[TheThinkTank] Do you have something for me to do?.........

Tue Jun 3 12:30:25 PDT 2008

Speaking of skills-building lists, we tackle each of these systems with
every EARN a BIKER (column 1 on our attached checklist) and then have a
mechanic go back through and inspect (column 2) (trickier things are
assisted by a mechanic). When all tasks are complete and checked off, well,
then they roll out with a working knowledge of the bike (is the hope). We
should add, perhaps a back-side to the sheet with flat fix, on-road
derailleur adjust, parts identification, and understand rules of the road
checkboxes, huh?

Anyway... one idea for tasklists. Helpful?

On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:56 PM, yellow bike <austinyellowbike at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hey - this is a fabulous thread, and it's nice to know that we're not the
> only shop with this problem.
>
> For the Earn-a-Bikers, we too have been trying to come up with some sort of
> basic checklist of repairs to be mastered over the course of the earning of
> the bike.  We currently require 12 hours of volunteer time to earn a bike,
> but I have been considering proposing that we scrap the hours requirement
> and make it more of a basic skills mastery thing (patch flat, adjust brakes,
> adjust derailleur, etc.).  We use our 'yellow bikes' at our shop as learning
> tools for folks to build up their skills, then just release the bikes to the
> streets for anyone to use.  This teaches folks basic bike repair, creates a
> final diversion of these bikes from the landfill, and helps folks with no
> other means of transport to get around.
>
> jennifer
> austin yellow bike project
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:42 PM, kyle mckinley <bicirider at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I really like Doug/1304bikes ideas about a 'skill block program'. All
>> shops with a work trade program seem to have these problems, and I know that
>> finding tasks--effectively 'managing' work-traders--is one of the most
>> exhausting parts of working in community shops.
>> I'm currently feeling rather optimistic about the whole situation. BICAS
>> recently created a 'work trade coordinator' position that is currently being
>> filled by Adam, one of our long-term staff members. Adam's perspective,
>> which I really appreciate, is that we are not merely trying to find tasks
>> for folks so that they can put forth a good-faith effort, justifying us
>> 'giving them' a bike. Rather, work-trade can represent a totally new,
>> non-money labor form, and, implicitly, a threat to the logic of capital.
>> In thinking about work-trade in such a big picture, I've started to ask
>> questions about how to make work-trade valuable to our shops. This might
>> mean tasks such as cleaning and organizing, but I also think that tasks that
>> pay the rent are critical.
>> The main one for me is patching tubes. If we can be effective in teaching
>> how to patch and organize tubes, and then sell them for $1 each, we are
>> accomplishing three of our shared goals (teaching valuable--the most
>> foundational--skills, making cycling cheaper, and reducing waste) while at
>> the same time making money to support the organization.
>> Noone likes patching tubes all day. But mightn't there be a way to create
>> a sort of curriculum for work-trade? like a check-list;
>> __patched 20 tubes
>> __despoked a wheel
>> __stripped--and parted out--a bike
>> __sorted parts
>> __etc.
>>
>> when the check-list is complete the work-trader has learned a set of
>> skills, and might be ready to tune-up kids bikes (which we'd still sell
>> 'as-is' but might actually be ready to roll for, i dunno $15). Mostly, I'm
>> tired of seeing 'work-trade' be a lot of work for staff/core-volunteers that
>> only results in a pile of parts on the floor. I think it is our
>> responsibility and an amazing opportunity to help folks be really helpful to
>> our shops.
>> thanks,
>> kyle
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 3:53 AM, 1304bikes <1304bikes at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Rich, this is a great question, and one i've often thought about posting
>>> here!  We deal with trying to keep folks busy as well on a daily basis.
>>> We're always running around asking each other what those is to be done for
>>> the earn-a-bikers!  Here's a couple things we do to help keep poeple busy:
>>>
>>> -We have a dry erase board in the shop, and we try to update it with the
>>> stuff that needs to get done the next time the shop is opened.
>>>
>>> -We've also started giving repair lessens to our earn-a-bikers instead of
>>> actually requiring them to do "work".  So for example, we'll sit a group of
>>> them down and teach them fix-a-flat or wheel trueing, and the time they
>>> spend learning skills counts toward their EAB hours.  It is after all the
>>> goal of our EAB program for people to come out with more bike know how than
>>> when they started.
>>>
>>> -A lot of our EABers spend time stripping bikes and wheels.  We've been
>>> getting enough donations lately, that it seems like there is always a bike
>>> and some wheels to be taken apart.  These also leads to parts that need to
>>> be sorted and filed.
>>>
>>> -Checking, Patching, and labeling tubes is another common task that
>>> always needs doing.
>>>
>>> -We also try to get EABers helping us to further organize the shop by
>>> sizing and seperating parts like spokes, BBs, Cable Housing, etc.
>>>
>>> Anyway, these are the sort of things that we do to keep folks busy at our
>>> shop.  And it is not always enough!  We are often running around trying to
>>> keep 5-10 folks occupied with something to do, and we don't want to have to
>>> turn people away.  I'd be interested to hear how other shops keep poeple
>>> busy as I'm sure it will help us out.  I'd also like to further develop a
>>> sort of skill block program that EABers could work on towards their required
>>> hours.  Do any other shops do this?
>>>
>>> Doug
>>> 1304bikes
>>> Raleigh, NC
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Rich Points <rich at richpoints.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> How many times do we hear this question every day?
>>>> Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing
>>>> chores around the shop.  We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and
>>>> our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given
>>>> day.
>>>> So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the
>>>> fly.  This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking
>>>> two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions.  Maybe we have too
>>>> many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people
>>>> working on projects.
>>>>
>>>> How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
>>>>
>>>> Peace
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Rich Points
>>>> Community Cycles Director
>>>> http://CommunityCycles.org <http://communitycycles.org/>
>>>> Rich at CommunityCycles.org
>>>> 720-565-6019
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>>>>
>>>> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> 1304bikes
>>> 2419 Mayview Rd.
>>> Raleigh, NC
>>> 1304bikes.org
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>>> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> If an Easyrider rides easy, then a bicirider rides bicis
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>
>
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>
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-- 
Pete Rasmus Morsch
701.866.0962

Collective Member,
Fargo-Moorhead Community Bicycle Workshop www.fmbikeworkshop.org

There is no happiness if the things we believe in are different than the
things we do.
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