- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Bike music festival
by Taylor 15 Feb '08

15 Feb '08

Yea gabe! I met him in san fran after a crit mass ride! Keep the list updated if its happening again!

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Bicycle Music Festival?
by Jonathan Morrison 14 Feb '08

14 Feb '08

http://www.bicyclemusicfestival.com/ -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Volunteering time
by Andrew Bushaw 14 Feb '08

14 Feb '08

Kyle, I will stand in solidarity with everything you just said. It's refreshing to hear someone frame the idea of white and class privilege in such an elegant but accessible way. Mainly I just wanted to voice my support because this is a tough discussion to have but an important one. To Bruce's comment about women and bike shops, I'd have to say that you are using a symptom of patriarchy (few women not in bike shops) to justify that outcome. For an analogy: if there was no bike rack or pole or anything to lock your bike up to outside of a new Thai restaurant, should the owner of the shop assume that you not eating there because it "you as a cyclist innately don't like Thai food" or because there is barrier to entry, not having a place to put your ride? If he assumes it's because cyclists don't like Thai food, he'll never put a bike rack out front and you'll never eat there. Maybe that's a goofy analogy but maybe it's still relevant. We actually had this discussion with a couple of women that frequently patronize the shop when we asked them if they would be interested in a womens only night. Their response was pretty interesting. They said that it would be nice so that new women patrons could become comfortable in a new setting with other women but then once they felt confident in the basics they wouldn't have any problem going to regular shop hours because the wouldn't feel like they were relying on men volunteers for everything. I think that makes a lot of sense. As to the folks that get uncomfortable about this and feel they are being accused of "being a racist" this examination of privilege isn't about personal prejudice but rather about institutional racism, the systems that have permeated American society from it's inception. Wage and wealth inequities based on race, access to services based on race, gentrification, unfair employment practices, structures of the economy, allocation of democratic rights, these are all part of institutional racism that is at the core of white privilege. Really it's about admitting that it exists, owning it and trying to find ways to use it to a mutual benefit of everyone involved (organizing a community bike shop and empowering those communities without white male privilege) and that is light years more progressive and effective than than going on about how your not a racist and your oppressed too (not saying anyone here has done that but it's a common response from liberal folks). I think paying wage is a great way to enable marginalize peoples to participate in Com. Bike shops and I'm sure there are many more, we need to find those too! Keep the ideas coming! Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Re: [TheThinkTank] bio cleaner, and bike blue book....
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 12 Feb '08

12 Feb '08

Beth you are Crazy! and I hope you stay that way sane people are so boring. Blue book bicycle pricing is the same as pricing a house. A bike in one market will bring a different price in a different market. A three bedroom Victorian house in the middle of a corn field will bring a different price in down town Chicago, Boston, San Francisco. Some markets have fads they go though. The west coast has a mini fad of old TT super bikes from the 1980's ( does anyone remember the 24" front 700c or 28" rear wheeled bikes? I have two of them. Fast and painful to the neck. New and used cars are kept at superficial price by nation wide dealer networks, New bikes are under the same control from the manufactures, Used bikes are not sold buy most shops so they are priced at what the local market will bare. A car is also priced by mileage, All car have odometers All bikes do not. Hard to tell how many miles are on the bike. Hard to swap out drive train in a car, easy to replace derailleurs, chain, cogs, chain rings, wheels. Cars that are modified are discounted at the dealers and sell better on the open market. Bikes that are upgraded are no big deal because all used bike are sold on the open market. I say go for it, There were blue books in the past for bicycles and you can do anything you put your mind to. It is also a big project with no end and constant updating. The BIO cleaner is a ball of wax, it is good to use Bio solvents (citrus oils or Detergents like Simple Green, Dawn) then filter the water and put a oil filters in a enzyme bath that will eat up the oil. I have not seen enzymes that work fast enough to clean a chain in 10 minutes. I do know enzymes will chew up oil over time in a barrel out back. **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. Go to AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)

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Fwd: FYI: Lance Camisasca Receives BRAINy Individual Advocacy Award
by Jonathan Morrison 12 Feb '08

