A little update from the winners of the Solar SOAS Green Community Fund from the academic year 2018/19…written just before Coronavirus properly hit:
Every Tuesday afternoon (weather permitting) a table appears in front of the SOAS main steps. Behind it sit the mechanics of the SOAS Cycle-Op: Clara Mathews, Jakub Bienieasz, and Joe Lawrence. From 12 to 2pm they yell across the quad at passing cyclists, cajoling them into free bicycle education and repair. Students drop in to ask questions, chat about bikes, or ask for help on their way to class. Those that can’t stay schedule a triage appointment during the week with Head Mechanic Mathews. Those that can stay develop some repair skills and become part of SOAS’s growing cyclist community.
In a city with major congestion and air quality problems, the Cycle-Op’s mission is to promote sustainable transportation that’s affordable for students. Over the two hours, they help more than 20 cyclists with everything from flat repairs to bottom bracket disasters. They are friendly and straight-forward, and thanks to funding from the Green Community Fund, they are well equipped to handle most repairs. This was not always the case. When first created by Clara Mathews and former mechanic Benoit Ralu, SOAS Cycle-Op was a rogue operation: they had no tools, no storage space, and no schedule. On sunny days, the two would take a lunch break together and bring some spanners from home to work on their friends’ bikes. Despite applying for society status with the SOAS Student Union, operations were bare-bones.
This changed in March 2019 when the society won the Solar SOAS Green Community Fund and was able to buy a complete set of tools. Repairs that previously were un-fixable could now be handled, storage space was acquired, and new mechanics signed up for training. Thanks to the Solar SOAS support, Cycle-Op is now a notable fixture on SOAS’s campus. They have trained up four mechanics, fixed over 150 bicycles, and are looking forward to a bright future!
Anyone from the SOAS community interested in applying for the Green Community Fund - it is open at the beginning of the academic year! Keep your eyes peeled ~