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The Evolution of Free Ride

It all started at The Bike Box...





The Bike Box was set up by Project Lead Lily Chalmers while managing Naenae Clubhouse. Lily saw that council was building cycleways that would come through Naenae, and thought


"how will our community get access to these"


There were no bike mechanics or bikes shops in Naenae, so The Bike Box was created as a way to get young people cycling. The Clubhouse worked with volunteers and Greater Wellington Regional Council to create a programme where young people could work with mentors to fix bikes.


After a while Lily noticed kids weren't bring their broken bikes back, so decided to trial a set of shared bikes, with support from Healthy Families Hutt Valley.


"We set up a 6 month trial of 10 Free Ride bikes, branded and tracked by GPS. it was trial and error and many of the bikes were stolen or never returned"

At that point, we transitioned to Free Ride the membership. The idea was to make bikes available to anyone who wanted one, and give access to having them fixed when they broke or needed fixing. The membership survey was set up as a way to gather the data needed to provide the programmes and services people were interested in. It also gave Lily access to data and stories that could be shared with potential funders.


Thanks to this data and the stories, Free Ride secured funding from Hutt City Council to open the Free Ride Workshop, the next evolution in the project and the next delivery of member voice. The funding will enable Free Ride to provide more free bikes, bike mechanic training, helmets, lights and locks and monthly Free Fix ups and pedal Ready skills training.


We are really looking forward to working with our community to upskill and get more bikes out to whānau.




Upcoming Events

  • Free Ride Workshop open
    Free Ride Workshop open
    Sat, 09 Dec
    Lower Hutt
    09 Dec 2023, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    09 Dec 2023, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    Our Saturday workshop is open for getting fitted for new bikes, helmets and safety gear. Come get a standard bike service or other services for payment on a sliding scale.
  • Free Ride Workshop open
    Free Ride Workshop open
    Sat, 16 Dec
    Lower Hutt
    16 Dec 2023, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    16 Dec 2023, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    Our Saturday workshop is open for getting fitted for new bikes, helmets and safety gear. Come get a standard bike service or other services for payment on a sliding scale.
  • Whānau Bike Skills
    Whānau Bike Skills
    Sat, 16 Dec
    Lower Hutt
    16 Dec 2023, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    16 Dec 2023, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    Learn to ride, build your skills or learn how to help your tamariki ride safely. This is a supportive whānau friendly bike riding course in the safety of a small, off road bike park. You can bring your own bike, or if you don't have one, we'll supply one, just let us know. Meet at Free Ride Workshop
  • Free Ride Workshop open
    Free Ride Workshop open
    Multiple Dates
    Sat, 20 Jan
    Lower Hutt
    20 Jan 2024, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    20 Jan 2024, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, 35 Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    Our Saturday workshop is open for getting fitted for new bikes, helmets and safety gear. Come get a standard bike service or other services for payment on a sliding scale.
  • Te Ra o Te Raukura
    Te Ra o Te Raukura
    Sat, 27 Jan
    Lower Hutt
    27 Jan 2024, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
    Lower Hutt, 172 Whites Line East, Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
    27 Jan 2024, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
    Lower Hutt, 172 Whites Line East, Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
    Come to Te Ra o Te Raukura by bike, and get your bike safety checked for free by our Free Ride workshop team.
  • Monthly Free Fix UP at The Naenae Village Market
    Monthly Free Fix UP at The Naenae Village Market
    Multiple Dates
    Sat, 03 Feb
    Lower Hutt
    03 Feb 2024, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    03 Feb 2024, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
    Lower Hutt, Hillary Court, Naenae, Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand
    Get your bike safety checked or fixed for free at The Naenae Village Market on the first Saturday of the month. Look for the Free Ride Flag!
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