![]() We would, however, like to have the financial luxury of knowing we can lock ourselves away for two weeks, do some business planning, checking our policies, and make sure we are moving everything along in a sustainable way.” “We wanted to be more of a social enterprise and cooperative rather than a charity as we didn’t ever want to become wholly reliant on funding. “The rule was that if we hadn’t done anything with the tools in three months (we kept them in a friend’s garage) then we would have to give all the money back to everyone who had pitched in to buy them – so we started Broken Spoke,” explains Cassiope. When OxCycle shut, the two wanted to keep the women’s night running so got a group of people together to help buy all of the tools from OxCycle. Through their involvement with the Oxford Cycle Workshop, Cassiope and fellow co-founder Ellie Smith started a twice-monthly women’s night to provide a safe place for women to explore mechanics and learn how fix their bikes. The project has also been working with Crisis Skylight, which funds training sessions for homeless people three times a year, giving them the skills to become bike mechanics. “We want people to feel free to come along regardless of their background or anything – everyone is welcome,” says Cassiope. The co-operative is open three days a week for members of the public, and does a great deal of work with women and transgender people, who are generally underrepresented in the world of cycling and mechanics. It helps people to engage more in their town too, if you ride a bike you take in much more of your surroundings and it can make you feel more part of your community.” “If you teach someone skills to fix a bike you are giving them the confidence to hopefully fix other appliances. “Our overarching mission is to make cycling more than just a way to get from A to B we want it to be a way of sustainable life,” explains co-founder and executive director Cassiope Sydoriak. ![]() The Broken Spoke Bike Co-operative is an educational space where people can learn how to fix bikes. Location: 42 Pembroke Street Oxford, OX1 1BP, near The Story Museum
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