Herculean effort

Wednesday 3 May saw the end of the bicycle era for Royal Mail in Bridgewater as the 22 bikes previously owned by Bridgewater Delivery Office were taken into retirement.

Delivery deployment manager, Dean Stojic, said: “Bridgwater Delivery office revisions for 2022-2023 included the removal of our bikes to implement shared vans. We had no less than 22 bikes plus a whole workshop of spares.

“The assets team told me about various charities, so I did some research online and found ‘On Your Bike’ – an amazing charity that refurbishes unwanted bikes. The charity aims to train and support those who have suffered social exclusion, those suffering with physical disabilities and mental health problems, as well as ex-service personnel, ex-offenders, homeless and the long-term unemployed.

“The people at On Your Bike were so grateful and on the day of collection asked if I had a particular charity I wanted to support. I told them that our national charity partner is British Heart Foundation (BHF) and suggested completely overhauling one of the bikes and returning it to us for a fundraising drive.”

Alongside our bespoke BHF bike, which we’re currently using to raise funds for The Great Big Fundraising Challenge, On Your Bike will now create 21 bikes from the Bridgewater Delivery Office haul as a bespoke custom-built range to be sold by the charity.

“On Your Bike have been fantastic to work with in terms of getting the bike ready for the The Great Big Fundraising Challenge,” said Dean. “They had to completely strip the bike down, re-spray it and then re-build it. They also had to get the right stickers for the bike in line with what BHF wanted. It really was Herculean effort by the charity to complete. I’ll be seeing them every month to keep them up to date on what fundraising activities the bike has been doing.

“I’d like to see the bike used for the next three years raising money, not only in The Great Big Fundraising Challenge, but also in many other fundraising efforts. Then maybe at the end of its fundraising life, it might go up for auction as a final hurrah!”

To get involved in The Great Big Fundraising Challenge for BHF, head to our dedicated page on MyRoyalMail where you can find all the important details. #greatbigfundraisingchallenge.

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