TheThinkTank May 2009

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

53 participants
44 discussions

Learning Spanish in the shop
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 15 May '09

15 May '09

Does anyone have any good resources for learning Spanish? Specifically ones that might be good for learning mechanical terms and language, for use in our shop? I'm ashamed to admit I've made it this far with barely passing abilities in Spanish speaking. I'd personally love to make my interactions in the shop more open and welcoming to folks who aren't as proficient in English, and we're working as a shop to move in that direction. Do any of you know of any good bike mechanic books written in Spanish? I'm thinking that may help as well. Any resources or things you've found helpful in teaching the staff bikespeak in another language? Thanks!

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mobile shop- bed frame on wheels
by Bob Giordano 15 May '09

15 May '09

an easy trailer to make (weld or no weld) is to put the front end of a bike onto a bed frame, and attach 2 rear wheels (with forks or rear triangles). we use that and also a long john bike to go to mobile workshops. by the way, it's been a great money generator- we charge a sliding fee: $45 an hour for non-profits, up to $75 an hour to businesses. free for groups with no budget at all. we carry basic stuff, and stay away from major overhauls- instead giving out our brochure or suggesting local retail shops if they do not want to learn themselves. -bob giordano, free cycles missoula >> Are there other shops out there with mobile shop rigs that might have some good tips for me, or maybe a list of the tools and parts that you carry and how you store them? >> That would be great! >> Thanks, >> Scott >> Free Ride!

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mobile shop
by Scott Gibson 15 May '09

15 May '09

Here in Pittsburgh we are working on a new internship program partnering with a youth employment non-profit called Urban Youth Action. It is called the Mobile Bike Repair Project. It will be a 6 week paid summer job for 4 youth. We will train them and then have them haul out a mobile shop to public events like farmers markets, fairs and festivals to fix up bikes and give out helmets. I started a new thread for this because we are in process of getting together our mobile shop and I need some help. We just ordered a Bikes At Work trailer and I am thinking about what will be on it and how we will store it. Are there other shops out there with mobile shop rigs that might have some good tips for me, or maybe a list of the tools and parts that you carry and how you store them? That would be great! Thanks, Scott Free Ride!

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Collaborations between your organization and others?
by Will Wolfe 14 May '09

14 May '09

I'm here in Austin Texas where the future is looking strong for Austin's Bike Collective Community. With the help of The Austin Yellow Bike Project and a non-profit student housing cooperative, College Houses Inc. we are building a community shop from the ground up, raised from the earth for the sole purpose of providing a space for the people to learn the mysteries of the bicycle. We are still raising money to get a few more tools on the shelf. Check out the recent press and please spread the message to all interested parties. front page! http://www.dailytexanonline.com/21st-street-co-op-expands-bike-shop-1.17444… more about us and a PayPal account courtesy of the wonderful folks at Yellow Bike. http://www.austinyellowbike.org/shop_21st_street.htm Come and see us sometime here in Austin, -Will Wolfe --- On Tue, 5/12/09, rachael spiewak <rachael(a)sopobikes.org> wrote: From: rachael spiewak <rachael(a)sopobikes.org> Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Collaborations between your organization and others? To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 2:55 PM Here are a few: International Rescue Committee -- they send us teenage interns from their job readiness program. This is one of our favorite partnerships. One of our first IRC interns made our documentary, which helped us score grant $$ and helps make new shop participants feel like they already know us (oh, you're the girl from the video I watched!), and he's working on creating a community bike shop in Clarkston (where IRC and a bunch of other refugee and immigrant resettlement services agencies are located, so you can imagine how powerful a community bike shop would be in that town). Metro Atlanta Taskforce for the Homeless -- we got a bike shop going in their facility through their onsite Americorps program and with the help of another one of our teen interns. There's kind of a long story about a Whole Foods 5% Day/store boycott that has to do with this project buried in our blog. Atlanta Bike Coalition -- here's one for partnering with your local bike advocacy organization. We work together all the time on whatever it is that we're up to. A good example would be a blinky light giveaway put on by ABC that took place at Sopo. We also use each other's communication channels to get the word out about events and issues that should cut across memberships. Morehouse College's Office of Community Service -- we started recruiting our summer Youth Mentors through this office. Wonderroot Community Arts Center -- we have our meetings at this facility, they put on benefits for us in their show space, we're borrowing their veggie oil bus to get to Bike!Bike! this year, we help each other with nonprofit management issues, and more. Other area co-ops -- most of them are good about including us at networking luncheons at the food co-op, radio shows about co-ops on our community radiostation, collecting donations for us (REI mostly), etc. Hope that helps!! Rachael//Sopo On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 9:07 PM, <veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com> wrote: Howdy all, Hope the spring to summer transition is greeting all of you with good weather and lots of competent willing volunteers to handle the influx of traffic.... I'd love to hear about collaborations you've found with outside organizations, either bike related or not. What potential sources for programming and resources have you come across? I'm interested in hearing both successes and failures. Thanks! josh Community Cycles Boulder, CO _______________________________________________ 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.… -- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues, Wed, & Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat & Sun 2 pm - 6 pm -----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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Re: [TheThinkTank] mobile shop
by recyclebicycle＠verizon.net 14 May '09

14 May '09

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Yes! magazine article on community bike shops
by Dave Bourgeois 13 May '09

