Up-Cycles Charitable Trust

Zoe from the Halberg Foundation reached out to us as she was working with a young fella who has a trike but couldn’t keep his feet on the pedals.

Adapting bikes and finding solutions to problems is something we try to facilitate when we can, and this particular one was an easy one for us to sort, but a challenge for the family.

Fitted the trike out with some older style caged pedals, up-cycled comfort grips and a softer, more tactile seat.

Boom……apparently young Blake was straight onto it after I left.

Awesome!

Permission has been given to share the pic.

A smaller but perfectly formed group of veloteers assisted with our Bike Fixation event at The BikeHive today.

Huge thanks to Penny, Camille, Josh and Matt for some stirling efforts to sort out and make some order in the ‘parts bin’, and fix up a heap of bikes…..will be posting about their destination soon.

Bernie brought us a cool carbon donation and got a balance bike fixed for grandkids, Giles scored a brilliant GT for his son, Hannah scored an awesome wee Bauer for her son who had outgrown his previous bike, and Shane scored an Avanti for commuting.

And Penny ‘earned’ her veloteer T today ~ congrats.

The scrap metal pile is growing, but this will all go to be recycled and kept away from landfill.

A great morning doing some great community mahi.

Melissa, who is a specialist teacher, reached out to us. She works with a young fella with autism who is also having a rough time currently and needs time out of the classroom. He has grown out of his previous 24”.

We had already done some work on this cool 26” Haro with a new chain and bars, and have now also added a new seat, bottle cage, 2 new tubes and 2 recycled tyres…..a very cool machine.

Hopefully another very happy young man up and rolling.

It would be great if we could fix bikes with magic…..but in the absence of actual magic, our wizards will be fixing stuff on Saturday morning at our Bike Fixation event (link below)….come and talk bikes!

https://facebook.com/events/s/bike-fixation/4221249601461390/?

This is where the rims we de-spoked went to…..an awesome project by KiwiHarvest Queenstown & Central Lakes.

🥬 🌶️ FREE VEGGIE-GROWING PLANTERS 🌶️🥬 REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN!

Want to grow your own fresh veggies this spring?

KiwiHomeHarvest is giving selected households across Queenstown, Wānaka and Cromwell a complete veggie-growing package. For free!!

Choose from 3 different modular planter models designed to best fit your home, space and needs.

If your application is successful, you’ll receive the planter along with compost, starter seedlings, self-watering system, frost/netting protection, a practical Community Assembly Event and gardening mentor support.

🏡 Renting? That’s no worries as the planters are portable and can move with you.

Simply register, tell us which planter you'd prefer and select the Assembly Event dates in Oct or Nov that work for you.

(no previous gardening or DIY experience is needed)

REGISTER NOW: www.kiwiharvest.org.nz/khh

Spaces are limited, so get your registration in pronto and we’ll be in touch if you’re selected!

🍅 Growing Local Food. Growing Local Resilience. 🍅

Huge thanks to our project supporters: Queenstown Lakes District Council, WastetoWilderness (Michael Sly), James Clark Property, Mitre 10 New Zealand, Crowne Plaza Queenstown, Holiday Inn Queenstown Remarkables Park, Voco Queenstown and Holiday Inn Queenstown Frankton Road, Queenstown Airport, Central Lakes Trust, Wanaka Wastebusters, OneBike, Up-Cycles Charitable Trust, Liger Leadership Academy New Zealand, Sustainable Queenstown, Happiness House Queenstown-Community Support Centre, Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust, Community Link Upper Clutha, Cromwell Community House, Remarkables Market, Wanaka Community Workshop, Wānaka Men’s Shed, Ali Soper Your Garden Coach, Dr Compost, Gabi Lind The Kitchen Garden Central Otago, Marian Hamilton, Mikey Dahlstrom Millbrook Resort, Paula Squire Thomas Queenstown Harvest Community Gardens, Theo Richard Sherwood Queenstown

Another awesome bike filled day delivering modules (COGS) from our award winning COBA - Community Of Bike Ambassadors programme for the new pilot volunteers of the Wanaka Cycling Without Age chapter.

This means another 17 people, from a huge range of backgrounds and cycling experiences, have been brought into our COBA whānau.

We covered a variety of subjects from COBA history, helmet and bike fitting, bike/trishaw checks, personal bike skills, road code for cyclists, trail etiquette, signs and signals, safety gear and rescue protocols, operation and use of the very cool Ricky Rickshaws that Wanaka CWA have purchased, and how a companion rider could operate.

