Johannesburg - Motorists hoot frantically at Ashley Andrew Jones as he rides his bicycle on a busy road in Kliptown in Soweto.
That’s not because he is breaking any traffic laws but rather because he is showing off another one of his novel creations – a “double” bicycle.
Jones is Soweto’s well-known Dr Bicycle, who survives by repairing bicycles – and inventing unique rides, such as the double bike, which he made recently by fusing two bicycles into one.
He has already sold one – for R1 500 – and is displaying the other by taking it out onto Soweto’s streets.
“It only took me a day to make this. People like it; they tell me it’s nice to be so high up that you get fresh air,” he laughs. “People hoot when they see me on it. The traffic stops – it gets hectic.”
The 44-year-old is standing in his workshop – a former toolshed in the yard of his family home in Kliptown, crammed with bicycle wheels and encircled with rusted wire mattress coils for support.
Jones says he worked as a security guard until 1995, when a car bumped him while he was riding his bicycle. He gestures to the deep scars that run across his neck and chest like tattoos. The accident left him out of work and that’s when he started repairing bicycles.
He salvages most of his parts from scrapyards and proudly declares that he “makes everything from scratch”.
To illustrate this, the bike mechanic shows off another creation – an old mountain bike, fitted with a BMW logo, which features a house alarm and car hooter, powered by a 12-volt battery.
The house alarm is for male riders, he says, the hooter for females – although he never explains why.
“This is for people to stay out of our way. Cars ignore us all the time, especially here in Soweto. But I’ve seen some bicycle lanes in Orlando.”
Jones has dreams of expanding his business but that is only if he can get sponsorship, he says.
“People come from all over to have me repair their bikes… I like making things that are one of a kind.”
Saturday Star