- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Big News From NYC!!!
by Josh Bisker 01 Feb '16

01 Feb '16

Dear Think Tank! Big news from New York City: it's my pleasure to introduce you to the New York Mechanical Gardens / El Jardín Mecánico, the city's first true bike co-op. We've been quietly organizing over the last few months, and as of Saturday we've reached an agreement with a grassroots community center in a church in Brooklyn. We plan to open doors on April 1. Things are about to get real in NYC! We need your help in a couple of easy ways: follow us on all the social medias, and we'll do the same back, and this will help us (a) build a local community by sharing good content, (b) demonstrate our viability in some weird way to potential funders. We're @bikecoopnyc at FB <https://www.facebook.com/bikecoopnyc>, Twitter <https://twitter.com/bikecoopnyc>, and Insta <https://www.instagram.com/bikecoopnyc/>, on the web at www.bikecoop.nyc, and emailable at bikecoopnyc(a)gmail.com. (Spanish translation is on the way for the site, and we aim for all our outgoing materials to be bilingual.) We also are eager to see your examples of good bylaws or decision-making rubrics -- we don't want to get too far down the road without having a structure for making decisions, figuring out membership, etc. Finally, if you have an amazing suggestion for a seedling co-op like ours about fundraising or soliciting donations or supplies, please share! This message is more than an announcement: it's also a love letter to everyone on this forum. The Mechanical Gardens would never have started planting a single seed here if it weren't for your inspiration, optimism, and friendship. I'd been convinced for years that NYC has too much going against us for it work out here -- chiefly that real estate works differently than anywhere else on the planet, and people's time is a different kind of commodity too. But I got back from B!B! this year really reinvigorated to start a co-op, and more aware of how much it takes a community of people to make a project happen. Soon after I returned, I made up my mind to start this story fresh, and then found that Sera and Aaron from Rag & Bones had just moved here for grad school, and that Courtney and Arnold from Krank It Up were working at a shop in town, and that a few other folks I talked to also had co-op backgrounds -- or got stars in their eyes when we started talking about making one happen here. So suddenly the dream became a team, and then we were figuring things out together -- and now we've got a space to start working in. Hot damn. We can't wait for the first season at the Mechanical Gardens, and are filled with gratitude to you for all the lovely fruit our boughs will come to bear. Big love, Josh The New York Mechanical Gardens El Jardín Mecánico

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Fwd: Call for Submissions to NITC Student Video Contest
by Angel York 29 Jan '16

29 Jan '16

I figure some of you might be qualified (student) and interested in this video contest. The prize is a little more than a chocolate bar ;) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Susan Peithman <peithman(a)pdx.edu> Date: Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 12:02 PM Subject: Call for Submissions to NITC Student Video Contest To: Angel York <aniola(a)gmail.com> Click here if you're having problems viewing this email <http://transportation.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=48ad8b7ea20d5f582ce67718ca693940…> <http://transportation.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=48ad8b7ea20d5f582ce67718ca693940…> NITC is hosting a student video competition to highlight the role of transportation in building livable communities. <http://transportation.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=48ad8b7ea20d5f582ce67718ca693940…> Submissions Due June 15, 2016 Grand Prize $4,000 + travel to Portland, Oregon for the Transportation and Communities Summit in September 2016 Create a video answering one of these questions: - Can you explain the connection between livability and transportation in a way that can reach, for example, traffic engineers, elected officials, local business owners, and a classroom of elementary school students and their parents? - What role can you and your peers play in creating transportation systems that support livable communities? - How would you convince youth why transportation and livable communities would be a great career? - If you were the Secretary of Transportation, how would you make the nation’s transportation system support livable communities? Click here for complete competition details and submission instructions <http://transportation.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=48ad8b7ea20d5f582ce67718ca693940…> Open to ALL full-time university students, individuals or teams If you have questions, contact Susan Peithman at peithman(a)pdx.edu. If you do not wish to receive notifications like this in the future, update your email preferences <http://transportation.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=48ad8b7ea20d5f582ce67718ca693940…> . TREC P.O. Box 751 Portland, OR 97207 United States Unsubscribe from our newsletter <http://transportation.acemlna.com/proc.php?nl=5&c=203&m=235&s=48ad8b7ea20d5…>

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Re: [TheThinkTank] 2016 February Wiki Contest (FREE CHOCOLATE OMG)
by Angel York 29 Jan '16

29 Jan '16

Get your typing fingers ready! http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=February_2016_Wiki_Cont… Editing the wiki page for your own community bike shop is totally ok. And for *anyone* who makes their first 3 edits during the month of February 2016, send me an email with your mailing address and I will mail you an old-fangled handwritten note in a thank you card with at least one doodle on it. On Mon, Jan 18, 2016 at 6:44 PM, Angel York <aniola(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I will send one fair trade chocolate bar each to two top editors of the > bike collectives wiki in the month of February. Anywhere in the world. > > I will be considering both the (subjective) quality and (objective) > quantity of edits made during the month of February. There is a chocolate > bar each for: > > - top editor of anywhere on the wiki found at > http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/ > - top editor of the > http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Community_Bicycle_Organ… > page > > Angel York >

