UK :
Later this year jole rider will have a vacancy for another Bike Mechanic/Engineer in the team.
To take up this exciting opportunity to develop your skills, you need to be special! 
Not only will you know a bike from back to front, and inside out, but you will also have a range of other skills and abilities.  
Reporting to your line manager, jole rider’s Head of Engineering, you will grow as a team member, acquiring more responsibilities over time.  
You will be Cytech 2 qualified, will have experience in training others and can expect to travel in the UK and Africa.  
Top-notch personal skills and communication skills are essential.
Please contact David at jole rider for more information.

AFRICA :
If you fancy a 6 to 9 month tour of duty in Africa working at jole rider’s new bespoke training facility, then read on.

The position will be second in command to our lead engineer based in The Gambia, West Africa.
The role is to establish a first class training facility aimed at young adults.
The post draws a nominal allowance and free living accommodation. 
There will be at least one return flight home provided during the term which will start in November this year.
Please contact David at jole rider for more information.

 

The day begins with rain, grey skies and the winding open of our hangar door – and as lights flicker into life they reveal a wonderful Aladdin’s cave of bikes of all shapes, sizes, types, age and colour.  “We are back Tony”.
The kettle is on and the team trickle in for our breakfast meeting of tea and croissants, coupled with an outline plan of campaign for the day.

Hot drinks steaming in everyone’s hands, and our first visitor of the day arrives. Ian is on his 3rd day of work for Dyce Carriers, driving a 45ft curtain sided wagon loaded to the hilt with a wonderful donation of bikes.  These have been collected for us by Rotary Clubs in and around Ellon, north of Aberdeen, and a cracking job they have done too!  This is actually the 3rd delivery we have received - from the lands beyond the north - with the total bikes donated now chalked at 565.  Ian does a wonderful trick of reversing his huge trailer into our space and we begin to unload - with the added fun of a sweepstake to guess the total inside.
Well done you Barry.
And thanks to Jason and his guys at Dyce Carriers – You too have helped change the lives of 565 kids!

Whilst unloading is in progress, a second delivery arrives from Sleaford in Lincolshire.  Rotarians Graeme, David and Colin have been driving since 6am to deliver their Club’s collection of bikes4Africa.  Such is the dedication of everyone involved in this unbelievable business, that is bikes4Africa!  Coffee, photos and a tour of the hangar finishes off another jaw-dropping visit for people who have never seen such a sight.
A massive thank you to all the Rotary Clubs involved - I wish we could take each and every Member to see the incredible difference that they are making in Africa.

Just as all the unloading is finished - and life just happens this way - our Community Payback team arrive!  We work in partnership with Wiltshire Probation Service and the team of six today, led by Lynn, now join in the fun by filing the bikes into the different rows.
Drop bars – shoppers – major works – no works and - the occasional, oo la la, that’s interesting - kind of bikes!  

Bikes stored, stacked and counted we split up and each team has a task to achieve today.  The work never stops here; with over 4000 bikes to either service, strip or ship out - which happens every other month - there is never a dull moment. Today we are turning a forgotten corner into a fully kitted out harvesting area for our donor bikes. This will then be opened up on MyBikeJumble day for the vintage pieces we have found and cherish.

A moment out to take stock of the various projects running today and I’m approached by two squaddies, in the market for a new old bike.  We get chatting and all the while they are grinning – they cannot believe the size of the collection of bikes we have.  I know this feeling - it’s like being a child again!  We talk further about possible connections and finish on the prospect of organising a families’ fun bike ride for base personnel, given it’s an Army base we are pitched on.
Keep an eye on us and Charity Bike Rides for future events.

It’s lunchtime and the crew rest a while to share stories of bike rides, speeding tickets and cat attacks!  You can see it in all our faces that we are happy to be here.  I have immense respect for these guys and their stories.  I sit and listen like a dreaming schoolchild sometimes, but right now we have another visitor.  

A previous customer from one of our MyBikeJumbles, held here every 2nd Saturday of the month. He bought some handlebars from us and I remember talking at length with him about two wheeled shenanigans at the time, so I am pleased to see him back again.  It turns out he is the father of Andy Cook, a Chippenham Wheelers rider and famous in these parts and beyond.  He asks would we mind if next week he rides out with a small group of veterans to see our project?  Of course we wouldn’t mind; it would be a pleasure to have them, so we now have that to look forward to next week.  

