- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Instruction for Marginalized Communities: Women on Wheels and Multilingual Nights
by Lauren Warbeck 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

Oh HEYYYY again... It's a double email kinda day. 1) Multilingual Nights We're hosting our first ever multilingual nights YAYYYYY! We now have a posse of rad mechanics who are fluent in English, Spanish, French, Cantonese, and Mandarin and we are planning to hold a series of multilingual instruction nights. We're about to have our first sub-committee meeting about how we're going to go about the planning of these nights (ie: Do we have a strictly Spanish night, or a Spanish & French night? What is the role of Anglo mechanics in these nights? What are the underlying needs of these communities beyond language instruction?), but first I wanted to find out if any of you have feedback or resource materials about your own experiences hosting multilingual nights. What did you set out to do? Did it work? What did you learn? 2) Women on Wheels We're in the process of reconsidering the reach and name of our women's night, Women on Wheels. This name has been revisited several times by our collective, and again we're feeling the need for change. Those of you who commit energy to thinking about providing services across the gender/sexuality spectrum...I'm looking for your input. The key challenges for us, (and maybe all of us?) I think, are two-fold: First, it's about holding space for those who adhere to identity politics (tangible and named - Woman, Lesbian, Dyke, sometimes Transwoman etc) while also holding space for folks who exist all along the gender and sexuality spectrum (intangible and variably named - Queer, Tomboi, sometimes Transwoman, Genderqueer, etc ). As in, how do we hold safer space for butch grandmas and trans women and gender queer folks all at once? Is it feasible or possible to hold safer space strictly around gender variance? Or is it presumptuous as fuck to try to lump these diverse communities together? Or reductionist to assume gender experience is the key connecting factor between these individuals (and not race, or class, or ....)? Second, it's about negotiating the instances of inclusion and exclusion that emerge as a result of differing levels of awareness and knowledge around these varied philosophies and ways of identifying. This is the crux of why we've called it Women's Night for so long. While in practice our "women's night" is attended by trans-women, cis-women, femmes, masculine-identified genderqueers, tombois, etc etc, we have continued to call it women's night to make sure that people who aren't familiar with the world of post-modern gender identity know they are welcome, and cis-men know easily and clearly that it is not for them. I guess, to make it legible to mainstream communities, while still welcoming to non-mainstream communities. Meanwhile, we've also had interest from femme-identified cis-men and trans men in having services for masculine-presenting folks or folks who are presumed masculine (which again, is on a really broad spectrum). We're in convo with folks about their needs and wants, but it would also be great to have input from other shops. Where I'm really seeking is input about how your shops are drawing the lines around participation in nights for marginalized communities (including communities bonded around race, ethnicity, ability, etc) and/or how to meld diverse communities in appropriate and supportive ways. I know that Plan B has Ladies, Trans, and Sissies Night, and BICAS has Women, Trans, and Femme night. Where are folks at with their organizing process around this? What are other shops doing? You are all so great. Lauren

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Portland Gear Hub is Hiring
by Brooke Burkett 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

Hello! Portland Gear Hub in Portland, Maine is hiring! <goog_799154575> http://www.jobsinme.com/seek/resultdetail.aspx?jobnum=1204080 Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brooke Burkett Getting Families Outdoors! Camp Ketcha 336 Black Point Road Scarborough, ME 04074 Phone: (207) 883-8977 ext 104 Fax: 207-885-0944 www.campketcha.org <http://www.campketcha.org> Support Camp Ketcha <http://www.campketcha.org>! Shop at the Portland Gear Hub and get outside! Portland Gear Hub 264 St Johns Street Portland, ME 04102 Phone: (207) 761-7632 www.portlandgearhub.org

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Cycles for Change Hiring Youth Programs Manager
by Jason Tanzman 25 Feb '16

25 Feb '16

Hey all - Cycles for Change in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN is hiring a Youth Programs Manager! http://www.minnesotanonprofits.org/job-details?id=112017 Jason

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Love the Wiki Contest Update (there's still time!)
by Angel York 19 Feb '16

19 Feb '16

For the Community Bike Organizations page, we have *Recumbent Rider* in the lead with 8 updates to the Australian section, adding organizations where none were previously listed for their states, and doubling the number listed in Victoria. For general contributions, *Eugene* showed up halfway through the month and raced their way into the lead! With over a hundred edits and comments in less than a week, their contributions so far include Patriarchy and Bicycle Repair <https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Patriarchy_and_Bicycle…>, Women and Trans Programs <https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Women_and_Trans_Progra…>, and Project Welcome <https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Project_Welcome>, in which they've created a template and welcomed loads of new wiki users! Got a hankering for your very own organic, fair trade chocolate bar with a picture of a bike on the wrapper? These are the people to beat! More info (including updated suggestions for where to start) at: https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=February_2016_Wiki_Con…

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Bike Works Seattle is hiring!
by Steve Maluk 15 Feb '16

15 Feb '16

Bike Works, the Seattle bike education and community-focused non-profit, is hiring a Bike Shop Lead Mechanic. The Lead Mechanic assumes primary responsibility for providing mechanical services in the Shop, which includes maintaining quality and timely services, performing repairs and overhauling bikes for resale, providing outstanding customer service and sales, supporting the overall operations of the shop, and serving as a resource to the community. Learn more: http://bikeworks.org/us/job-opportunities/ Steve Maluk Shop & Operations Director Bike Works <http://www.bikeworks.org> Bike Shop: 206-725-8867 Office: 206-725-9408 Bike Works builds sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling.