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Anyone else get funding from Governor's Highway Safety Program?
by Mary-Catherine Graziano 29 Jan '16

29 Jan '16

I'm asking because NHTSA just issued a memo saying that funding for bike lights and helmets, etc would no longer be allowed (unless it is for personnel) under the grant funds that we receive for the Governor's Highway Safety Program. Allowed purchases for supplies must fall under the following categories (summarized): 1) awards for giving away at ceremonies 2) advertisements 3) safety gear for personnel only, or for loaning out and taking back (say, at a bike rodeo), or 4) written educational material (on CD, paper, thumb drive, etc). If you receive funding from NHTSA, and have encountered this memo--how do you support your bike light and helmet initiatives? Any information would be incredibly helpful! Thank you! Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Outreach and Education Manager Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: www.kohlskidsbikesmart.org AND Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject <http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt> <http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt> <http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont>

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Biking In Vegas
by Jen Roberton 27 Jan '16

27 Jan '16

Hello everyone, I'm currently trying to see what's going on in the Las Vegas Bike Collective Scene. All I seem to be able to find are facebook events for the Fremont Bike Clinic from 2014. Anyone have any insider info? Thanks, Jen -- Jen Roberton Master's Student M.A School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia

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Bike Collective Photos
by Godwin ! 24 Jan '16

24 Jan '16

Hey folks, I'm looking for some high quality photos of bike collectives to use on a redesign of bikecollectives.org. What I'm really looking for are some photos that accurately but positively represent what a bike collective is like, people working together with bikes. Some diversity, bikes, tools, and smiles would be nice. I'd like to put these images on the front page of the site so I need to know that the photographer, your organization, and the people in the photos consent to the images being displayed prominently. Knowing some info on the photographer and collective would be great so that I can give credit. Feel free to reply off-list to help reduce the amount coming into everyone's inboxes. Thanks!godwin PS: If you're curious about what's going on, I'm migrating our site from PHP to RoR and moving it to the same server as bikebike.org so that we can more easily translate bikecollectives.org and the two sites can share data (we can get the map working again!). Most of my time needs to be spent on bikebike for the next few months but afterwards I'd like to spend time getting the site translated and possibly adding new content and features. If you're interested in helping out with development, feel free to reach out to me and I'll do my best to help onboard you (keep in mind that I'm very bad at organizing a remote team).

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TEDx video summarizing big picture of what bike collectives are all about
by David Davis 17 Dec '15

17 Dec '15

Hi All! We were invited to give a TEDx talk to a broad audience here in SLC. We used it as an opportunity to illuminate the concept of bicycle collectives/co-ops in a way that focuses on what collectives do for people, not just bikes. Check it out here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8MR8VdKbEg>, and feel free to use it whenever you need a flashy intro to the concept. I tired to keep it as universal as possible and mention early on that there are organizations like this around the world. The goal was to make it useful for your organizations, as well. Cheers! Feedback appreciated! -- -- David Eyer Davis Executive Director Bicycle Collective c: 801-230-6308 www.bicyclecollective.org The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

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Tracking parts used by participants
by David Oliver 17 Dec '15

17 Dec '15

Hey, Currently at the bike co-op where I work and the other one where I volunteer we try to track what parts people are using on their bikes so that when they are done we're not forgetting to charge them for something. Both co-ops use clipboards with small "receipts" on them for participants/volunteers to write down what parts they've used. The clipboards stay at the front of the shop and are then handed to the person as they walk in. In what I would say is the vast majority of cases these clipboards either don't get used at all or people don't write down the parts on them as they get the parts. I don't think this actually results in that many parts not getting paid for because people are pretty honest when you ask them what parts they used or the volunteer helping them remembers. There are probably small parts like v-brake noodles that get missed though. The only alternative I've thought of so far is having something permanently attached to where the people are working on their bikes. Curious if other co-ops out there have a better system for tracking parts people have used on their bikes. Thanks, David

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Bikes Not Bombs Contact
by Reno Bikes 15 Dec '15

15 Dec '15

Is anyone from Bikes Not Bombs on here? Was doing some reading about your Youth Employment Program and had some questions? If so would you please contact me at noah(a)renobikeproject.com Thanks, Noah -- Wed-Fri 11am-6pm Sat 10am-4pm 541 E. 4th Street. Reno, NV 89512 775.323.4488 donate via paypal: http://www.renobikeproject.com/index.php/donate/ Follow us on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/renobikeproject/ Please let us know if you would like to unsubscribe to our email list.

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Southern California Community Bike Spaces
by Wm Dakota Callaschai 14 Dec '15

14 Dec '15

Hello sun loving warm folks! My name is Dakota and you may know of me being from the great Troy Bike Rescue in Troy NY. Well I left Troy to see the world of bikes. I'm on my way back to socal, running from the cold and would like to meet up, do some bike works, and hang out. https://m.facebook.com/cargoawaybikes/?ref=bookmarks This is one of the ways I'm working with to help us live a better way. Thank you for your time and consideration.

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