Local charity volunteer Pete Wearn has driven 10,000 miles to collect and deliver over 1,000 unwanted bikes – and helped raise £100,000 for charity in the process.
The 76 year old retired physics teacher made a name for himself during the pandemic when, along with his Rotary Club colleagues, he used his white van to deliver food to foodbanks through the Rotary4foodbanks scheme.
Since then, he has joined Breaston-based “Pushbike” Paul Wilcox and the newly formed Friends of Long Eaton Rotary group in an initiative to pick up, restore and recycle unwanted cycles across the East Midlands.
In the past 27 months, the team has recycled over 3000 bikes which would otherwise have gone to scrap or languished in sheds and garages. The money raised has been shared between local charities - £60,000 to Treetops Hospice and £40,000 to the Long Eaton Rotary Club which has redistributed it to other local good causes.
“It has been a real team effort,” said Pete, a keen cyclist himself. “Pushbike Paul and his repair colleagues work miracles to return bikes to roadworthiness and make them saleable. Margaret Gregory, Sam Bennett and Jayne Hopkins bring special marketing and sales skills. There is a whole group of willing volunteers behind the scenes who drop leaflets and spread the word.
“What makes it so special is that it is both sustainable and a great fundraiser for good causes. Bikes that might otherwise have gone to scrap are saved and repurposed. Someone gets pleasure and exercise from their new bike, and needy charities get vital funds to continue their work.”
Pete, who lives in Sandiacre, has travelled almost 10,000 miles to over 600 addresses in Derby, Long Eaton and Nottingham in his familiar white van to deliver bikes to their new owners. “It means I work with a fabulous team and meet so many nice folk on my travels.” he said.
It has given him a new-found respect for the army of commercial delivery drivers too. “It is only when you do it yourself that you appreciate the skill involved in reading house numbers while keeping to an exacting delivery schedule,” he said.
Anyone who has an unused bike they wish to donate, or who is looking to buy a newly restored bike – with all the money they pay going directly to charity, should contact petewearn @ hotmail.com.