12 Feb '08

FYI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chip Smith <csmith(a)soarcomm.com> Date: Feb 11, 2008 1:24 PM Subject: FYI: Lance Camisasca Receives BRAINy Individual Advocacy Award To: info(a)bikecollectives.org *Dear Jonathan,* FYI. In conjunction with the Bicycle Leadership Conference held in San Diego last month, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News presented Lance Camisasca, former Interbike show director, with the BRAINy award for Individual Advocacy. The award honored the advocacy alliances he built and sustained during his tenure with Interbike and beyond. The complete news release is below. Sincerely, Chip Smith, for Interbike and Lifeboat Solutions SOAR Communications 801.523.3730 csmith(a)soarcomm.com ========================= *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* *Lance Camisasca Receives Individual Advocacy BRAINy Award from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News* *Interbike consultant and former show director honored for sustaining and creating new advocacy alliances and increasing Interbike's investment in advocacy fundraising* *LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. - Feb. 11, 2008 -* Lifeboat Solutions founder and Interbike industry consultant, Lance Camisasca, was recently named Individual Advocate of the Year by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. The award was presented at a dinner and reception held in conjunction with the Bicycle Leadership Conference, January 18-20, 2008. Now in its eighth year, the BRAINy Individual Advocacy Award recognizes individuals within the cycling industry who have been an effective agent of change and a positive mouthpiece for the industry. "As a committed cyclist and bike commuter, Lance appreciates the important role bike advocacy groups play in making our streets safer for cyclists," said Megan Tompkins, editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. "Moreover, he understands just how critical advocacy efforts are to the growth of the bike business. In his role as Interbike show director, he has supported numerous national bike advocacy groups over the years, providing them visibility, promotional and fundraising opportunities at the show." According to industry members, Camisasca has been a consistent supporter of all the national bike advocacy groups and has created a variety of successful fundraising projects in support of groups like Bikes Belong, the League of American Bicyclists and IMBA. He also recently helped broker a new 10-year alliance between Nielsen Business Media and Bikes Belong that will substantially increase Interbike's investment in important advocacy programs such as Safe Routes to School and Bike Friendly Communities. Independent from the retailer BRAINy awards, the Individual Advocacy award is based on industry nominations with the final decision being made by BRAIN and Bikes Belong staff members. Past honorees include Ariadne Scott of Specialized, Bill Fry of Bell Sports and Gary Sjoquist of QBP. "I am proud to have been a part of increasing Interbike's monetary and in-kind advocacy efforts over the years, even when budgeting was tough," said Camisasca. "Looking back, I am grateful to various show owners who listened to and respected my advocacy efforts and team members like Mike Greeham, who patiently taught me 'Advocacy 101'." While Camisasca is no longer the show director for Interbike, he is still very involved in the high-level strategy and management of the expo as an industry consultant. With the creation of his new event management, sales and marketing firm, Lifeboat Solutions, Camisasca also helps individual manufacturers identify and develop cost effective tradeshow strategies, and provides logistical support such as identifying vendor partners, service form submission, on-site coordination and post show follow-up. For more information about Lifeboat Solutions, please visit www.lifeboatsolutions.com<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015ONwy4Ws-2meF52RmT1ubihyGDD5hMlt59KJIOSgBNgesB6k…>or contact Lance Camisasca at lance(a)lifeboatsolutions.com. *About Lifeboat Solutions *Founded in 2008 by Lance Camisasca, Lifeboat Solutions is an event management, sales and marketing firm that provides consulting services to companies within the recreational sporting goods industry, such as Interbike, Health+Fitness Business, and Bikes Belong. For more information about Lifeboat Solutions, please visit www.lifeboatsolutions.com<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015ONwy4Ws-2meF52RmT1ubihyGDD5hMlt59KJIOSgBNgesB6k…> . # # # *MEDIA CONTACTS: *Chip Smith, SOAR Communications, 801.523.3730(wk) / 801.597.7515(cell), csmith(a)soarcomm.com or Lance Camisasca, Lifeboat Solutions, 949.444.8805, lance(a)lifeboatsolutions.com Forward email<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1101387134951&ea=info%40bikecol…> <http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001fCFdTiS7mDQCQB3mNdsHuGTDUaAgc…> This email was sent to info(a)bikecollectives.org, by csmith(a)soarcomm.com Update Profile/Email Address<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001fCFdTiS7mDQCQB3mNdsHuGTDUaAgc…>| Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001fCFdTiS7mDQCQB3mNdsHuGTDUaAgc…>™ | Privacy Policy <http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp>. Email Marketing<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_BusLet_003>by <http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_BusLet_003> SOAR Communications | 392 E. 12300 S. | Suite J | Draper | UT | 84020

