It’s that time of year when a fresh crop of students arrive ahead of the start of term. Local university, Brunel, welcomed its own freshers in the past week and we were there to encourage a new wave of cyclists locally.
Although one student, who had ridden all the way from his accommodation in Wembley, brought his own bike, most of the students hired bikes from campus that are supplied by the German company Dott. We made links with the university and ran a similar ride back in February. Brunel had arranged with Dott for a promo code to be available for the day which allowed two free unlocks and some usage credit. Just as we found last time, it was necessary to help some of the students set up the Dott app whilst also showing them how to get the bike off the stand and how to unlock and lock the physical lock.
We showed them the quickest and safest way from campus to Uxbridge (using Cleveland, Whitehall and Cricket Field Roads) and then returned to campus on the same route in reverse where we ended the hire. Most of the students then opted to start the hire process again and ride to West Drayton and back.
It was a pretty quiet day traffic wise but Cowley Road is not for the timid rider so we rode as a block with us volunteers at the front, rear and side. We had an uneventful journey there and back and the students were noticeably more confident on the bikes by the time they got back to campus.
We were glad to see some friendships forming and one of the students came along to Recycle-a-Bike with me so that he could subsequently tell the others how to get there should they be interested in buying a bike or getting one serviced or repaired. What the students learned can now be shared with others who have yet to experience the joys of e-bikes and cycling in general.
Overall a very successful day, our thanks to Ruth Sharma at the Union of Brunel Students for helping us make this happen.