Cockburn Orange - Marina Bike

City of Cockburn staff at Port Coogee Marina contacted me to see if there was a spare work bike that the staff could share. They heard that there was potentially a bike at the Administration office that unfortunately doesn’t get much use.

They just wanted a bike that could be used by staff at the Marina, for short trips, so they could ride to the local Woolworths to pick up office supplies, lunches or milk and also to ride to the nearby beaches and waterways for site inspections rather than taking the car.

I did have two Cockburn Orange bikes in the bike storage area that had not been used for several years. They were bikes restored by Dismantle (https://www.dismantle.org.au/bikerescue) several years ago, but were not being used and had not been maintained. Both bikes had flat tyres and needed new tubes. I took the bikes to a local friendly bike store and they made some minor improvements so the bikes were rideable once again. The seats were altered so that the seat height could be adjusted to suit the height of the various staff members that would use the bikes.

The bikes were serviced and baskets were added to the front of the bikes for convenience. They had carriers already so I spruced these up with a touch of black paint so they looked a bit more attractive. There is a shed attached to the marina office, so they had plenty of room to store a bike. The shed provides easy access for the staff to use the bike whenever they needed and there was also extra space for a track bike pump so the tyres could be kept pumped up.

The staff were pleased to see the two newly serviced and restored orange bikes. While I was still taking the second bike off my car bike carrier, they jumped on one of the bikes to test it out, before I even had time to hand out the regulation bike helmets. The photo below looks like it could have been taken in the the Netherlands!

Staff were given the helmets though, as we are in Australia. There was no traffic in the carpark, but I wanted to encourage them to abide by the road rules. They ended up trying both bikes and keeping the one they liked the best, plus a bike helmet, bike lock and bike pump.

It was a fun work day for me too as it is a gorgeous location on the coast at Port Coogee. I was also shown around the marina and was asked for input regarding a shared path that has now been constructed. I also provided some advice on where to add some bike parking that would be secure with good CCTV coverage and passive surveillance.

I had considered recycling the two bicycles at Henderson Reuse Shop but the two bikes were able to be restored for less than the cost of one basic new bike. The other bike is now at the Operation Centre for staff to use there.

Having a well maintained older shopping bike or train bike is a good idea as they are less likely to be stolen when you lock them up in public places. Many bikes are donated to the Henderson Reuse Shop each year. Several staff and residents have told me that they bought some good second hand bikes from there. https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Environment-and-Waste/Rubbish-Waste-and-Recycling/Reuse-Shop