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Valet Bike Parking
by Jonathan Morrison 12 Feb '08

12 Feb '08

Does anyone else do it? http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Valet_Bike_Parking -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Valet Bike Parking
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 12 Feb '08

12 Feb '08

Chicago Bicycle Federation works with banks to pay for Valet Parking at many down town events through the summer. night time movie nights, food, cultural events, triathlons, and the end of family bike ride. Simple snow fencing, for the outside barrier, three staff, metal racks for 500 bikes, and paper claim tickets for the patrons and their bikes, a repair stand if you want to get fancy **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp0030000… 48)

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Parts washers/gmail
by Tom Emm 12 Feb '08

12 Feb '08

Pat, scroll down a little and click on link that say parts washers, after "Kelly bluebook" also, a few letters in the gmail should be looked at. Tom Send Thethinktank mailing list submissions to thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to thethinktank-request(a)bikecollectives.org You can reach the person managing the list at thethinktank-owner(a)bikecollectives.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Thethinktank digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: bio cleaner, and bike blue book.... (Jonathan Morrison) 2. Valet Bike Parking (Jonathan Morrison) 3. Re: Valet Bike Parking (ronald ferrucci) 4. Re: Valet Bike Parking (keri conrad) 5. Re: Valet Bike Parking (Urban Bike Project of Wilmington, Inc.) 6. Re: Valet Bike Parking (Chris Carlsson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:30:46 -0700 From: "Jonathan Morrison" Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] bio cleaner, and bike blue book.... To: "The Think Tank" Message-ID: <4dd29fd10802100930v77acfcc3t858adfcb5718e8df(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" 1) The Kelley Blue Book for cars is also affected by region too. We have a unique issue because to keep our shop from getting too full we sell the bikes for next to nothing, or give them away to people who have a letter from a good will agency, just so they don't start stacking up. Working Bikes in Chicago is a great example of an organization who makes their margins in quantity. 2) http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Parts_Washers -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/ On Feb 10, 2008 12:17 AM, Angelo Coletta wrote: > While there is no comprehensive pricing book for cycles, there are ones > that have been done for those who collect "classic American bikes(1930 to > 1960)" > > I have used a halfing method for appraisal. $200 was the new selling > price; 1yr old $100; 2yr $50.00 and so forth. That is a base line. Then > comes the art and the subjective: condition, desirability, rarity. Any > up-fitting done? Frame type and size. Component quality. Accessories. > All factors that affect value. Also there is the wholesale price and the > retail price. That would reflect any labor invested in making the unit > saleable. > > Hope this helps. > > Angelo > > *Velocipede Bike Project * wrote: > > So here are two hare brain ideas that have been thrown out here in > baltimore and i wanted to get y'alls take on them... > > 1. a bicycle blue book...we were talking about pricing bikes and how > arbitrary it often seems,(often two members will claim wildly different > prices with equal authority and citing the same number of sources) and > someone mentioned that in this time of the growing bicycle > collective/community shop projects there may be enough of a market to be > able to approach a publisher about creating a blue book that would price > for instance, a 1982 murray...I know this sounds crazy, but I was > wondering how crazy was it really.... > > 2. Someone approached us recently about a bio friendly parts cleaner. > Apparently it has enzymes that eat oil so less bad stuff going into the > environment/less exposure to toxic chemicals ourselves. He said he may be > able to get us a machine for free, but it would cost around a grand to > fill it up. does anyone have any experience with this kind of machine or > technology? Is it worth our time and fundraising? I've been thinking alot > lately about ways to make our shop more green friendly by doing things > like cutting down on plastic use and using vinegar and baking soda as > cleaners instead of bleach and such... > > http://www.biocircle.com/portal/page?_pageid=73,394253&_dad=portal&_schema=… > > what do y'all think? am I crazy? > -beth > velocipede bike project > baltmore, md(hey, try to remember to include your city and shop in posts) > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > >

