The furthest starting point is Hackney in London, a whopping 113 miles from Latitude with an estimated journey time of 8- 12 hours, a challenging ride for experienced riders. The second starting point is half the London distance, leaving from Sudbury near Colchester, 55 miles from the festival with an estimated journey time of 3-5 hours, while the final starting point is Ipswich, 35 miles from Henham Park estimated at 2-4 hours.

We informed the festival organisers of the Bike Aid resources along the route and have since been invited to host a Bike Aid station at Henham Park. The logistics are still being worked out but things are looking very likely we'll be there to make more kits for local hosts from the surplus and unwanted tools people bring to us and distribute information about local cycling. If you'd like to give us a hand with our stand, please get in touch.

Lowestoft Local Links scheme to improve cycle facilities

Lowestoft Local Links is a £6.25 million pound project funded by the Department of Transport, Waveney District Council and Suffolk County Council to improve travel options for everybody in Lowestoft to enable them to travel around the town easier, saving them money and improving their health and well being.

The Lowestoft Local Links scheme will introduce a package of measures including:

• A new pedestrian and cycle bridge beside the current bascule bridge to provide a safer, more enjoyable environment for people crossing the Inner Harbour.
• Working with employers to encourage sustainable travel to work including the offer of cyclist training and Walk to Work Week. 
• Encouraging walking and cycling to school supported by two ‘Bike-It’ officers. 
• Introduction of new bus services to serve key employment and tourist areas. 
• Improved bus and rail interchange. 
• Development of a station travel plan to link facilities for travelling by train, bus and bicycle. 

More information http://www.greensuffolk.org/travel/transport-projects/lowestoft-local-links/

Suffolk Bike Aid has written to Suffolk County Council to suggest endorsement and signposting of Bike Aid by this scheme and to offer our support in kind and they responded on 1/5/12 that this suggestion will be considered.

Host Profile: Halesworth Area Community Transport

The Halesworth Area Hoppa is a unique scheduled bus service run by a non-profit company and driven by volunteers that operates four days a week to provide the younger and the older residents of the town a lifeline to reach essential services.


The bike aid kit is available from their office open Monday to Friday 9 AM - 12 pm at Halesworth Railway Station, Station Road, IP19 8BZ telephone 01986 875900

Give Me Tap

GiveMeTap is making clean water easily accessible to every human in the world by creating a network of cafes and shops where you can use your GiveMeTap Bottle to get free tap water refills. We are improving the convenience of getting tap water and use 70% of profits to help others in need by funding water projects in Africa.


Naturally Bike Aid is gratified when it sees that others share our belief that a national network can be built on the slight and distant promise of mutual assistance however we don't feel it's necessary to monetise it.

http://www.givemetap.co.uk/

Roving SOS Bikes of São Paulo

The city of São Paulo, the largest in Brazil, has invested in creating a 45 km network of bike paths. It also provides a staffed cycle repair station in the main park and six mechanics on specially-equipped bikes who patrol the bike paths to assist with any breakdowns and give advice and encouragement. And best of all, this is all free. 


The SOS BIKE mechanics provide:

• Seat and handlebar adjustment
• Chain tensioning
• Puncture repair and wheel balancing
• Brake adjustments

The best we can tell with Google's translation is this is part of a campaign called Movemento Conviva to encourage peaceful coexistence between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Their mission statement says: "living well begins with small actions, which generate big changes". Well, Bike Aid can testify to that!

More info http://www.ciclofaixa.com.br/ in Portuguese

Follow them on Twitter: @reporterconviva

Boris Johnson and mayors everywhere: take note.