Alice Springs program Bikes Mwerre marks four years of after-school riding, learning

A spanner turns, a BMX chain clicks into place, and a line of kids roll past wearing helmets — they aren't just riding, they're learning how to keep the wheels on their bikes turning.

A shared love of cycling and desire to learn lies at the heart of Bikes Mwerre, an Alice Springs program that recently celebrated its fourth year.

Darnell McDonald, 17, first attended the program as a kid and now the passionate mountain-biker teaches younger riders.

"I'm just helping kids fix their bikes," Darnell says. 

"And it's like [my guidance helps] them have fun and all that joy."

With a bike mechanic certificate under his belt, Darnell is showing outback children how to handle their own repairs — the small fixes needed to keep a bike on the road, plus the confidence that comes with knowing what to do.

"Teaching them how to fix their own bikes … so in the future, they can do it themselves," he says.

Darnell has specialist knowledge because his world is full of BMX trails and tricks — he films his rides with a GoPro and posts about mountain biking online.

He suggests trying out new rides and exploring different trails to build up your cycling confidence.

So when the younger kids ask how to do something — such as a wheelie — Darnell takes pride in showing them what's possible.

Bikes Mwerre founder and local Arrernte man Tyrone Lankin, known as "Dowie", created the safe space to make sure local kids had somewhere positive to spend time after school.

His program gives bikes to the many kids who show up without one, and he says the social hobby can serve as a crime prevention tool. 

"That way they can have their own bike, rather than getting in trouble from people all the time," he says.

Dowie says the idea for Bikes Mwerre came from his own lived experience and built on his fond childhood memories of a similar program, Deadly Treadlies. 

He remembers once as a young boy, riding on a bike that was a treasured gift from his grandmother which a stranger later accused him of stealing. 

Dowie wanted to create a safe space free of the discrimination he'd experienced growing up.

That's why Bikes Mwerre is about much more than mechanics, it's about kids seeing themselves — and each other — differently as they learn and ride alongside one another.

"I just felt like that kids nowadays just never really have their own bikes," Dowie says.

"We'll give you a bike. Just come to the programme and just have fun."

For Cassie Boyle, from the Larapinta Child and Family Centre, seeing Darnell take on the mentoring role fills her with pride.

"To see him working and finding a career path within it … it's been a real big success feeling for all of us," she says.

For Dowie, the same simple goal informs every session; build safety, skill and belonging.

"[We can] improve the community and just engage with young people," he says.