March 2009 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Re: [TheThinkTank] babies (up front) and bikes
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

In a message dated 3/26/2009 12:41:05 P.M. Central Daylight Time, mark(a)drumbent.com writes: With the kid up front between your arms you can talk to it, and even protect it if the bike goes down. When a kid is in a trailer and you fall down they do not fall at all. Falling on a kid is like landing on a soft little squishy pillow that crys. It is worth it to have a kid safely strapped in their own little roll cage trailer. **************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000002)

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babies (up front) and bikes
by Bob Giordano 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

Not sure if this was discussed, but more and more i'm a fan of having the child up front, in a seat on the top tube. Asians and Europeans use this method more often- almost non-existant in U.S. Seems you have a more intimate experience with your child. http://www.amazon.com/WeeRide-Kangaroo-Child-Bike-Seat/dp/B000FIH0EG ...has some reviews of one model- and it lacks a few features but people seem to like it. Anyone have experience with this type of child seat? -- Bob Giordano Free Cycles Missoula Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation www.strans.org, mist(a)strans.org, 406.880.6834

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hey everyone
by the816bikecollective Kansascity 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

this is Idris with the 816 bicycle collective. We are currently in the process of putting together the celebration of our year anniversary!!! The celebration will be *at the collective*, and will start around *4pm* and end whenever on *Saturday April 25th*. the 816 bicycle collective is located at 3109 Troost behind the CCMAC/ Crossroads Info shop. This is a big day for us because this will not mark the year of our conception but the year we have been open to the community. In light of our joyous occasion we still need everyones help to make sure that we will be ready for summer time volume. WE ARE IN NEED OF BIKE STANDS, currently we only have 3 that work very well. WE would like to get as many as we can so that we can have stands to bring outside during the hot summer months. If you can help out or direct attention to our request it would be greatly appreciated. feel free to email us or contact me with any leads. the816bike(a)gmail.com (816) 349-8113 (Idris)

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Website and wiki hijacked?
by Drew Gatlin 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

Anyone tried to visit www.bikecollectives.org or its wiki today? Mozilla is reporting it as an "attack site" as of 10:19am CST. They were both functioning fine as of 12:00pm CST yesterday. On a related note, is there someone whom should we contact directly (versus the entire list) when we encounter problems with the website or wiki? Jonathan in SLC, would that be you? - Drew Gatlin

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Youth Programs - Fees & Contracts
by krisha 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

I'm currently making decisions on our youth program fees & contracts - any help is appreciated! Lets share.. :D What do you charge for each of your different youth programs? What do your contracts with agencies consist of? What are your cancellation fees? If you don't have any fees and/or contracts why? Please feel free to e-mail actual exmples of the forms you use. Thanks! Krisha Pessa Youth Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-931-0895 f: 801-466-3856 krisha(a)slcbikecollective.org www.slcbikecollective.org

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Bike parking contracts
by Krista Bowers 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Howdy all of you out there in bicycle land~ We find ourselves in the wonderful position of high demand for our bicycle valet parking services (no complaints), but we have been burned a coupla times by some of the folks who have engaged us. Because of this, we have decided to draw up a contract that will (hopefully) prevent this unfortunate situation from happening again, or give us some recourse if it does. For those of you who do bike parking, would you let us know of your experience with it, such as what has worked, what hasn't, what you might do differently, etc.? If you have a contract, could you send a copy to me to give me an ideas as to how ours should be drawn up? Much obliged! -- Sincerely, Krista Bowers Volunteer Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-9379 f: 801-466-3856 krista(a)slcbikecollective.org www.slcbikecollective.org Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Latest show now up
by bike talk 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Women on Bikes biketalk.us or kpfk.org -- please let me know if you want to be taken off this list. Hear Bike Talk! on kpfk: http://www.kpfk.org/programs/170-bike-talk.html or see what's new with us at biketalk.us

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Policy or Process for Removing Collective Members
by ecos 21 Mar '09