More tall tales of gear ratios and tyre choice; I have my attention drawn to another van that’s arrived.  Initially I think it may be an unscheduled bike drop off but out pops a friendly young guy called Clive.  He is a committed cyclist from Cirencester who seems to have a passion for all things two wheeled.  Clearly we have a lot to talk about. This is one of the things that I really love about riding a bike - strangers can share common ground very quickly.  Now Clive is interested in bmx’s and shows me some pictures of him and his son’s work which has involved restoring bikes to their former glory.  I am instantly interested and we agree he can take an old bmx that has seen better days on the promise - his - he will restore it to the bike it once was. I look forward to seeing the finished piece and will post up pictures when we have them.
All of this and I still have a sandwich to finish!

Now, pretty much all day our man Dick has been out gathering bikes from four corners of the county and returns triumphant at the wheel of our van, followed closely behind again by our trailer, thankfully.  Hills Recycling have been cleared out of bikes today and their stocks reset to zero.  We all muck in to unload each bike making sure each is safely parked away for a specific purpose later.  Dick shares with us his own tales of the day, including the cups of tea he has had with ladies who say they are too old now to ride a bike, hence the donation.  
That surely cannot be true Dick?  You have to be dead first, I’m thinking?

So it is getting towards the end of our day and gradually people begin disappearing leaving only their good work as evidence that anyone was here at all!  We put away the kettle and sweep up left over cake crumbs into the bin.  Tony and I switch off the lights as we look back at the slightly changed order of bikes and bike bits.  Locking the doors as we go, we muse on the fact that another fine day was had at the hangar.  But there is another in store for next week!  
Tony says “I wonder who we'll meet next week?”
I ponder, I really don’t know – but it's fun finding out!

Alex Brown – Head of Engineering

    

Rotarians with some of the unloading team [well those still standing], plus Vicky and Dick 

My Bike Jumble - every month on the Second Saturday at Hullavington, near J17 of the M4, just keeps getting bigger and better [and warmer].
We’ll be outside soon for strawberries and cream.

The last Jumble, in support of bikes4Africa, saw over a hundred people converge to grab a bargain from all the bikes, bike bits, accessories and clothing on sale.  And we have so many different types of bikes!
Our own Gok Wan of the bike world, Owen Coutts, both modelled and welcomed customers to the “Bend Down Boutique” for cycling apparel, some of whom had come from London and the depths of Wales to be there.
We had acres of stuff on sale but did run out of bacon butties - we were that busy - but luckily had some juicy venison burgers to fill in the gaps.

Thank you Gillian for the yummy cakes!  And thanks to Gillian, Sue and Carol for running our on-site kitchen and food stall.
 
Young Em-On-Wheels [a vision of loveliness] did a fantastic job of taking everyone’s details for the prize draw. The winner of the Badge A Bike was Ronnie from London, whose personal message will be placed on a bike to be loaded by jole rider for a school in Africa at the end of this month.

The next My Bike Jumble is on Saturday 12 May from 10.00am until 1.00pm.
Check out our websites for details or phone David on 0870 609 2007.
We look forward to seeing you there!

My Bike Jumble
jole rider

See us also at Bristol Mud Dock on Saturday 5 May.

    

Six degrees below zero, snow, ice and a frozen-shut door couldn’t stop the third My Bike Jumble from going ahead last month in support of bikes4Africa.

This fantastic jumble sale of bikes, bike bits, add-ons and much more is getting into its groove now, with bacon butties, soup, tea, coffee and cakes warming hearts and pockets for buyers and sellers. Thank you again Gillian for running our on-site kitchen and food stall.

The “Bend Down Boutique” once again did great business in cycling clothes, with gloves and warm socks selling well ahead of shorties and flimsy tops.
One brave shopper though stripped down to try on his bib shorts before committing himself - some of us were very impressed.

My Bike Jumble is now a regular spot-light event supporting bikes4Africa, held every month on the second Saturday near Stanton St Quintin.

The next My Bike Jumble is on Saturday 10 March opening from 10.00am until 1.00pm.

We have masses of space for buyers and sellers and are sure the next event will be even bigger, better and WARMER!
We all look forward to seeing you there.

Check out our websites for details or phone David on 0870 609 2007.

My Bike Jumble

jole rider's bikes4Africa

See us also at Bristol Mud Dock on Saturday 7 April.

