Post by Admin on May 17, 2016 17:09:14 GMT
Hi all - I just had the pleasure of visiting a wonderful operation called the Krizevac Project.
I first heard of it when they advertised some bikes on eBay. It said on the listing that they had many many 1000's of bikes at a warehouse not far from me.
I mailed and asked when it was open to the public and did they ever have any Viscount? (this part of the story is about a year ago).
Anyway, they got back to me and said I was welcome to go and visit and look at what they had. To cut a long story short, I could never make it over in the week, and a year passed.
Finally today, I got off early and managed to make a visit while I was passing. In the time it has taken to me to get over there they have ceased opening the doors to the public to sell second hand bikes.
However , they were so welcoming and allowed me inside to see what they had.
I thought they were joking when they said they had 1000's of bikes....But having seen it with my own eyes, I think they were conservative in their estimate. It is packed tight with bikes(see pics).
This however was not the part of the story that amazed me.
One of the managers there, George, explained what the project was all about. They send bikes to Malawi and help a community there with funding to build a school and send volunteers to work in early years education.
The main project at the moment is procuring old Royal Mail delivery bikes and stripping them, spraying them and converting them to 'Elephant Bikes'. The deal is that for every bike they sell in the UK, they can ship an elephant bike for free to people who need them in Malawi. They look bomb proof and I guess will last many years to come. They also send some of the donated old bikes over to Africa (So potentially there are some Viscount over in Africa, still on the road)
They are going to do other items such as panniers , where they sell one in the UK and then they can send one free to Africa. I love the fact that they are keeping bikes on the road and recycling other items.
I was really enthused by the whole thing and it was great to see all the activity and dedication centred around bikes.
They had a stall at Eroica last year and are going again this year - so if you are at Eroica, please stop by and say hello to them. They are all aware of Viscount bikes now and are a really great group of people.
If you can publicise the Elephant bikes on any other forum or if you know of anyone who is interested to buy one, then just drop them a line on the details below.
I have asked that if they have any Viscount pass through their hands if they would drop us a line, and they are happy to.
I had a look around today and saw the Trusy Spacemaster and the Viscount Mixte Sport (as seen in pics).
Contact details ...Telephone 01543 888494 email info@krizevac.org web site www.krizevac.org
Anyway, here are the pics
IMG_0250 by Sooper 8, on Flickr
IMG_0249 by Sooper 8, on Flickr
IMG_0251 by Sooper 8, on Flickr
IMG_0252 by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
I thought the model name of this Raleigh was interesting...A 'Trent Tourer' , bearing in mind the Trent runs through my home town and Nottingham where the Raleigh factory was.
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Bike of all shapes and sizes
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
They were literally 5 bikes high and 10 bikes deep for 30 metres or so
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
I first heard of it when they advertised some bikes on eBay. It said on the listing that they had many many 1000's of bikes at a warehouse not far from me.
I mailed and asked when it was open to the public and did they ever have any Viscount? (this part of the story is about a year ago).
Anyway, they got back to me and said I was welcome to go and visit and look at what they had. To cut a long story short, I could never make it over in the week, and a year passed.
Finally today, I got off early and managed to make a visit while I was passing. In the time it has taken to me to get over there they have ceased opening the doors to the public to sell second hand bikes.
However , they were so welcoming and allowed me inside to see what they had.
I thought they were joking when they said they had 1000's of bikes....But having seen it with my own eyes, I think they were conservative in their estimate. It is packed tight with bikes(see pics).
This however was not the part of the story that amazed me.
One of the managers there, George, explained what the project was all about. They send bikes to Malawi and help a community there with funding to build a school and send volunteers to work in early years education.
The main project at the moment is procuring old Royal Mail delivery bikes and stripping them, spraying them and converting them to 'Elephant Bikes'. The deal is that for every bike they sell in the UK, they can ship an elephant bike for free to people who need them in Malawi. They look bomb proof and I guess will last many years to come. They also send some of the donated old bikes over to Africa (So potentially there are some Viscount over in Africa, still on the road)
They are going to do other items such as panniers , where they sell one in the UK and then they can send one free to Africa. I love the fact that they are keeping bikes on the road and recycling other items.
I was really enthused by the whole thing and it was great to see all the activity and dedication centred around bikes.
They had a stall at Eroica last year and are going again this year - so if you are at Eroica, please stop by and say hello to them. They are all aware of Viscount bikes now and are a really great group of people.
If you can publicise the Elephant bikes on any other forum or if you know of anyone who is interested to buy one, then just drop them a line on the details below.
I have asked that if they have any Viscount pass through their hands if they would drop us a line, and they are happy to.
I had a look around today and saw the Trusy Spacemaster and the Viscount Mixte Sport (as seen in pics).
Contact details ...Telephone 01543 888494 email info@krizevac.org web site www.krizevac.org
Anyway, here are the pics
IMG_0250 by Sooper 8, on FlickrIMG_0249 by Sooper 8, on FlickrIMG_0251 by Sooper 8, on FlickrIMG_0252 by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrI thought the model name of this Raleigh was interesting...A 'Trent Tourer' , bearing in mind the Trent runs through my home town and Nottingham where the Raleigh factory was.
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrBike of all shapes and sizes
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrThey were literally 5 bikes high and 10 bikes deep for 30 metres or so
Elephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on FlickrElephant bikes by Sooper 8, on Flickr
