- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Bike train to Cali!
by Paul Park 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

I am going to bike from DC to Central Cali for next year's conference! My first time to Cali, finally. and finally a cross the country trip for me. yeah...and I'll stop at the co-ops along the way, picking up anyone who wants to bike there! The bike train to Cali--coming through your town, Oct. 2008. Anyone want to jump on the train or start another train? PJ -- PJ Park http://www.biketobrazil.blogspot.com http://www.imagestation.com/members/pjpark http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulJosephPark

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kids' earn a bike + structure, less is more?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

hi fellow bike geeks. josh from community cycles in boulder, co. i'm one of the directors of our kids' earnabike (EAB) program, and we're interested in making it better. to date, we've just kind of run it like open shop with kids in the shop instead of grownups. i would like to incorporate more structure, a little more consistancy from EAB'er to EAB'er. i heard someone at bike bike say that he had the kids list 27 parts of a bicycle as a sort of "final exam", to show that they'd been paying attention, etc. i've taken this on, but i sort of adapt it to each kid. (i realize that we all learn differently, at different levels/speeds/etc, and want to be sensitive to that. the way i tailor the listing bike parts quiz is to adjust the number of parts, as well as how free-flowing and specific i am with hints ("you sit on this part," vs "it's what screws onto the end of a spoke..."). i really like this activity, since it challenges the kids, they seem to thrive on it, struggling to remember, and usually there's other kids in the shop who are watching, but not taking the "test", so they have to keep quiet, even though they KNOW the lister is leaving out the pedals, etc...it makes for some lively shop activity, and there are usually some laughs going on, as well. anyway, i'm interested in hearing about some other programs that deal with kids specifically. our kids' EAB progam is for 10-16 yrs old, and we've had all of them. we try to keep the EAB'er:facilitator ratio to 2:1 at the most, to keep their attention focused, and to not bore them while they wait for a question/tool help. do you do sit down lesson/lecture type stuff? i've come up with a few visual demonstrations with parts from our parts bins, to help show how a derailleur works, the headset, etc...and i'd like to incorporate more of this kind of thing into our grown-up workshops, like (i think) i saw bicas does in tucson, from the film shown at bikebike...have a bunch of bottom brackets cut off of bikes, with the spindles and cranks and chainrings in place, and have the each take it apart, sort of classroom style. of course, with kids, we'd have to limit this sort of lesson to once or twice per night (3-4 hour nights...) to keep from boring them to tears. but sometimes i think having all the cables and wheels and spinning shiny things on a complete/almost complete bike is too distracting... any ideas or solutions you guys have would be awesome and much appreciated. by us and the kids we struggle to keep engaged. thanks. josh.

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working for parts?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 25 Sep '07

25 Sep '07

hi everyone, josh from community cycles in boulder, co here. we discussed with many of you at bike bike, and have brought the idea home, that we could offer some sort of work-for-parts deal. right now, we're thinking of some sort of "after you voliunteer 6 hours per week, any hours you work count towards your shop credit at $x/hr" set up. i believe some of you have similar programs. what kind of systems do you all have with regards to this? what kind of problems have arisen? solutions? i believe someone before mentioned cherrypicking. what we're thinking is that once volunteers have reached a set number of hours per week, they become eligible to work for shop credit (most likely not new parts). at that point, they choose a part/parts/bike/bikes they would like to earn, and then begin working towards that with hours spent in the shop, working on other shop/organizational needs. (volunteers couldn't get credit for working on a bike they're going to take home with shop credit earned working on...you get the idea.) obviously some sort of "if you choose a part, work towards it, and then we don't see you in two weeks" policy would need to be in place, but that's not hard to keep track of. thanks for your help, and i'm sure i'm not the only one to see bikebike emails popping up already!!! josh/community cycles

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Fundraising Ideas?
by Jake Liefer 24 Sep '07

24 Sep '07

Myself and several students from the local college are starting up a bike co-op in our town and are looking to raise funds to buy tools and acquire space. The college's homecoming event is next week and we were able to get a vendor booth for free. While we primarly want to get the word out about what we're doing and get some bikes, this seems like an excellent opportunity to raise some funds. There will be several other vendors there selling coffee, drinks, and food. Do you guys have any ideas about what we can sell that will set us apart from the others? We are not limited to food, so if you have any non-food ideas that would be great too! Thanks, Jake The Hub - Beaver Falls, PA

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e-mail list management
by mike eng 24 Sep '07

24 Sep '07

Hey, does anyone have recommendations for e-mail list management systems at low cost? Of course there are always Google Groups and Yahoo Groups, but any other options for a system to manage subscriptions / unsubscriptions to a list? Thanks. -- Mike Eng Recycle-a-Bike 27 Sims Ave. | Providence, RI 02909 www.recycleabike.org

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parts pricing
by freeridemp＠riseup.net 21 Sep '07

21 Sep '07

Hey all, We sell a lot of parts to people fixing up their bikes and some of our newer head mechanics have been asking for a suggested price list for used parts. Anybody have a good one they could email? Hell you could even post it to POB 196 Montpelier, VT 05601-0196 Thanks! Colin Gunn Freeride Montpelier www.freeridemontpelier.org freeridemp(a)riseup.net

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GOING TO VEGAS - LETS GET TOGETHER & RIDE!
by Kim Jensen 20 Sep '07

20 Sep '07

Hello everyone, It is Kim from the Bicycle Kitchen. In the spirit of what I do here in LA.....bike rides a la good times- who is going to Vegas- please email me your cell, I am going to organize a midnight ridazz a.k.a. hell on wheels while I am out there- probably Wed. night. So grab your quarters and lets roll!! If anyone you know is down for this sort of fun please let them know and pass this on. If you don't know what a ridazz is then check it out. midnightridazz.com Ride on! Kimchi

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program evaluation
by rachael spiewak 20 Sep '07

20 Sep '07

Hi, everyone. We're working on grant seeking these days, so I'm wondering if anyone has ideas about how to do program evaluation. Can it be as simple as number of participants, number of bikes distributed/repaired, short narratives from participants..? Anyone doing pre and post tests or using SPSS? Can you count social change on your fingers? : ) Thanks! rachael

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Contract Language for Fiscal Sponsorship
by Edward France 19 Sep '07

19 Sep '07

Velo-rutionaries, So, similar to Bike Pittsburgh and Free Ride, many of our collectives use our local bike advocacy organizations as their fiscal 501(c)3 sponsor. We're going to do the same over here in fair santa barbara, but we want to be clear about our autonomy and that we will be reviewing and need to renew the agreement every two years. In our agreement with the Bike Coalition we'd like to lay this all out so the terms of the relation don't get muddyed later on. Is anyone with this fiscal sponsorship arrangement down to share the terms of their agreement (contract)? many thanks, Ed France BiciCentro.org

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DC-VA project hiring Youth Programs Director
by Colin Dixon, Phoenix Bikes 18 Sep '07

18 Sep '07

Phoenix Bikes in Arlington, VA, a young youth development focused, community bike shop just outside DC is looking for a part-time Mechanic / Youth Programs Director. Contact me for qualifications & responsibilities. and please pass on! Thanks to all. -- Colin Dixon Phoenix Bikes Barcroft Park 4100 S. Four Mile Run Drive Arlington, VA www.phoenixbikes.org (703) 575-7762

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