- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

call for curriculum materials
by adam schwartz 30 Jun '08

30 Jun '08

Does anyone have, or have seen any curriculum materials that relate bicycles to science and math. Anything related to technology, engineering, and design as well would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone is interested in collaborating on writing a curriculum together for a science, engineering and technology program around the idea of "Pedal Power" then please let me know. Here is the description for the program I am looking to develop. > Pedal Power is a program of the Renaissance Community Youth Bike Shop that > incorporates science, engineering and technology into a curriculum focused > on youth initiated environmental design and appropriate technology projects > involving bicycles. The program will engage students to research, design, > and construct their own DIY human-powered inventions. > > We will work with Engineers Without Borders (EWB), a student group that > works on environmental design and appropriate technology in international > development, to develop our curriculum and instruct the class. Middle school > students will spend the first part of the course learning about the basics > of engineering, construction, design, energy, and technology. Then students > will work in teams to design, and implement their own "Pedal Powered" > invention. After student teams have constructed their machines, they will > have the opportunity to display and show them off to the community at our > spring event. In the future this program has many options for growth and > development including participating in design contests, and entering > projects into local events. If successful, this program has the opportunity > to expand into new and exciting realms in design and engineering beyond > Pedal Powered projects within the scope of appropriate technology such as > home scale wind power, etc... > -- Adam Schwartz, Program Coordinator The Renaissance Youth Bike Shop 6200 Sheridan Street, Riverdale, MD Rideyourbicycle(a)gmail.com (301) 405-3213

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Southeast Bike!Bike!
by Jay Varner 29 Jun '08

29 Jun '08

I hope this will be the last(ish) message to the Think Tank regarding the organizing the Southeast Bike!Bike!. We are now all set up with our very own email list - southeast(a)bikebike.org (thanks again to Jonathan Morrison for setting that up) and the site - http://southeast.bikebike.org - is up (though it still needs some content and we're waiting for the graphics department to get back to us). Regardless, you can sign up for the email list on the site So from now on, please direct any Southeast Bike!Bike! questions/announcements there, and not hear on the Think Tank. See ya'll in San Francisco come September, Jay Varner Sopo Bike Co-op

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Archiving BikeBike
by Rich Points 26 Jun '08

26 Jun '08

Hey All, I was just poking around the wiki and found this from last years bike bike http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=BCN_BikeBike_Workshop Notice the last entry is "archiving Bike Bike". Last year was the first one I attended but it's my understanding that Bike Bike is in it's 6th or 7th year? I'd be interested to see the schedule from past gatherings. Do people still have materials from previous conferences? It would be cool to see them on the wiki. Peace -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019

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Stolen bikes form the shop: plans for recovery?
by The Recyclery 25 Jun '08

25 Jun '08

Hello bike friends, Last night during open shop two bikes were stolen from our volunteer bike parking. Both were road bikes, and one was a very expensive titanium frame. We have no idea who might be responsible. I'm asking if you have any ideas about how to get these bikes back. The thefts were reported to the police. We are going to take two other approaches: 1) talk to the youth in our Earn-a-Bike program and ask them to talk to everyone they know who may have taken them. We're not sure at all that it was a young person, but just in case, we want youth friendly to us to be in the know and on the look-out. We haven't decided if a reward should be involved. 2) make fliers alerting people to the theft and ask them to keep an eye out. What are some creative approaches other shops have taken? I'm less interested in security measures for the shop than for specifically trying to track down some bikes that have already been taken. Unfortunately, our shop will probably be locked to people until they are let in for at least a short while. Thanks for your help, Sharlyn

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Respect with a focus on Ethics.
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 25 Jun '08

25 Jun '08

In a message dated 6/25/2008 12:44:04 A.M. Central Daylight Time, colin.phoenixbikes(a)gmail.com writes: 1. respect other people. students, staff, visitors. 2. respect tools. Respect without ethics is destructive. The Mafia had great respect inside its ranks, but it lacked ethical bearings for the greater community, Gangsta's demand respect from everyone yet they do not give respect back to the community. Some communities will not talk to the police because there is a code of silence they respect. The code of silence protects the guilty and lacks ethical concerns for the rest of the community. Respect with out ETHICS is deadly. A student can respect other people. students, staff, visitors. When one steals from the shop, respect thief and do not tell on them. Respect without ethics is destructive to the community, the program and to all related people. A student can respect tools. If you need them, take them home, care for them and use them appropriately. It is theft but it is also respect. Respect without ethics is Loss I propose that focus on Ethical treatment of people, community, property, and so on; is important to changing the environment of RESPECT for bad behavior. The Dalai Lama puts the idea of ethics in a broader message. It is in everybody's interest to seek those [actions] that lead to happiness and avoid those which lead to suffering. And because our interests are inextricably linked, we are compelled to accept ethics as the indispensable interface between my desire to be happy and yours. -His Holiness the Dalai Lama Respect without a focus on Ethics, is just dust in the wind. **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Volunteers vs. Paid Staff
by Justin Morse 25 Jun '08

