5am in the morning and the alarm goes off – time to don the lycra, pump the tyres and hit the road. Crazy you say?! Not at all. Cycling has been a passion of mine since late 2016. Once you find something you enjoy, get into a routine, and have the added bonus of burning a substantial number of calories, then good on you – keep it up!

Figure 1 - Sporting some Tinsel on Xmas eve

Figure 2 - After cycling 120km and raising $680 for MSWA

Rotary Elizabeth Quay has embraced a number of cycling events; from social cycling gatherings around the river, to some of us cycling in the 120km MSWA charity ride. And then there is our ongoing collaboration with Dismantle, a leading social enterprise in Perth, which uses hands-on activities to connect with and mentor at-risk youth to enable them to become valued and valuable members of society.

Dismantle’s flagship initiative is called ‘BikeRescue’, a youth development program that teaches young people all about bike mechanics and mentors them to development social skills, build confidence and connect to educational and vocational opportunities. Most cyclists will know of the BikeDr, but you may not know that Dismantle created BikeDr in 2014. It’s now a standalone business which continues to support Dismantle and their social programs by providing work experience and structured traineeship opportunities for BikeRescue graduates.

REQ’s partnership with Dismantle has blossomed over the past few months. In November, we had Peter Murdoch from the Minderoo Foundation enlighten us on Minderoo’s key initiatives including the Generation One program. The event was a great success with the proceeds, a whopping $700, being donated to Dismantle. In December, REQ participated in the Dismantle Xmas Extravaganza which saw a number of our volunteers get into the Xmas spirit while loading and delivering 60 bikes to those in need.

Rotary Elizabeth Quay is passionate about working with at-risk youths to make a positive, lasting change and helping them to reach their full potential. Our current initiative with Dismantle is selling raffle tickets for the Dismantle Xmas Bike Drive. Tickets are $20 each for your chance to win a share in a prize pool of $2,850, with the first prize being an awesome Soma extra smooth road bike. The draw is on 12th February and lucky for you, I’ve still got a few tickets left. If you’re a keen bunny, drop me a line ASAP!

If you’re really keen to get involved with youth initiatives through REQ, do not hesitate to reach out to any of club members. We’ve previously collaborated with Mission Australia’s Youthbeat program. The program is a safety, early intervention program supporting young people aged under 17 years who are on the street, homeless or at-risk in the Perth metro area.