 

On the last day of February, the 29th, we packed bike number 10,000 into a sea container for The Gambia.

This very special loading, our 28th, took place outside Dover prison, known correctly as the Dover Immigration Removal Centre.

Detainees, as they are called at the centre run by the Prison Service, have refurbished over 3,000 bikes for the bikes4Africa programme.
Dover has been a major partner to the whole programme and the positive effects felt by all are in large measure due to their involvement. 

The bikes worked on all originate from the local area. Kent Police and Kent County Council contribute, as well as local Rotary Clubs including Canterbury Sunrise.  The model at Dover is very close to being the ideal model for jole rider’s bikes4Africa, with so many sections of society working closely together to change lives.  Bikes are also delivered to Dover by jole rider supporters in Luxembourg, making the bikes4Africa programme truly european.

At this, the fifth shipment to be loaded outside the gatehouse at Dover, jole rider’s team was assisted by Centre staff and volunteer inmates from HMP Standford Hill resettlement prison in north Kent.

To mark the occasion and recognise the successful partnership, the event was attended by senior Prison Service staff, including Sarah Pennington and Paul Carroll, and representatives from the UK Border Agency. Also onside were senior staff from Kent Police including Commander Mark Nottage and Community Liaison Officer Mick Cronin.  Kent police are a main contributor of bicycles to the programme. 

Great big thanks to the Centre Governor and kitchen staff for the celebratory lunch and especially the 10,000th bike cake. 

Our Learning Development Centre at Sifoe Senior Secondary School ends this year on two high points.

World Wide Web
Our Centre, headed by jole rider Gambia Director Mr Saidu Gbla, is now connected to the Internet.
jole rider's Gambian and UK partner schools will use this connection to work together on joint curriculum projects.
They will also use it to exchange stories, photos, ideas and much more in the year ahead. 

Institute of Physics Partnership
In December jole rider and the UK's Institute of Physics conducted a series of training workshops for Gambian science teachers.
The Teacher Development workshops were hosted at our Learning Development Centre and Sifoe Senior Secondary School.
The training comprised the first phase of the IOP's Physics for Development programme in The Gambia.
This programme dovetails with the Gambian Education Ministry's objectives to place a much needed focus on science teaching.

The workshops, delivered to more than 30 science teachers from more than 15 schools, were led by:
Laurie Mansfield, IOP International Coordinator 
Steve Atyeo and Saidu Gbla of jole rider and
Jide Johnson, Head of Science at Sifoe Senior Secondary School

The training was reported in the Gambian media
We will have more news on this story in the New Year.

 

Bacon butties and soup warmed the hearts [and pockets] of buyers and sellers at jole rider’s My Bike Jumble.
Thank you Gillian for running our on-site kitchen and food stall.

Our first ever My Bike Jumble was held last Saturday at Stanton St Quintin in support of bikes4Africa.
The event was a stonking success, with many bargains being picked up.

We were amazed that people came from Cardiff, Dorchester and even London to browse and buy from our huge array of bike goodies.
On sale we had all kinds of bikes, bike bits, bike add-ons and much more.
The “Bend Down Boutique” also did good business in cycling clothes and shoes with shoppers rummaging through our boxers.

My Bike Jumble will be a regular event supporting bikes4Africa, held every month on the Second Saturday.
Our next will be on Saturday 14 January from 10.00am until 1.00pm.
Sellers welcome at 9.00am but please call to book your place.
We have masses of space for buyers and sellers and are sure the next event will be even bigger and better.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Check out our websites for details or phone David on 0870 609 2007.
See us also at Bristol Mud Dock.

 

On the last Wednesday of 2011 we will have our End Of Year Celebration.
We will be loading our 6th container of the year with bikes, books and education resources for African schools.

And the highlights of 2011 which we will be celebrating include...

1.   Launching Badge-A-Bike : our Virtual Gift to support bikes4Africa
     Connecting our Learning Development Centre in The Gambia to the World Wide Web
     Running our first Teacher Development Workshops for Gambian teachers
     Holding our first My Bike Jumble : these will now be held every month
     Gaining the support of journalist and broadcaster Jon Snow
     A visit from Jim Moulson, President, Rotary International Britain and Ireland [RIBI]
     Loading our Silver Jubilee Container in July [that was our first 25 containers away!]

