- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

liability
by Daniel S 08 Jan '10

08 Jan '10

This has probably been discussed before, and it's probably on some bike collectives website... what is your bike shop's take on the issue of liability? like, if someone gets injured, either working in your shop, or possibly somehow because of a bike they have made or bought there. Or, some other form of liability. Any anecdotes? Advice? Horror stories? Especially Canada, which is where we are. Cheers. Daniel. __________________________________________________________________ The new Internet Explorer® 8 - Faster, safer, easier. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free! at http://downloads.yahoo.com/ca/internetexplorer/

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Dealing with intoxicated users
by Clifford McCarten 07 Jan '10

07 Jan '10

Hey Folks, Quick question: How do you deal tactfully/respectfully with users of your space who are visibly intoxicated or smell strongly of booze? It's our policy to not allow people to work in this state (for personal safety, amount of oversight required, and comfort levels for other users of the space). This policy, however, is never really enacted. I suppose we don't (I don't!) feel comfortable asking people when I suspect their intoxication may lead them to react abrasively. Any specific lines or strategies you use? Cheers, Clifford McCarten Co-Director, B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop 400 Wolfe St, Peterborough ON K9J 2P3 (705) 748-6681 http://www.communitybikeshop.org

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Bikes on trains
by Clifford McCarten 05 Jan '10

05 Jan '10

FYI - I tried to take a Toronto > NYC Amtrak earlier this year, and was told "No Bikes" by the Amtrak folks. Maybe it's different for different lines, but in any case, make sure you check ahead! Clifford McCarten Co-Director, B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop 400 Wolfe St, Peterborough ON K9J 2P3 (705) 748-6681 http://www.communitybikeshop.org

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free online donation/purchase processing
by Sharlyn Grace 01 Jan '10

01 Jan '10

Hi all, I remember some groups talking at bike!bike! about a free service they used to take in money online. Right now, we use google checkout, and we lose a portion of our donations this way. What free services to folks have that don't take a percentage of the donation? Also, are their any good systems for setting up an automatic payment for classes? For example, sometimes people who sign up for our paid eight-week classes don't end up showing up and giving us a check on the first day, and then we're either under-filled or scrambling to make up the student. I would like to get their inquiry emails, answer their questions, and in my replies, include a link to a secure site (not open to the public, so we can monitor class enrollment) where the soon-to-be student pays the class fee upfront, when they sign up. Then the option to back out will be gone, and people won't reserve seats they don't actually end up using or paying for. It might be okay to have a "store" for classes, alternately, as long as we can only "sell" a certain number at each time. However, I like the secret page idea because then we can keep an eye on if four buddies sign up for the same class or it's six men, no women, etc. and control enrollment (as well as directing people towards classes we now will fill on-time). Thanks! Sharlyn

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accessing bikecollectives,org site problem
by Daniel S 31 Dec '09

31 Dec '09

Hi. Is it something I am doing wrong? I have, I think, registered into the bikecollectives.org system, but when I try to login, for the wiki etc, it keeps telling me to log in. Please advise. Daniel. __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.

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Bike Magazines at the Dentist
by Rich Points 31 Dec '09

31 Dec '09

Bike Enthusiasts, About a year ago I was sitting in the waiting room of my dentist sifting through the array of magazines they have, you know the type; Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, Time, People... I thought it'd be a good idea to get bikes in the mix of info and gave a subscription of Bike and Bicycle magazines. This cost me $30 for the two one year subscriptions. I just renewed the Bike subscription for two years for $20. It's a small gift that helps get bicycles on the minds of more people. Next time you're in a waiting room have a look at the magazine offerings and consider adding bikes to the mix. Ride On! -- Rich Points Community Cycles Executive Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) 303-589-0597 (C) Donate your old car to Community Cycles http://communitycycles.org/get-involved/donatecar.html

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What I think they meant to say was. . .
by Erik Ryberg 30 Dec '09