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Sheldon Brown passed away...
by Jonathan Morrison 10 Feb '08

10 Feb '08

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/index.html -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Volunteering time
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 09 Feb '08

09 Feb '08

Being white gives us privileges that might make it easier to 'donate' a lot of time to a project you love. Nice racist statement. Other communities donate time to things they cherish. All races and earning levels donate time to the religious practice of their choice. That is universal. Bikes, sadly, are not cherished universally by all communities. Owning a house is focused more in some communities and the car is just a tool to get to work. Owning a fancier car has a greater focus in some communities and owning property is less of a focus. Of course this is a generalization and there are always exceptions. In either rich or poor a community where there is more focus on the car as a status symbol; the bike is less likely to be Cherished. How many Yuppies or true upper crust volunteers do you have? Any Trumps?, Hiltons?, Pritzkers? They all have the money to stop working and volunteer at your bike program. But sadly they do not cherish the bicycle. So for a communities that do not cherish the bicycle, you need to invite the local community members into you bike shop if you want diversity. The bike program should offer adult training and have OBIOUS ways for the adults to volunteer to work on bikes, teach youth, sell bikes, teach other adults, work on inventory, work on web sites, spread the message to the community, help with business contacts, help with volunteers and what ever you need to be successful. I have had special classes for women taught by women that liked my classes. Not all women want the first classes to be with men. They what to do it "on there own" and want to have a like minded teacher, not a person who does a project for them. They want self sufficiency and to feel supported. We need to support the needs of a diverse community, if we want them to come and be part of our shops. If they do not love the bike now, you will have to teach them LOVE OF DA BIKE! and give them oppertunity. Christopher Wallace Chicago **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp0030000… 48)

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Key woes and solutions!
by Jonathan Morrison 09 Feb '08

09 Feb '08

I don't know if your organization has issues with volunteers, "lost" or M.I.A. keys, or just not knowing who left the shop a mess after hours. We did, but after looking into all the options ( http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Keyless_Entry) we were able to get a smart card (RFID) reader donated for our shop door. This has worked out really well so far. * A log is kept of who uses the shop and when for accountabilities sake. * Smart cards (http://www.hidcorp.com/technology.php?tech_cat=1&subcat_id=9) can be purchased at any locksmith for the same cost of getting a traditional key cut, but they don't work until they are "registered" with software that controls the door. * Smart cards cannot be copied. * If a card is lost or there is a problem with a volunteer that can't be resolved in a civil manner -- the card can be denied future access. Luckily we haven't had that anything besides "lost" keys. * Access to the shop can be limited to the hour, so if we wanted to we could incubate a volunteer by only giving them access to the shop at certain times. * A magnetic contact on the door gives us a count of roughly how many people use our shop. We realize that some people hold the door for others and some go in and out more than once -- while those might cancel each other out, it is a rough estimate. * We installed the smart card reader at "butt" level. So if it is in your wallet you can open the door without taking your hands off a bike with the "butt swipe." * No personal information is stored on the smart (RFID) card, there is just a pre-programmed number that has to be an inch away for a card reader to detect. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Volunteering time
by Jessica McPherson 08 Feb '08