So, if you’d like to take a well-earned break from the effort of eating mince pies and watching TV, why not come and join us at the Container Loading? [Between eating more mince pies, and raising a glass or two, we might have you loading a few bikes too.]


Another special bike gets loaded

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Badge-A-Bike Virtual Gift.

As well as an ethical gift, Badge-A-Bike is an opportunity to directly transform a child’s life.

Your PERSONAL message is placed on a badge.
The NUMBERED badge is affixed to a bike.
The bike is delivered to a NAMED school in Africa.

Badge-A-Bike is a special and simple Gift for a Birthday, Anniversary or Christmas

To change a child's life costs just £60 

This exciting new initiative is supported by journalist and broadaster Jon Snow 

 

 

 

As our Bike Mechanic/Engineer you will be a very special person!  You will not only know a bike from back to front and inside out, but will have latent capabilities that we will want to uncover, enabling you to grow as a team member acquiring more responsibilities over time.  Juggling different tasks across our range of education programmes will be a feature of the role. As our engineer you will be Cytech qualfied, have an ability to train others and can expect to travel in the UK, Europe and Africa. 
Top notch personal skills and communication skills are essential.
Please contact David at jole rider for more information.

  

Challenging weather conditions caused an extremely difficult decision this week.

High winds sweeping parts of the country, coupled with health concerns, meant that on reaching Ironbridge on Day 03 of LE JOLE 2011, jole rider had no choice but to cancel this ride for Eddie’s health and safety.

Eddie Sedgemore, aged 69, left Land’s End on Saturday to begin his epic 2011 mile cycle ride to John O’Groats and all the way back to Land’s End in just 22 days.  Eddie was doing this mammoth bike ride to raise funds for jole rider so that more African children can get to school by bike.

We are all bitterly disappointed and none more so than Eddie himself, who was very difficult to convince that cancellation was in his best interests.

On a positive note, Eddie is raring to go again.  This man will not be restrained! 
We have spoken with our corporate sponsors about this and all have expressed their enthusiasm to support Eddie in achieving his goal. 

In addition, all the Rotary Clubs we are connected with along his route share the very same ambition to support the endeavour.
They all wish to remain involved when Eddie has a second go.

Eddie and ourselves have pinpointed Sat 12 May 2012 for his second attempt to beat his Guinness World Record.

We have, however, added another mile to the distance as a penalty for the delay.
The ride next year will be called LE JOLE 2012, the target being 2012 miles instead of the comfortable 2011 this year!
We have sealed the Donations Bottle and will carry over the cash donations received until we open the bottle again next May.
Eddie's fundraising page on JustGiving will also remain open for donations until after his ride next May.

This time we will be inviting company for Eddie. 
An invitation will be issued to all those that might like to join Eddie on the ride.  That might be for a complete End2End of 1000 miles or for just a day’s ride between overnight stops.
Keep watch on Charity Bike Rides for news.

So, from Eddie and jole rider, a great big Thank You to everyone, including all the Rotary Clubs and Rotarians, who supported Eddie on his epic journey and particulary all our corporate supporters and suppliers of his hi-tech equipment, which included...
The terrific Storck Raddar electric bike..
SatMap which guided Eddie through the twisting country Lanes..
Sport-Cam which recorded the high points of Eddie’s ride from the handlebars..
Retrieva Tracking device which meant we knew where Eddie was every moment of the day

All these devices performed brilliantly for Eddie, unlike the weather of course! 

 

Please take a look at the other images from Eddie’s ride on flickr

 

Our man Eddie Sedgemore this week took possession of his flying machine, otherwise known as a Storck Multitask.
Eddie will soon be seen out riding the bike in South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, but don’t blink – you might miss him!

A big thank you to Ian Hughes, Managing Director of Storck Raddar.
Ian brought the Storck all the way from Gateshead and will be cycling with Eddie for 2 day stages of the epic LE JOLE 2011  route.
Eddie will also be joined by other fellow travellers – watch this space!

Helping to try out the Storck for speed:
Les Sedgemore, Steve Atyeo, Eddie, Ian Hughes, Helen King and Owen Coutts

We at jole rider are all thrilled that we have another opportunity to benefit from support from Vodafone.

Having been selected by Vodafone’s World of Difference programme earlier this year to become part of jole rider’s team, Tony Oliver is now about to apply for the Vodafone Foundation’s Grahame Maher Award. 

