- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

bikebike bulletin board - help us plan!
by Jessica McPherson 13 Apr '07

13 Apr '07

Hey everyone, So, we want to try out a new forum for planning and discussing the BikeBike conference. Jonathan Morrison has created an online bulletin board as part of the website. You can reach it here: http://www.bikebike.org/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=34 and through a link on the front page of the www.bikebike.org website. its exciting contents currently include... * WORKSHOP PLANNING - A major purpose of the forum is for long-distance collaboration on workshop planning - so take a look & please contribute your ideas to the "proposed workshops" topic. * GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR BIKEBIKE! - if you have ideas for content that isn't a workshop, logistics, format, extra-curriculars, pretty much anything else about the conference, suggest it here. *GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BIKEBIKE! - can be posted under this heading on the bulletin board. So come help us plan! It's gonna be great! Just to be clear for folks who have been tracking the conference for a few years now- in the past there has been an email list. We have one again this year - bikebike(a)lists.bikecollectives.org. We plan to use it mainly for announcements, and use the bulletin board for actual discussion because it is a more organized forum. We will send all announcements to this list (thethinktank) as well; the bikebike list is for people who ONLY want bikebike info. thanks! Jessica, Free Ride! Bicycle Collective ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/

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call for workshops, bike!bike! 2007
by Jessica McPherson 18 Mar '07

18 Mar '07

Hey everyone, we are sending the call out to plan workshops for Bike!Bike! 2007 - forward as appropriate! -Jessica, Free Ride Bicycle Coop WHAT IS BIKE! BIKE!? Bike!Bike! is, an annual gathering and conference of Community and Non-Profit Bike shops and projects. In 2007 the fourth annual Bike!Bike! Conference will by hosted by the Free Ride collective in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It all started in New Orleans back in 2003 when the Plan B Coop invited 50 or so people from across the country to gather and discuss, network, collaborate, brainstorm and all around geek out about their recycled bike projects. It has since grown, attracting bike projects from the U.S. and Canada. This year we at Free Ride! hope to expand the conference to be beneficial for both small bicycle cooperatives that are just starting up, as well as larger recycled bike organizations that are well established. At this time new community bike projects are starting up all across the continent and bringing new ideas and energy to the field, but there are also well-established projects with the benefit of years of experience. We hope for Bike!Bike! to provide a forum for cross-pollination to the benefit of all. For more information, see: www.bikebike.org. WHAT ARE WORKSHOPS? As in years past, this year the Bike Bike agenda will be a collaborative effort from those involved in community bike projects all across the country. We seek volunteers to lead workshops, discussions, and skill-shares on all aspects of community bike project work. To create the vibrant exchange of ideas that BikeBike has historically offered, we need a diversity of voices from different geographic regions, experience levels, organizational models, and program focus areas so step up and get involved! Topics can range from programs, community engagement, administration, fundraising, bike mechanics, etc.. Some sample ideas from the Free Ride planning committee: Youth Employment, Incorporating Arts Education, Sending Bikes Globally, Collaboration with bike advocacy organizations, Earn-A-Bike programs-(funding,curriculum etc), Bicycle Education in Schools, University Collaborations, Non-Profit Status, mechanical skills workshops (3-speeds, trailers, welding, etc.), and more. Free Rides workshop space and tools will be available. The first day of the conference will be Bike Project 101, geared towards those who are just starting out in the endeavor of building a community bike project. It will include basic workshops on topics such as: finding a space, introduction to programs (earn-a-bike, adult or kids classes, etc.), fundraising, models for organization (collective, co-op, volunteers, etc), and legal questions (insurance, non-profit affiliation, etc.). We seek members of established projects who are willing to facilitate an introductory workshop on some aspect of bike project organization on this first day of the conference. If you or your program does something particularly well- share that with the country! If theres a challenge, innovation, or issue you think is particularly relevant to bike program work- study up and offer to lead a workshop! Workshop format is at the discretion of the organizer; it may range from facilitated discussions, participatory skills-sharing, or more formal presentations by an individual or group. Please plan at a minimum to be prepared to facilitate a group discussion, and well-informed on the subject. This year we are also looking beyond the bicycling community to bring in expertise we can benefit from in community bike project work. Topics might include anti-racism training, working with youth, legal aspects, etc. Please contact us with any suggestions for topics or individuals who might be expert presenters/facilitators for such workshops. HOW DO I SUBMIT A PROPOSAL? To propose a workshop, send a brief description including subject matter, workshop format, and any facilities preferences by May 15, 2007. Please submit your name, the organization you are representing (if applicable), full contact information, one reference (professional or personal), and a short biography of yourself and/or your organization. Please submit early, so that if we have duplicate/similar proposals we can connect folks and encourage collaboration. Please send in your proposals via email to workshops(a)bike-pgh.org, and include the word Proposal in the subject line. If electronic submission is not possible, please use the mailing address listed below. Free Ride! will compile the agenda and notify people regarding the status of their proposals by July 1. Free Ride! Bike!Bike! Workshop Committee 214 N. Lexington Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15208 OTHER CONFERENCE PLANSGET INVOLVED! There is a bulletin board set up on the www.bikebike.org site for discussion & collaborative planning across the miles for this years conference, please visit! Free Ride!s planning committee has a short list of ideas already: a professional Anti-Racist Training, a Think Tank to work on a community bike shop presentation for Interbike, a Think Tank to work on the Community Bike Shop wiki, a hands-on project to take advantage of the convergence of good mechanics all in one place, a merch swap, and extra-curriculars like bike rides, movies, and parties. If you are interested in organizing or helping out with any of these activities, please email workshops(a)bike-pgh.org with your interests, or call Free Ride! at 412-731-4094. If you can offer help with conference basics such as food or publicity, email freeride(a)bike-pgh.org. Thanks and we look forward to hosting yinz! (thats Pittsburh-ese for you-all), Free Ride Recycled Bike Coop ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html