13 May '09

Here's some good press for all of us: http://yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=3441 Bike Kitchens: Building Community, Bikes by Rob Forbes

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Re: [TheThinkTank] NYTimes.com: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars
by tom emm 13 May '09

13 May '09

On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 1:31 PM, Tom Emm <tom48236(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > --- On Wed, 5/13/09, tom48236(a)yahoo.com <tom48236(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > From: tom48236(a)yahoo.com <tom48236(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: NYTimes.com: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars > To: tom48236(a)yahoo.com > Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 1:25 PM > > This page was sent to you by: tom48236(a)yahoo.com > Message from sender: > hey there , take a look at this. > > SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT | May 12, 2009 > In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars > By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL > A young development in Vauban illustrates a trend of planning communities to > thrive without automobiles. > > > 1. Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits > 2. Op-Ed Columnist: Rogue Diva of Doom > 3. Op-Ed Columnist: They Had It Made > 4. In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars > 5. Spirits of The Times: Absinthes to Go Mad Over > > » Go to Complete List > > Advertisement > 500 Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. This > is not a love story. This is a story about love. > Watch the new trailer! > Click here to view trailer > > Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy >

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Job Opening for Shop Manager at Community Cycles Boulder Colorado
by Rich Points 13 May '09

13 May '09

Community Bike Shop Manager Community Cycles http://CommunityCycles.org in Boulder, Colorado is looking to hire a full time shop manager. The ideal candidate has several years of bicycle shop, mechanical, retail, managerial and non profit experience. Experience working with youth a plus, and a familiarity with older bicycles and parts is required. General responsibilities include but are not limited to: * Run and oversee our community bike shop and its programs * Manage youth and adult volunteers * Inventory and Ordering * Oversee sales and their promotion, including daily/petty cash management * Report to the board * Checking in repairs/estimates * Quality Control * Bilingual Spanish/English a plus $24,000 Annual Salary We will be accepting resumes until May 27th. Send resumes, references and inquiries to resume(a)communitycycles.org <mailto:resume@communitycycles.org> Please paste your resume into the email body as well as an attachment. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) 720-565-0155 (H) Donate your old car to Community Cycles http://communitycycles.org/get-involved/donatecar.html

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how to deal with enthusiastic but 'wrong' volunteer mechanics?
by Bob Giordano 13 May '09

13 May '09

We also have created a team like atmosphere, and everyone helps everyone out. Yes, it can be tough to correct someone in front of another, so language and tone are important. Nothing wrong with saying something like, 'oh, here's a tip i've learned, it could be done this way...' training, info sharing, books, classes all help. Sometimes when I see that somone is vesting a lot of time in helping others, i'll ask them later if there is anything about bike mechanics that they are curious about or want to learn. That opens doors to more learning by all. >> ________________________________ >> Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 22:10:53 -0600 >> From: veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com >> To: thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> Subject: [TheThinkTank] how to deal with enthusiastic but wrong >> volunteer >> mechanics? >> >> Sorry for dominating the emails, folks. Community Cycles is in all kinds >> of >> transition, and we're looking for help. >> >> I don't know all the details right now, so I'll keep this general. >> >> We've been lucky enough to have a volunteer show up who's very motivated >> and >> enthusiastic about our mission and our programs. This person has gotten >> really involved in existing programs and even helped work on and start a >> new >> one. >> Recently, this person was asked by another shop visitor a mechanical >> question, since it was clear that the volunteer was more staff like, and >> less client. The answer given was very incorrect (one of the details I'm >> missing is what the quesiton/answer were), but this was witnessed by >> another >> very competent experienced mechanic, who was uncomfortable correcting >> the >> misstatement in front of the group. >> In another situation, the same volunteer was seen making very basic >> mistakes when working alone on a bike. From what I understand, the big >> one >> was being asked to install cables on a bike, and neglecting to include >> housing. >> >> We would like to continue having this person as a part of our team, but >> we >> also need to make sure the advice and work they do is correct, safe, and >> appropriate. >> >> One other wrinkle, is that the two incidents were witnessed by two >> different >> staff members, both very skilled mechanics. >> >> How to approach the volunteer? Any help or experience you folks have >> would >> be greatly appreciated. >> >> Thanks! >> >> josh.

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how to deal with enthusiastic but wrong volunteer mechanics?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 13 May '09

13 May '09

Sorry for dominating the emails, folks. Community Cycles is in all kinds of transition, and we're looking for help. I don't know all the details right now, so I'll keep this general. We've been lucky enough to have a volunteer show up who's very motivated and enthusiastic about our mission and our programs. This person has gotten really involved in existing programs and even helped work on and start a new one. Recently, this person was asked by another shop visitor a mechanical question, since it was clear that the volunteer was more staff like, and less client. The answer given was very incorrect (one of the details I'm missing is what the quesiton/answer were), but this was witnessed by another very competent experienced mechanic, who was uncomfortable correcting the misstatement in front of the group. In another situation, the same volunteer was seen making very basic mistakes when working alone on a bike. From what I understand, the big one was being asked to install cables on a bike, and neglecting to include housing. We would like to continue having this person as a part of our team, but we also need to make sure the advice and work they do is correct, safe, and appropriate. One other wrinkle, is that the two incidents were witnessed by two different staff members, both very skilled mechanics. How to approach the volunteer? Any help or experience you folks have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! josh.

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TheThinkTank May 2009