If Tony wins this award, jole rider will receive a grant of £100,000 from Vodafone.
This grant would be used to develop and implement an exciting new fundraising strategy, centred upon mobile technology, which would enable jole rider to support many more people in changing their lives through education.

Watch this space to hear more about our progress.

In our update on Eddie [Sedgmore] this week we can tell you he came face to face with jole rider's man in The Gambia.
Eddie met Boyo Touray, who was over in the UK for a flying visit.
Boyo runs bikes4Africa for jole rider in The Gambia and has been involved with jole rider since the very beginning. 
Eddie was able to get a full account of life, as it is for a child without a bike in Africa, trying to get to school.
Not that Eddie needed any more inspiration, but he certainly got it - listening to Boyo's real life stories!

On the exercise front, tapering is the practice of reducing an exercise regime in the days or weeks leading up to a big sporting event and is key to ensuring that athletes are rested and rejuvenated.  And so recently, Eddie took some time out from his training regime for LE JOLE 2011 to get involved with a little light work for jole rider.

So thinking of taking it steady - the day before his 69th birthday - Eddie had a day out on the road helping his son Les, a regular team member for jole rider.  After loosening up cycling the short hop from Marshfield to Hullavington, he was out in the “JOLE Van” to collect bikes from Wiltshire recycler, Hills Waste  where the two of them netted 90 bikes4Africa out of the Household Recycling Centres.

Some of these bikes were then swiftly turned around and reloaded in the rig for Les to take into Liverpool Prison's refurbishing workshop the following day. We know that heaving bikes around can be exhausting and after Wednesday we think Eddie prefers cycling. 
Frankly, I think there are times when we do, too!  

Happy Birthday Eddie!

Eddie with Boyo

Thank you so very much to the anonymous supporter who recently made a charitable gift of £500 to jole rider.
It is gifts just like this which enable jole rider to continue to help African children access education and reach their potential.
This is the way to create tomorrow’s teachers, doctors, nurses, researchers, journalists – the people who will find Africa’s own solutions to its problems.

“These kids... they are the future of Africa. It is they who will change their countries, they who will change their continent. Not us, but them.
But we can do our bit to help them.”
Jon Snow, journalist and presenter

 

On 06 March 2006 jole rider loaded its first sea container of 303 bikes for school children in The Gambia. 
We had no thought, then, as to what jole rider would be doing 5 years on.

But 5 years on, jole rider has expanded its involvement with bikes, literacy and education. 
This month, jole rider will have delivered more than 8,500 bicycles, enabling thousands of children to access education in Africa.
Children also have chairs to sit on, books to read and, as a result, better life chances for themselves and their families. 

“We cannot believe we have sent 25 containers,” director Helen King explains.
“But we regard this as a reasonable start – and, with enough help, the next 25 shouldn’t take as long!”

 

 

Local citizens turned out in their numbers - after turning out their garages - in response to the Keynsham Chew Valley Rotary Club's Bicycle Collection Day for jole rider.  Estimates put the total haul at about 30 for the day and a small van was conjured to move them.  Well, that haul eventually settled at a BIG 7 0 and panic stations set in! 

The van was cancelled and emergency overnight arranged so a BIG truck could be found.  And it was - ex Rotarian David Hathaway happens to have a transport business and he volunteered driver Mike to do the business.  The 70 bikes were soon delivered and the temporary storage, in a Rotarian's garage, was soon emptied.   Club Member Peter Bishop said "it gave us all a warm glow to help jole rider in this way - it was all so worthwhile."  Thank you Peter, David and everyone at the Bristol based Rotary Club and of course the people of Keynsham.  Thank you too for collecting the shipping money of £10 per bike.

 

Twice Guinness World Record holder Eddie Sedgemore will be riding a bike from Land's End to Land's End with a brief call-in at John O'Groats.  He is doing this to raise money to get children in Africa to school by bike.  His fundraising target for jole rider is £10,000

Eddie, who will be in his 70th year when he sets off, aims to ride more than 2011 miles in just 22 days.  Mammoth!  By doing this he will be breaking his own record for the longest distance travelled on an electric bicycle.  We have named this ride "le jole 2011".  Keep watch - we will explain why soon.

We call Eddie the Ramblin' Man! Watch out for the release of his promotional video.  You can follow him on Facebook