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Volunteer and Membership Tracking iPhone App
by momoko saunders 11 Feb '16

11 Feb '16

Hey all, I finally finished my Sign In app! It's been a dream of mine ever since learning software to build something custom for bike collectives. With this app, you can track the hours of shop use for a volunteer, member, staff, or "custom" users. You can also assign people memberships, and see when they expire. You can send yourself all your data as a CSV. This differs from a google form isn that you can sign people out, easily edit contacts, and see at a glance how people have been using the shop. Some what unfortunately, the language I learned is specific to iPhones or iPads. So this app can not be used by all. My next adventure is to learn android, so hopefully, we'll have an android version some day! (If you know how to build android apps, and you want to work together on this, let me know!) That being said, please use the app I built if you can. It's the first version so there are likely to be bugs (in fact I've already found one minor one :0)* Back up your data weekly.* I made a wiki page to explain how to use it. <https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sign_In_App> And you can download the app here <https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/signin/id1079267479?mt=8> You can also check out the source control here <https://github.com/mrmomoko/SignInBikeCollectives>. Fork it if you want, you're welcome to work on this app and make it your own! Please write me any comments or questions. Setting up your org might not be obvious, so just email me if you have issues. Your feed back is welcomed!! <3 -Momoko Bike Farm Portland, OR

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Structuring beginner mechanics classes
by Genevieve Parker 11 Feb '16

11 Feb '16

Sarah, At Reno Bike Project we offer a 9-week, 2 hour-long class on Thursdays to teach members the basics of bike repair. We use donated MTBs with rigid forks and braze ons for racks - good, sturdy commuters; and we try to select bikes either with caliper or V brakes only. When the class/bikes are finished. they are set aside for our create-a-commuter program. We hit one component or component group a week in this order: Week 1 – Bike Inspection, Strip Cables & Housing Week 2 – Wheels: Inspection, Hub Overhaul Week 3 – Wheels: Truing & Dishing Week 4 – Bottom Bracket & Headset Overhaul Week 5 – Makeup & Review Week 6 – Cables & Housing Week 7 – Brake Setup Week 8 – Shifter Setup & Chain Week 9 – Makeup & Review/End-of-Session Party After several curriculum edits, we think this order makes the most sense. We start each class with a brief discussion and demo of what we're working on (including going over variations on the component to give students a more broad introduction than just what style of BB/brake setup/etc. their class bike has), then get into the hands-on work, overseen by two instructors for a class of ~10. Having a small student-to-teacher ratio ensures that everyone gets the one on one attention they need to absorb the lesson and get their work for the night done. More info here, or email me: http://renobikeproject.org/programming-and-events/education/ Genevieve Parker RBP Program Director http://www.renobikeproject.com/

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London's strategies?
by Ariel C 10 Feb '16

10 Feb '16

Hi Everyone, I recently saw this article- London is set to have more bicycles than cars coming into the city at rush hour in the next few years. They cut their car entry by half in 15 years! What strategies did they use? Anyone from there who could comment more or send more articles? http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-35475318 -Ariel

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Please vote for Happy, Joyous and Freewheeling's photo contest entry
by Randi Park 09 Feb '16

09 Feb '16

Hi all! I love being part of this list, although I rarely post. Thanks to everyone and to the admins of the list especially. We entered a photo contest sponsored by our insurance company (which we found on this list). Our entry was taken at our internship training program at Dunbar High School in DC. There is a cash first prize of $250. With that money, we can purchase wholesale helmets and locks for all our students at Dunbar, which we will give them on the last day of class, when they take home the donated bikes they have fixed themselves. In addition to earning their own bikes, after training with our volunteers, the students can become eligible for paid internships at area bike shops. *Please vote for our picture using this link* https://review.wizehive.com/voting/view/aniniac-member-photo-contest-2016/0… Voting is open all week, and you can vote every 24 hours today through Friday at 8:00 pm this week. Also, if you have a moment, check out programs at www.hjfw.org and like our FaceBook page <https://www.facebook.com/happyjoyousandfreewheeling?fref=ts> Thanks!

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unique funding opportunity for a bike project in california's central valley
by kyle mckinley 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

hi, Think Tank, One of the jobs I do these days is helping run an initiative at Stanford University that is focused on helping folks achieve a better sense of belonging and personal well being. I've been putting a bug in my boss's ear for a while to do a project researching how cycling and being part of a community of cyclists helps individuals achieve positive mental health outcomes. We have a unique and highly time sensitive opportunity to request a very substantial amount of funding (ie over $100k) to track such outcomes in conjunction with a partner organization in California's Central Valley (specifically, El Dorado, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolomne, Merced, or Deb counties). The overwhelming majority of the funding would directly benefit the partner organization, and could potentially be directed to infrastructure building, distributing bikes or bike safety needs to youth, or staffing budget. Stanford would obviously keep a cut for admin costs, and there would be some cost to track the outcomes. "Tracking outcomes" in these sorts of models is fairly low-intensity -- like annual questionaries for participants. If your org might fit with this, or if you know of one that might, please contact me asap (off list) for more information and brainstorming. in cahoots, kyle -- http://www.kylemckinley.com/ http://buildingcollective.org/

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