In December, nearly one hundred cyclists took to the streets of London on the same night — their bags and backpacks bursting with food, clothing items, and toiletries — to deliver them to people in need.
“This only happens once a year,” seven-year-old Ben told the BBC while sitting atop his own bike. “And everybody helps the homeless. They go on a big bike ride around the city.”
"I have everything I need, but other people don't,” added Ben’s twin brother, Ted. “Some people, they need things, they need help — that's why I'm here today.”
The Christmas rideout has become an annual tradition for the C86ERZ — an independent volunteer network founded by local Londoner Verral Paul Walcott.
But Walcott’s generosity is not just limited to late December. For him, it’s a weekly routine.
Since 2014, the graphic designer-turned-philanthropist has been using his platform to coordinate hundreds of thousands of donations from schools, libraries, and households and deliver them to unhoused neighbors.
One local — named David — said that he was actually familiar with Walcott’s videos years before he ended up on the streets himself.
“During [COVID] lockdown I was scrolling through Facebook and I came across one of his posts,” David told CBS Chicago. “I just thought it was incredible.”
Years later, while experiencing homelessness, David was offered a job. After realizing he required work boots, he took a chance and reached out to Walcott, saying: “I really need help.”
When Walcott came through with the boots, no questions asked, David said it “warmed his heart.”
“Because of his kind heart — and his help — I managed to build up myself again,” said David, who now volunteers alongside Walcott as a C86ERZ cyclist.
Today, Walcott estimates that his volunteer network is 700 cyclists strong. Through his social media platform, Walcott coordinates Amazon wish lists for his homeless neighbors and then alerts fellow volunteers of drop-off locations in their area.
The wish list — which anyone can view and help purchase online to aid in donation — runs the gamut of first aid kits, ready-to-eat meals, chapstick, hats, and toilet paper rolls.
“I asked the community for help,” Walcott said simply, speaking from things he’s witnessed in the streets. “There’s situations where people’s tents are being slashed, or people’s tents are being set on fire — their shoes and socks are being stolen.”
Walcott said hitting the city streets on two wheels helps them cover more ground and reach spaces that are not always accessible by car.
“With a bike you can go to various locations very fast or even change location based on when you've been notified when someone needs help,” Walcott told the BBC.
Charitable rideouts are becoming more common and not just in England.
A similar grassroots approach was adopted by cyclists in East Los Angeles over a decade ago. BikePGH in Pittsburgh has been recruiting cyclists to deliver essential goods to unhoused folks since 2015. And Austin Bicycle Meals delivered roughly 5,000 hot meals to their homeless neighbors in 2024.
“Ninety-nine percent of people are just happy to receive help and feel compassion,” Austin Bicycle Meals co-founder Claire Harbutt told Modern Farmer.
“[We just] say we have free food, and ask them if they’d like any. You’ll see these people visibly relax when they realize we aren’t there to harass them or yell at them for being on a bench we want to sit on.”
“We aren’t there to do harm; we’re there to give them something they might want.”