08 Feb '08

Also, can I point out that there is a big difference between characterizing a statement or action as racist, and calling a person a racist? I think it's really important to be able to talk frankly about racism, and that is hard when bringing up the word at all is automatically interpreted as calling people racists. We all do or say racist things sometimes. It doesn't mean we're evil, horrible people. It means there's a situation when people could benefit from honest discussion and an opportunity to learn from others' perspectives. So can we try to be open to that without being offensive/taking offense? And make an extra effort to be clear when this loaded word does get put out there? Race, gender, and class all definitely fit into this issue of accessibility, so it's great we're talking about it those terms. And it's complicated; we can probably all learn something from other peoples' experience. -Jessica ----- Original Message ---- From: Erik Ryberg <ryberg(a)seanet.com> To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2008 2:29:22 PM Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Volunteering time When I went to college I was a poor white kid from rural Oregon on a scholarship to a fancy East Coast private university. Everybody I met there had more money than I did. During the summers they all went off to unpaid internships in NY or LA. I had similar offers, but there was just no way I could afford to do that, move to NYC for three months with no pay. When my friends graduated they got jobs at these places and I ended up working at a bakery. That's what Kyle was talking about. And as an aside he made the leap, perhaps disputed by some here, that people who are not white are more often among those who don't have a lot of money. Maybe you don't agree, but all he was saying is that if you pay people, then you will be more likely to find class and probably race diversity on your staffs. True? False? Maybe? I don't know, but it makes logical sense, and it seems possible to agree with him or disagree with him without being a racist. Erik Ryberg ien wrote: > I see Kyle's point as tunnel vision. Look at other areas reliant on > volunteers and you will see many females, in some cases overwhelmingly. > Case in point: the local chapter of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters > organization reported their volunteers by gender composition is 75% > female, 25% male. That should shoot the theory of white boys being > privileged and in positions to volunteer. It is the bike business in > general that attracts males to the sport. Don't believe me then take a > look at the staff at any bike shop for your random sample. Females are a > breath of fresh air to the sport of cycling and bike riding in general. > But look also to the junior ranks of any state cycling organization and > you will find many more males than females. Credit to those that > volunteer and here is wishing more would join us, especially females. > bikedad > > */Andy Dyson <andy(a)neighborhoodbikeworks.org>/* wrote: > > BovineOaks(a)aol.com wrote: > > Being white gives us privileges that might make it easier to > 'donate' a > > lot of time to a project you love. Nice racist statement. > > > > Some great points in your post, Christopher, but it's the first line I > have a problem with. I think that if you're going to call someone a > racist you should do so in a more direct and clear way, for all of our > benefit. > > Perhaps I'm just not smart, but sarcasm like the above leaves me > wondering exactly what about Kyle's post you thought was racist and > why. > There are various interpretations I could think of, but why people in > our community are calling each other racists is not an area where I > want > to jump to any conclusions. I do actually want to know what you think, > because I don't think that Kyle was denying that people of all > backgrounds volunteer, rather that privilege exists and it makes things > easier for young, white males. > > I think that the whole point of Kyle's post is to draw attention to the > existence of privilege, something that, in my experience, is not > obvious > to all of us. > > Peace, > > Andy > > -- > Andrew C. Dyson > Executive Director Neighborhood Bike Works > Increasing opportunities for youth through bicycling > > > Check our Web Site: > http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org > > > Neighborhood Bike Works > 3916 Locust Walk, > Philadelphia, PA 19104 > > > Office: (215) 386-0316 > Cell: (215) 873-6695 > FAX: (215) 386-7288 > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. > <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -- Erik B. Ryberg Attorney at Law 445 West Simpson Street Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 622-3333 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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Cheap Helmets!
by AndaLaLucha 06 Feb '08

06 Feb '08

Hello Think Tankers, I was wondering where people get their kids bike helmets from. Has anyone had sucess getting some donated? Are their websites/companies people can recommend. So far we have found www.prorider.com $3 for basic kinda crappy helmets www.*helmets*rus.net/*nonprofit*/ $5 and $6 for nicer helmet with modern adjusting features that are much safer Any other ideas? Andalusia P.S R.I.P. Sheldon Brown : ( PPS If i get a chance I may also try later to explain how free ride's volunteer/comission/contracting staff system works.

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Re: [TheThinkTank] [SLC Bike Collective] Sheldon Brown passed away...
by Bacus, Tom (KLC) 05 Feb '08

05 Feb '08

Sad news indeed. I never met him, but he helped me set up my first single speed via phone calls and email. The bike community has lost one of the great ones. -------------------------- Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld ----- Original Message ----- From: community-bounces(a)slcbikecollective.org <community-bounces(a)slcbikecollective.org> To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org>; SLC Bicycle Collective <community(a)slcbikecollective.org>; SLC Critical Mass <community(a)slccriticalmass.org> Sent: Mon Feb 04 13:17:03 2008 Subject: [SLC Bike Collective] Sheldon Brown passed away... http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/index.html -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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alternative payment/stipend structures
by Erik Stockmeier 05 Feb '08

