Big Bike Revival and MeCycle keep a firefighter cycling

By Chris Alston

Firefighter John Kelly and his newly-serviced bike

Firefighter John Kelly with his newly serviced bike

MeCycle is a café with a difference. They not only serve food and drinks, they also serve cyclists from their local community and beyond. It isn’t just a place where you can enjoy a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, you can do so while you wait for your bike to be repaired.

This June, social enterprise MeCycle has been involved once again with the Big Bike Revival, holding successful events at their café and bike workshop in Ainsdale. The aim remains the same: encourage more people take their bikes out of shed and prepare for a fantastic summer of cycling.

Resident cycle maintenance experts Steve and Stuart are permanently employed in the MeCycle workshop and responsible for all recycling, repair and servicing activities. Part of Autism Initiatives, MeCycle also offers work placements to volunteers with autism, who undertake bike maintenance and front of house duties in the cafe. The Big Bike Revival gives them the opportunity to open their doors to the local community and carry out repairs under the watchful eye of their mentors.

Now in its fourth year as a Big Bike Revival partner, MeCycle is going from strength to strength and regularly sells new and pre-loved bike sales, cycle maintenance workshops and support for Pedal Away, which holds weekly rides for the local community.

The Big Bike Revival is a great initiative that gives people more opportunities to cycle and maintain their bikes for free.

John Kelly, Merseyside firefighter

Funded by Cycling UK and Liverpool City Region, MeCycle’s free Dr Bike sessions have helped to prepare the local community for the summer on bikes, including local resident and firefighter, John Kelly, who brought his retro Cannondale mountain bike in for adjustments to the brakes and gears. John uses his bike to commute to Southport Community Fire Station. It’s a vital part of his daily life.

John said: “Getting people back on their bikes and out exercising is great. The Big Bike Revival is a great initiative that gives people more opportunities to cycle and maintain their bikes for free. I can now use my bike to commute to work and ride along the beach and Trans Pennine Trail with my son.”

John also uses a road bike to ride with friends, often covering distances of 30-40 miles, and has recently started enjoying more rides along Ainsdale Beach and the Trans Pennine Trail with his six-year-old son, Ollie, who has a new mountain bike.

In addition to their work at the café, MeCycle have teamed up with Job Centre Plus in Southport to deliver cycle maintenance sessions to the unemployed, giving job seekers the opportunity to learn new skills and become more active.