Cycling collective proves quiet power of community after devastating floods

"I never thought a bike could make me so happy," Jose Saez Jimenez tells CGTN in the town of Paiporta.

The climate tragedy that saw torrential floods claim 200 lives last November is still too raw and Jimenez breaks down crying when he talks about what happened.

"It was such a horrific experience, just awful," he says through the tears. "I hope you never have to go through it, not you or anybody else. A disaster. A disaster."

The 66-year-old lost everything he had, including his house, two cars and three family bicycles.

Known locally as 'La Dana,' the floods wrecked around 120,000 cars and paralyzed public transport, making bicycles the best way to get around.

"The Metro, which was the backbone of the public transport system, doesn't exist anymore," Antoni Velarde tells CGTN.

'A bicycle is a tool of change'

He's part of the Soterranya Collective, a group of volunteers who try to make their barrio (neighborhood) better through projects that help those at risk of social and economic exclusion.

They provide books, a space to study, bicycles and even food for those most in need in the community.

On Saturday morning their bike workshop in the Xenillet neighbourhood, Torrent, is buzzing with volunteers replacing sprockets, realigning wheels and diagnosing tricky gear shift issues.

"This is a social project that is pro-recycling and anti-waste," continues Velardi.

"We have found and fixed 1,277 bikes which have been donated to people who need them, most of them rescued from the rubbish. We used to only work with people and other NGOs for the most vulnerable people, but the floods changed all that."

The collective has a waiting list of 700 people.

Their work isn't rocket science. This non-profit NGO accepts all kinds of used and broken bikes, fixes them and then gives them to people who need them. Their methods promote recycling, upcycling and normal everyday cycling - sustainable carbon-free transport.

"For us the bicycle is a tool of change, a way to make things better and what we want is for people to get on their bikes and stop using private cars so much," said Velardi.

‘Now I can get to work’

On Saturday morning it's delivery time in Paiporta - the place where the King and Queen of Spain went viral after angry residents pelted them with mud in November.

For people like El Mehdi Hammani, the bike he's just received is a lifeline.

"I'm happy, they brought me a bicycle and now I can get to work," he says, taking his new wheels for a spin.

Jose Saez Jimenez is admiring his new copper-coloured Raleigh. "At least now I have a bike and a means of transport," he says. So today is a good day, today I'm happy."