21 Mar '09

unsubscribe -----Original Message----- From: Sam Santos <lalato(a)gmail.com> To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:47:21 -0500 Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Policy or Process for Removing Collective Members One thing we do is we post all of the things we need volunteers for on our wiki. We then advertise that via an e-mail list (kinda like this ThinkThank list) to our membership. We make sure that it's understood that no job is just for one person. Anyone can do any job, and, in fact, the more people that help out (even on the simplest tasks) the better. This promotes a volunteer culture and it helps build connections between members. We don't take those volunteer duties off the wiki list. We do put the list of names of folks that have volunteered to do it there. If someone slacks off, we will try to hold them accountable by pointing out that they committed to it. If the person (or persons) continue to slack off, we remove their name from that task on the wiki. And then we advertise again that we need volunteers for that task. It doesn't have to involve a lot of drama. It's just a list of tasks that need to get done. If someone gets hurt feelings because they're slacking off. That's a personal issue outside of the volunteer tasks. I hate to say it, but there isn't always a way to give people this kind of information in a way that won't make them upset. That doesn't mean the person gets kicked out of the collective. It just means that they aren't assigned that task anymore. If you need a more formal process... you could always bring task reassignments to a vote at your regular meetings. Might make for a much longer meeting, but it would give your group a chance to air things out in a more public forum. The trick there is to not let things go crazy about something that might only be a minor grievance. Another way to do it is how I've done it at another organization (community radio station) where I volunteer. I'm currently sort of a co-chair of the rock/pop genre (basically every flavor of rock from bonnie prince billy to bon jovi). I've only ever been to one meeting, but my co-chair goes to most of the meetings. I do some of the work (cateloging music, making sure all the new stuff is available to DJs, and my co-chair does some of the other stuff). Honestly, the station would be better served with one person that could handle everything and go to all the meetings. But, we're making it work as best we can with our available volunteer time. Maybe that's a model you guys can shoot for. Maybe instead of trying to replace the slackers... just add people that will help with the tasks. If the slackers can do a small part, the other helpers can handle the rest. Between the group, you'll get the task completed. One downside I've noticed to this approach is that if I can't volunteer one week... all of the things I normally will definitely not get done. It's not like my co-volunteer is picking up the slack (pardon the pun). ;-) --sam On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 12:12 AM, Macho Philipovich <macho(a)resist.ca> wrote: > > maybe i'm misunderstanding the situation, but if people aren't following > through on the tasks they commit to, couldn't they just be approached to see > why, and to see if something could be arranged that works better for them? > you could also let them know in as non-guilt-tripping a way as possible > that the collective is really counting on them, and that if they're too busy > or just feel like shirking it would really benefit the shop for them to let > someone else step in who's able to commit. > > the only rule we have that gets you an immediate boot at our shop is > physically violent behaviour. even for stuff like fucked up > racist/classist/sexist shit, we try our best to work it out by > communicating, so i'm not sure i see the need for booting someone just for > being a flake. > > macho > > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > To unsubscribe, send a blank email to > TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org > To manage your subscription, plase visit: > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… >

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Women on Bikes!!!
by bike talk 21 Mar '09

21 Mar '09

Hi, I forgot to mention Kelly Martin!!! of Bicycle Kitchen! 10am-noon on killradio.org, biketalk.us -- please let me know if you want to be taken off this list. Hear Bike Talk! on kpfk: http://www.kpfk.org/programs/170-bike-talk.html or see what's new with us at biketalk.us

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Policy or Process for Removing Collective Members
by james blesdoe 21 Mar '09

21 Mar '09

Do you have a situation where the dead wood is in the way, taking up space and committing to do jobs that are not getting done? Or is that they actively obstruct others? Jim --- On Fri, 3/20/09, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Policy or Process for Removing Collective Members To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Date: Friday, March 20, 2009, 10:06 AM We recently defined "Core Volunteer" as someone who attends a volunteer orientation class and volunteers for 3 full shifts every month. Core Volunteers are the only people who have a say in making decisions, though that is still a fairly informal process as of now. Since it's so recent we haven't removed anyone from Core Volunteer status (and with that, decision making), but will do so if a person is not fulfilling their obligations. I would suggest setting strict (i.e. no wiggle room for excuses) guidelines as far as what is required of an individual to participate in meetings and have voting power. Don't rock the boat right away but instead set a timeline or cutoff date for the new rules to take effect. Constantly remind people what the new requirements are and inform those on the edge of eligibility that, when the cutoff date comes, they will not be allowed to participate unless they've fulfilled the new obligations. The "old guard" is given a chance to fall in line if they want to, and can't be upset (though they probably still will be) when they no longer have the same say. Brian Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building) Wilmington, DE 19802 Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00 Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM, Maggie Burrus-Granger <mburrus-granger(a)recycleabike.org> wrote: Hi Everyone, I am wondering if anyone has a specific policy or process for removing individuals from the collective, or council however you define it, the inner group of people with voting power. We are restructuring our organization and do not have a system for this. In the process of trying to build capacity, we've had some problems with people not pulling their weight, but also have no process for removing them, while the rest of the collective doesn't particularly want to rock the boat with long-standing volunteers, so as a whole there are a lot of excuses for people so most likely a simple majority vote won't work. Any advice? Thanks -- Maggie Burrus-Granger Recycle-a-Bike Program Coordinator 27 Sims Ave. Providence, RI 02909 401.273.7101 www.recycleabike.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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