SpokesCouncil

SpokesCouncil

Website	http://spokescouncil.org
Founded	2008
Location	Orlando, Florida, USA
Campus	University of Central Florida
Language	English
Services Offered	DIY Repair Services Bicycle Advocacy
Mission Statement	We are a bike group whose aim is to educate and promote the use of bicycles around the UCF area. We do this by encouraging anyone and everyone to ride their bike. We would like people to feel there is a community of people out there who can support them and help them with any of their bicycle related questions.

SpokesCouncil is a free bicycle cooperative at the University of Central Florida. Along with free bicycle repair the group has given out literature on common laws that many bicyclist do not know about and safe routes from the UCF campus to downtown Orlando. Outside of bicycle advocacy, Spokes Council had done charity work with the Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry to provide bicycles to farm workers with no means of transportation. The group has also volunteered to provide free bicycle repair at environmental events to help spread the idea of bicycling as an alternative mode of transportation.

History

Spokes Council was started in 2008. The group, working out of a storage unit, started out offering free bicycle repair and taught people how to fix and maintain their bicycles. After a year working in the storage unit, Spokes Council moved into the garage of one of the members. The garage was located closer to campus and was along roads with bicycle lanes making it easier for bicyclists to ride to. In the fall of 2010 Spokes Council became a registered student organization at the University of Central Florida allowing them to receive funds from the university. The group evolved to become an advocacy group for the students of the University of Central Florida.

Services Offered

Along with offering free bicycle repairs, they work with university officials to make the campus more bicycle friendly. The group has worked for cyclists to have more parking on campus and to eliminate dangerous bicycle lanes that lead cyclists straight into turning traffic. Group rides, organized by Spokes Council, teach inexperienced cyclists proper ways to ride in the road.