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us social forum .. presentation by bicycle co-op/collective folks?
by rachael spiewak 15 Mar '07

15 Mar '07

so the us social forum <http://www.ussf2007.org/> is being held in atlanta, and i just got an email about the deadline for proposals being extended. i thought, i'll run that by the bike co-op/collective folks and see if all y'all want to come up with something. if not, no worries. just thought i'd put it out there. by the way, if you're coming to the forum, you can crash with me. here's the info i got: USSF Proposals now being accepted Deadline Extended to April 27, 2007 People world-wide know that another world is needed. The Social Forum movement believes that is possible. At the US Social Forum people from all over the country will gather to think about what kind of world is needed and how we can get there. The US Social Forum is a very special kind of gathering: one that has never taken place in this country up to now. It isn't a conference with an agenda and a program of events; it's a gathering whose participants produce our own agenda and our own programs. Please help us to organize the United States Social Forum. To be successful, the Social Forum needs you, your energy and your creativity. We need you to develop a presentation, involve as many people as you can in organizing it and then explain and submit it to the Program Committee. We explain the details in the Call but keep one thing in mind: Even if you have doubts about whether an event will be approved or meets the criteria, go ahead and talk about it and try to get other organizations involved with it and then submit. The mere process of planning, thinking, talking and preliminary organizing will move you, the people you're working with and the rest of us forward. The moment you think of an idea, you are already participating in the Social Forum. Español http://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/add/content_ussf_2007_session_propos -rachael

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sopo invades berlin
by rachael spiewak 03 Mar '07

03 Mar '07

yesterday i met with the girls who are working on creating a bike cooperative in berlin. the economic and governmental structures are different, which means different things for the way they will collect money and how they may or may not register themselves, but the principles, values, philosophies, and politics, as well as the decision making processes and concerns about privilege and power reflect what i think a lot of us are more or less experiencing (not that i can speak for everyone, but i think it is a reasonable generalization). it was really great to share with them, and i am trying to convince them to come to bikebike. also, there is a european bikebike kind of thing happening this spring in italy i think. it seems that what is helpful to people i meet who want to know about sopo is to tell the whole story of how things happened (and i know that my version of the story is different from that of the other organizers), so i am thinking about writing my version down and maybe collecting the stories of others and then assembling it into a zine or some other publication. anyone got friends at ak press? haha. anyway.. i just wanted to share that we are everywhere, doing good, and making the world a better place. hooray! two wheels good, rachael