05 Feb '08

Hello, comrades, At BB last year I heard a number of different takes on the issue of payment to core/committed/etc members of the shop. This is obviously something that many of us have struggled with--a small stipend can enable someone to spend much more time in the shop and increase productivity, etc, but it also can have pitfalls: shifting emphasis toward making money & away from service/community/etc goals. Not to be nosey, but I'm wondering how different shops have approached this, both through payrolls and alternate routes. I'm also wondering what kind of decision-making and account-taking goes on in regards to taking care of each others' needs so that neither individuals nor the organisation as an organism is exploited. There are also questions of seasonable labor, the threat of a paid, empowered elite vs the volunteer masses... I'm just thinking out loud. Sorry this question is so broad and filled with etc's. If any kind of discussion comes out of it I will be happy to elaborate on my own experiences (can't speak for all of The Recyclery) but for now I'm curious about what else is out there and how well it has worked. I'm interested to hear from all-volunteer groups as well, of course. Thanks- Erik Stockmeier The Recyclery www.therecyclery.org

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Collective members/ordering from QBP
by Jessica McPherson 05 Feb '08

05 Feb '08

Something to add is that we require people to give 24 hours volunteer time every three months in order to join the collective council. The qbp privilege is a bonus for that commitment. And, it is consistent with QBP's policy, in that the people who can make personal orders are essentially the "employees" of the shop. -Jessica ----- Original Message ---- From: Stuart O Anderson <soa(a)ri.cmu.edu> To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 4:17:43 PM Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Collective members/ordering from QBP I can't find the policy on the QBP dealer site, you might want to call your account rep to check. I believe the deal is that it's OK for shop employees to make personal orders for personal use, possibly with some total dollar cap on how much can be ordered for this use in a year? We let collective members add items to our orders for personal use with the understanding that the stuff they order isn't going to be given away/resold. If someone wants more than $500 worth of stuff it goes through collective review. Stuart On Jan 30, 2008 2:14 PM, <plan_9(a)riseup.net> wrote: > I was wondering if anyone has any policy in place that allows or > dis-allows collective members from ordering new parts, frame/forks, or > even complete bikes from QBP. Shops that do allow ordering, what > restrictions from QBP apply? > Thanks, Andrew > FMCBW > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

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Forums for Website
by Sarah 05 Feb '08

05 Feb '08

Hey, y'all! Anyone have an amazing free forum program you run on your website? Or, what have folks used on BikeBike websites in the past? Are there free forums you suggest, or some you don't like at all? Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks, ~ Sarahtops thebestsarah(a)gmail.com Madison, Wisconsin FreeWheel Community Bike Shop - www.freewheelbikes.org Neverwood Collective - www.pnc2rnc.org

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Collective members/ordering from QBP
by plan_9＠riseup.net 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

I was wondering if anyone has any policy in place that allows or dis-allows collective members from ordering new parts, frame/forks, or even complete bikes from QBP. Shops that do allow ordering, what restrictions from QBP apply? Thanks, Andrew FMCBW

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Grant Seeking and Collective Foundation Center Subscription?
by rachael spiewak 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