30 Dec '09

All-- I think what Andrea meant to say in her first post was, "Dude, your radio show is going to be four men talking about bikes! But half the population is female, and both men and women need to hear what important roles women have played and are playing now in bike advocacy (and everything else . . . ). Wouldn't you agree? There are tons of rad women in the L.A. bike scene -- why can't you have some of them on your programs?? And what Jim meant to say in reply was, Andrea-- Shoot, you are so right!!! Duh!!! Do you have any contacts I can use? Would you like to be on the show and discuss women and bicycling? I would love to interview you on the show! To which Andrea meant to say, Jim-- Yeah sure, I could be on your show, but I think you should use local talent, don't you? If you don't know any women bike advocates in L.A., well then dude you aren't paying enough attention! Check out Bike Girl at bikegirlblog.blogspot.com/ or other folks in the Bike Writer's Collective. And contact bikerowave or the L.A. Bicycle Kitchen. And anyway, remember it isn't about having a show about women and bicycling, it's about recognizing and incorporating women in what you do all the time. And then Joshua meant to say, Hey everybody, Andrea has a pretty good point. I know that this issue gets discussed at Bikebike but I don't ever get to go to Bikebike, and at least here in the South discrimination/oppression of women is a devastating norm. Probably is where you are too. I'd like to see us talk about this more openly on this list serve, and talk about combating it. And then the moderator said, Joshua and all-- Of course! Let's just keep it civil and directed toward problem-solving, shall we? --Erik Ryberg -- Erik B. Ryberg Attorney at Law 312 South Convent Avenue Tucson, AZ 85701 phone: (520) 622-3333 fax: (520) 622-2406

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patriarchy
by Macho Philipovich 30 Dec '09

30 Dec '09

it seems to me many men here are missing the point. have people here encountered the concept of tokenism before? of the history and contemporary use of the concept of "hysterics"? or of even of patriarchy itself (as opposed to plain sexism)? have people read any of the ideas of feminists about how patriarchy functions? if not, this might be a really good time to familiarize yourself. bell hooks, who was mentioned before, is one of a plethora of possibilities, and is a good starting point. in general when dealing with oppression, it's tempting for members of the dominant group (in this case, males) to want to invent the idea of the "other" "bad males" as the problem, so they can feel pure and good in themselves, and to look only at explicit individual sexist acts, ignoring how deeply patriarchy is woven into the fabric of our society. for the same reasons, when confronted with patriarchy in the bike shop, many men will turn the question into "how can we convince more women to work here with us" instead of "how can we change our own behaviour to be less patriarchal." i hope the distinction is clear. we don't need any more men wasting our time trying to convince us that we've got them all wrong and that they couldn't possibly be sexist because some of their best friends are women. we need more men to actually spend time working against their own patriarchy, as well as society's. when we start looking closer at our own assumptions about what are "neutral" or "rational" ways of acting, we can uncover some surprising insights into how patriarchy works. one great example might be, say, an admonition that everyone should only ever have a "calm and positive" tone, or that we need to "deep six" dissenters to "restore order, production and prosperity." anyway, i'm sure none of us have too much hope in this email process, so please read up and start putting feminist ideas into practice in your own lives. macho http://bike-dump.ca

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Rabble rousers
by John Boyer 30 Dec '09

30 Dec '09

rabble-rouser n. a person who tries to stir up groups of people with speeches tending to arouse them to acts of violence against some existing condition, usually to serve his/her own ends. - World book Dictionary SBK (Sacramento Bike Kitchen) went through a period where a few rabble rousers had their way and it ended up in disintegrating the org. One must shine the light of day on this person quickly and deep six them from the org. Its the only way you can restore order, production and prosperity to your community bike shop. John Boyer. Sacramento

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Non-male-only bicycle projects
by Bike City 30 Dec '09

30 Dec '09

Hello everybody, I've been mulling over a lot of ideas lately about overthrowing the male domination of bicycle co-ops, collectives, recycleries, mechanics, and the industry in general. Are there any non-males out there who would be interested in discussing strategies to whoop the shit out of male privilege? I'd like to set an email list up for this purpose, but in the meantime, please email me: the.attica(a)gmail.com Thanks, andrea

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