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National Bike Summit
by Jonathan Morrison 26 Feb '07

26 Feb '07

I signed up to go, is anyone else going to attend? -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org

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New Site design
by Jonathan Morrison 22 Feb '07

22 Feb '07

The Bike Collective Network just had a face lift.... http://www.bikecollectives.org/content/view/16/44/ -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org

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Collectives and Power Inequality
by Graham Stewart 20 Feb '07

20 Feb '07

I know many shops and projects out there have a policy of trying to eliminate barriers based on race, gender, age, class, etc. Part of this approach is often using a collective and consensus based decision making process. Some of this is stuff the Bike-dump is dealing with and some of it is purely hypothetical. Also, my opinions and concerns may not be the same as those shared by other people at the Bike Dump. Some questions to start discussion: 1. Who here tries to run a shop which eliminates power inequality by employing ideas like consensus based decision making within a collective? 2. How to you determine membership in the collective? How do you deal with the inside/outside nature of decision making? What if a person with an un-treated mental illness or serious addiction regularly contributes to the shop and wants to be part of decision making or be trusted with money? 3. No matter what structures exist, power heirarchies naturally seem to evolve. Often they are based on experience or skills and many people do not consider this totally bad. How do you distinguish between a power heirarchy based on experience and qualification versus one based on prejudices about gender, age, or percieved trustworthiness? Any thoughts or suggestions which fall outside my questions are welcome too. Graham at the Bike Dump

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linking up with other clearinghouses?
by rachael spiewak 19 Feb '07

19 Feb '07

I stumbled upon this today: http://www.worldcarfree.net/. The global networking possibilities are endless (wow.. that was awfully corporate.. haha). Anyway, just thought I'd put the idea out there. two wheels good, rachael

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Shop Rentals
by Jonathan Morrison 15 Feb '07

15 Feb '07

We are trying to figure out what the going rate for renting a shop space out. Either directly to continuing education classes or indirectly when justify grant request amounts. Just curious if anyone else has some of these numbers... -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org

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Bike Bike! 2007
by baglady 13 Feb '07

13 Feb '07

Greetings! Im sure everyone"s been wondering what"s going on with Bike Bike '07?? Well, it's happening and it's happening in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from August 10-12, hosted by the Free Ride Recycled Bike Coop (www.freeridepgh.org). For those of you that don't know what “Bike Bike" is, it"s the annual gathering and conference of Community and Non-Profit Bike shops and projects. Whether you're currently involved in one or always wanted to get involved, anyone interested in this subject is welcome to attend. For general details, a list of bike projects, and a brief history, see: www.bikebike.org Here's a brief update on our rather rudimentary-as-yet ideas for the conference: Collaboratively planned content, as is customary! We'll soon send a call-out for workshop, skill-share, and discussion proposals– so start thinking about that awesome workshop you're going to facilitate! Community Bike Project 101 - the first day of the conference (Friday August 10th) will be especially for folks who are just starting out. Community Bike Projects go way beyond bikes – so we're looking to cross-pollinate with other related fields of work, by inviting practitioners in these fields to share their skills in workshops. Topics might include working with youth, anti-oppression, legal questions, etc. Big group hands-on project – because something cool should come out of having so many bike mechanics in one place together! Merch swap - so make sure to print up some shirts and stickers and whatever bling you wanna share. Fun rides, movies, social events.... How to Stay Tuned & Keep in Touch We want to try out a new forum for discussion & collaborative planning of the conference this year. We are going to set up a bulletin board that is organized into topics. However, it is not setup yet, so we will use this e-mail list until it's ready We can use help with conference logistics, publicity, etc...if you have ideas or want to help, contact erokore(a)bike-pgh.org Check bikebike.org for updates as planning progresses! If you are not already on the thinktank/bike bike list go to bikecollectives.org to sign up. We'll be sending out promotional materials and registration forms soon – so make sure your snail-mail and email addresses are current in the BOOP directory, or if you're not in the directory, e-mail erokore(a)bike-pgh.org to be added to our Bike!Bike! distribution lists. Thanks and we look forward to hosting yinz! (pittsburghese for ya'll) -Free Ride Recycled Bike Coop freeridepgh.org

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