25 Jun '08

The paid vs. volunteer issue has become a little divisive here in Columbus, and I'm glad to see a thinktank thread concerning it. Reading the posts, and the description of the various workshops, has got me seeing, all over again, how may different people are trying to accomplish such similar things. We're all-volunteer here at Third Hand Bike Co-op, and as a core volunteer, I'm sort of trying to put some kind of paid clerkships on the table. At least the idea, so far. Frankly, our core volunteer base is fragile, and as someone who has seen the organization go from a pile of abandoned bikes to a thriving community center, I'm nervous at the sustainability. Our co-op is currently a reincarnation of the old Third Hand, whose previous founders/members disbanded. For us (in my opinion), at the center of this issue, is the concept of sustainability. How can we create a community bike workshop fixture in our community? It seems that if a group of talented leaders can coordinate volunteers in such a way that it creates a base of people to fulfill the mission of their organization- awesome! That would be my first choice. But from my perspective, here in Columbus, our volunteers too often silently groan under the weight of keeping open hours to meet the demands of the people of our city. It seems to take looking inwardly (at how the shop is running, functioning) as much as it takes looking outwardly (how to incorporate new potential supporters, volunteers, mechanics). And often we have to reassess what we're trying to do- Not be a used bike shop, but instead a community workshop/education facility. On a side note, our BikeBike contigency (made up mostly of our core volunteers) has decided that we can't ride from Columbus to San Francisco (like we originally planned) this year because we'd probably have to close the shop for the time while we'd be gone. That said (and to simplify), I've come to feel that the issue has two major factors: what is the mission of your organization, and how can you best fulfill it? And what does the body (members/participants/volunteers) of your organization decide? And currently we don't do 'outside' workshops, so paying people to do that "extra" work has only barely come up. Though, when it did, it was touchy, and as I said, divisive. Justin Morse, Third Hand Bike Co-op in Columbus, Ohio

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Let's Promote Each Other on the Web
by Jay Varner 25 Jun '08

25 Jun '08

Long story short, the BNC's directory of shops provides a XML feed...but it seems to only work in Safari (which is just useless and offensive). Anyway, I wrote a little script that addresses the error and returns valid XML. The valid XML feed can be found at: http://sopobikes.org/static/BNC.xml In theory, every night at midnight (Eastern Time), the feed will be updated to reflect any additions that occurred during the day. In the next few days, I'll try to get the BNC site to pump more info into the feed...but right now...I"m sleepy. Do with it what ya'll will and let me know what data you would like to have included in the feed. Enjoy and in solidarity, Jay Varner Sopo Bike Co-op Atlanta P.S. As of right now I've only tested the fixed feed on: Windows Vista -> IE7, FireFox 3 and Opera 9.5 Windows XP -> IE6, IE7 OS X Leopard -> Safari 3.1.1, FireFox 3, Camino 1.5.5, Opera 9.2.7 Ubuntu -> FireFox 3 So let me know if (and on what platform/in which browser) you get an error (though you shouldn't get an error).

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Re: [TheThinkTank] contracts for Earn-a-Bike youth?
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 24 Jun '08

24 Jun '08

We had one rule in our bike shop, and the kids enforced it in a democratic method. The rule is : Act Professionally Professional language Professional tool usage Professional Trip planning Professional fun Professional acts Professional goals Professional education Professional EVERYTHING There are thousands of positive professional things you, volunteers, and kids can do every day. Grow Christopher Wallace Holistic Cycles **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)

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Volunteers vs. Paid Staff, Bike Shop Empowerment
by Macho Philipovich 24 Jun '08

24 Jun '08

Hey everyone. We're trying to sort through a couple of issues at the shop right now, and I'd like to see if any others have experiences with similar situations that they could share. 1. We like to keep as many open shop hours as our volunteer capacity will allow, which doesn't leave much left for running other programs. Our shop is located in a poor part of town, and we're finding a lot of schools, community centres, and immigrant organizations are asking us to run workshops for kids. The said community organizations, though, are often willing to provide honoraria for this work. In the past we've just had the money donated back to the bike project, but now people who run the programs are starting to keep it for themselves, and we're kind of feeling torn. On the one hand, partnering with community organizations so that kids can have access to bikes and bike repair tools & skills is amazing, and is basically why we exist, and giving our volunteers, most of whom are low-income, some monetary compensation is great, especially since we are a very financially stable shop. On the other hand, there is also the concern that if volunteers start to be paid, it will take them away from our open shop hours, and leave other volunteers to do essentially the same work, only without getting paid. This could seemingly cause resentment, hard feelings, and the general deterioration of our shop. We're not, at this time, able to or interested in paying all volunteer mechanics all of the time. So this is something we have to find a way to reasonably resolve. 2. This question is especially directed at shops that view themselves as committed to radical social change, but answers from anyone are welcome. We've just switched over from a "free-for-all" kind of setup where people can waltz in to the shop, start wrenching away, and ask for help if anyone is around to offer it, to our new setup where people need to sign in with a greeter and if there are no available mechanics, they have to wait outside. This has almost eliminated the chaos and frustration that was until recently a staple at the shop, but also has people worried. We are starting to feel like we are "policing" people and treating those who use the shop with suspicion, and that the shop is starting to feel much more like a regular liberal social work program or soup kitchen where there is a clear divide between staff ("you've already had your one bowl of soup!") and people fixing their bikes, rather than a space where different people are welcome to make a meaningful contribution, and become empowered to be invested in the space and take a leadership role. Has anyone experienced either of these things in their shop? Any thoughts? Solutions? Thanks, Macho of the Bike Dump http://bike-dump.ca

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Do you have something for me to do?.........
by Rich Points 24 Jun '08

24 Jun '08

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 Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019

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