Thank you Lucy and Beth for leading and coordinating your awesome project, and a big shout out to Holy Family School, Wanaka for allowing us to use their facilities.

A great day!

CRANK THE TRAIL PIXIE

Crank the Trail Pixie is a mythical creature of folklore, however unlike Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny; Crank really does exist……

He is rarely seen, works tirelessly & silently, helps maintain our tracks & trails, often helps travellers by administering first aid or fixing broken bikes with his magical multi-tool, mainly volunteers but very occasionally is paid in copper coins, sometimes rebels, always loves riding bikes and just does epic mahi.

Crank the Trail Pixie is said to be of human origin or to "partake of human nature", in distinction to his cousins, Trail Fairies, whose mythology is traced to immaterial and malignant spirit forces.

Crank the Trail Pixie is considered ‘in-between’, not cursed or especially blessed. He does the unexpected, cares for the land, and is a velo loving creature who other wild creatures find alluring and non-threatening.
He loves humans, taking some for mates, and is nearly ageless. He is lean, stable of foot, and often flits from place to place.

Legend says Crank was born in the Up-Cycles workshop in Central Otago, inside a box of donated bike parts. The first night the veloteers stayed late sorting parts, they heard a ting-ting-ting from a pile of old wheels.
By the next morning, Crank had built himself a home from old bike racks, front forks & rims, all tied together with old tubes & tyres.

Crank has been adopted and is now the guardian of the Up-Cycles Charitable Trust, watching over every bike that gets a second life. When a donated bike comes in rusty and sad, Crank is the one who ‘pixies it’ — tightens a bolt here, adds a part there, and whispers encouragement until it’s trail-ready again.

Crank often hangs out in areas around existing trails, and in places where trails may eventually magically appear.

Crank is cheeky, helpful, and a little bit greasy around the fingernails. He talks fast and loves puns about chains, gears, and getting rolling. He hates bikes going to landfill and loves fixing things with what’s on hand……equal parts - trail guide, digger, ambassador and tinkerer.

Crank is usually found with a dirty face, often wearing a blue COBA jersey, baggy shorts and cool helmet; and on occasions strange highly visible and very colourful vests.

It is believed that Crank survives in the wild by eating an array of snacks, which include a specially foraged mix called ‘scroggin’…..a magical energy giving food source, often carried in small plastic snap-lock pouches. He also loves bananas, Toblerone and peanut butter.

Crank is renowned for his ability to find interesting modes of transport, including ancient bicycles, tricycles and tandems, and is often armed with an array of trail weapons, including the magical ‘Weapons of Mass Creation’ (WMC Trail tools), which in the hands of a Trail Pixie are said to glow brightly and warn of impending trail disruption.

It is known that Crank has a preference for bits of cycling finery: Indeed, a weakness for cycling finery exists within him, and he highly covets the ancient mathematical theory of ‘N+1’, and without question this is Crank’s velo law.

Crank’s motto is ~ “No Velocipede Left Behind”

Welcome to the Up-Cycles whānau….Crank.

Pic credit: Holly & her mate AI.

So Crank’s character is taking shape. My daughter is far better using these modern day AI things….thanks Hol.

I can see Crank involved in a whole range of activities and maybe one day an education medium…..

Evening everyone.

We are working on our new mascot called Crank. The concept is to support our activities, deliver stories and safety messages for tamariki, a role model for cycle ambassadors and potentially maybe even a sticker or two…..

I’m no artist, and have had some assistance from auntie AI, but I would like to find an illustrator who might be interested in bringing Crank to life.

Crank is a passionate cyclist, COBA Bike Ambassador with first aid skills, bike mechanic skills and can build or fix any trail. A guardian of our charity and an awesome trail pixie. Wears our blue COBA shirt and brightly coloured helmet.

If you could help or know someone then please get in touch.

Thank you

We were thrilled to have Roxburgh Area School come on board with our award winning COBA - Community Of Bike Ambassadors programme, and they finished their course today with the important input from Peak Safety Ltd.

Thanks to Steve (Peak Safety instructor) for providing an engaging and fun day, packed with outdoor first aid solutions.

This element of the COBA programme has already proven its worth, with several rangatahi from previous cohorts, using their skills attained on the course.

The new COBA have earned their shirts, and were awarded their trail kits today. Go well team!

Enjoy the pics!

Thank you:
Our lovely philanthropic donors.
Rothbury Insurance Brokers
Central Otago District Council
Central Lakes Trust
Otago Community Trust
Sport Otago
Contact Energy