One of our responsibilities as a senior missionary couple is to conduct flat checks. That means that once a transfer (every six weeks) we inspect each of the missionary apartments in our zone. Not only do we check for cleanliness, we look at condition of the apartment to be sure that the missionaries are in a safe and healthy environment.
We did our first flat checks in July. One thing that we noticed right away was the number of old bike frames and parts kept in the apartments. Some of them are being used for parts, but most were just sitting there. So in our September flat checks, Elder Hilton (aka Allen) collected all the unused frames and parts. After collecting many parts, and with the resourcefulness of an elder in the zone, we now have one more working bike! But it needed bearings.
So we took all of the parts (a total of five frames and about twelve rims) to a local bike shop. They will finish the work on the bike and then use whatever parts they can.
Best of all, we learned what will happen to the parts they cannot use. The hopeless parts are recycled. But the usable parts are collected by Raleigh bikes. Raleigh has a program where they gather usable parts from participating shops, and then give the parts to local prisons. The prisoners then assemble the parts into usable bikes. Then the bikes are sent to developing countries! Here is a link to the Raleigh site describing the program: http://www.raleigh.co.uk/Company/Recycle/
I was excited to learn of the good that can come from cleaning up the flats!
Just a side note. Many people here call bicycles "push bikes."
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| Our bike shop has a great location. It is adjacent to the bus stations! |
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| This is the stack of bike frames and parts we took to the shop. |
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| The bike shop in Lichfield |
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| The bike shop owner suggested that I come behind the counter to get a better photo of the stack of bikes! |