Hi, everyone! People have been asking us lately about how we do our grant seeking. We're not experts (at bike maintenance either), but we've scored a little bit of support in the last few months. What helps the most is the Foundation Center, and we're lucky enough to have a physical location in Atlanta. However, there are tons of free resources on their website, and I just learned about a bunch at a workshop there recently. They also publish books, and I'm thinking about getting their Guides to Proposal Writing<http://foundationcenter.org/marketplace/catalog/product_monograph.jhtml?id=…> . *The FAQ has tons of technical info, and links pretty heavily to samples of things. I used the Letter of Inquiry<http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/letter.html>entry recently, and it was massively helpful. I put a sample letter that I wrote on the BCN Wiki<http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Grant_Writing>(but I can't figure out the formatting). *There are free online tutorials<http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/learnabout/foundations.html>at the bottom of this page. *As for process.. *I would like to suggest that we buy a collective subscription<https://fcsecure.fdncenter.org/fdo_signup_prof/register.php?setplan=start>so everyone can access the database regardless of location. When you access a record in the database, it returns critical info, like areas of interest, contact info, initial contact method, etc.. all the things you need to know so you can zero in on the foundations that are likely to help you and start building a relationship with them. What we're going for are as non-corporate as possible Atlanta-specific foundations that provide operational support to community development organizations. Most of these are interested in education and/or the environment, so we fit right in. It gets that specific. *To get started on thinking through what your organization does, what you need money for, and whom to ask: **Create a logic model<http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/np_mod/org_frm.htm>. This helps you name and quantify measurable things. *Create a budget. We have a spreadsheet broken down by month, things quantified by quarter, and a projected annual budget. I did this in Open Office spreadsheet, but maybe some folks have found more user friendly software. Anyway, included are major developments so we can relate those things with changes in income and expenses. It's easy then to prove how shop activity and income generated increased when we expanded shop hours. And that makes it easy to describe how operational support for a Shop Manager salary will provide the necessary means to support said explosion in shop awesomeness. *Create a companion timeline. *Have a compelling and concise argument, and make sure everything relates back to your mission statement. *Start early. Grant seeking is not just filling out an application and turning it in on the deadline. It's a process of getting to know people. *Realize that Operation Support can include personnel. You may be organizing a community bike shop that could benefit from having some paid staff. *For folks wondering how we're pitching ourselves: *Sopo is a community development organization. We use bicycle repair education as a way to empower people while we work together to create affordable transportation. Our core program is the Shop. The Shop is open to the public four days a week, and it is accessed by 100 people per week, including drop in visitors, volunteers, donors, community leaders, kids, etc. All participants access the shop in order to share resources and knowledge. The organization has paid director, and our next staffing goal is to hire a project manager for our core program (Shop Manager). If you need more info on the community development piece: Creating affordable housing and food security is considered community development activity. Like housing and food, transportation is a major household expense (see: the Census), and taken together we've got our big three producers of pollution and consumers of energy. Transportation is the neglected component when it comes to organizations creating affordable access (A lack of vocabulary indicates social invisibility [I think of gender expression and pronouns here]. How many organizations are addressing rampant "transportationlessness" in our communities?). Community bike shops not only address an economic gap. We also address the social and environmental components (which means we're doing sustainable development work). I have a diagram that goes along with this. And a flowchart. Nerd alert. Anyway, I hope this helps. : ) -- Rachael Spiewak, MSW Executive Director Sopo Bicycle Cooperative www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm Important Dates: Monday, January 28, 6 pm - Volunteer Orientation at Sopo Wednesday, January 30, 7 pm - Craft Night at 858-C DeKalb Ave

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GrassRoutes [Bicycle] Caravan August!
by Sarah 27 Jan '08

27 Jan '08

Hey, bike enthusiasts! I wanted to give y'all a heads-up about a bicycle caravan taking place in August 2008. The Neverwood Collective in Madison, Wisconsin is organizing a bike ride to St. Paul, Minnesota, arriving a few days ahead of the Republican National Convention protests! We're calling the ride the GrassRoutes Caravan, as we'll be hooking up with various grassroots organizations along our route, doing volunteer work and learning about regional struggles. Madison is holding a counter-convention to the Republican and Democrat National Conventions. It's called the People's Networking Convention (PNC), and it's going down August 15-17th. The GrassRoutes Caravan will link the PNC to the RNC. Check out more about the PNC and the Caravan at: www.infopnc.org -- People's Networking Convention www.pnc2rnc.org -- GrassRoutes Caravan We're super-excited about the GrassRoutes Caravan! It's sort of a mix between the Democracy Uprising DNC2RNC march in 2004, work done by the SuperHeroes collective, cycle circuses everywhere, a mobile version of Burning Man, and everything in-between! We just published a zine about our vision -- find it to download online. We welcome any input, advice, or bike travel hints you may have. I invite y'all, and yer bikes, to the Midwest this August for our mobile village of resistance! I hope to hear from you soon! Sincerely, ~ Sarahtops of the Neverwood Collective Madison, Wisconsin PS: Many thanks if you spread this message far and wide!

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selling bikes
by Liza Mattana 26 Jan '08

26 Jan '08

if this has been answered before, can you link me to the archive thread? my questions is how does your org price used bikes? we've come across some nice older bikes (bridgestone CB-0 and an old stumpjumper), and we're trying to figure out a way to price them, kind of a way to standardize the process. we'll be turning them into commuter bikes with fenders and racks and making them safe and rideable, but we're not doing complete overhauls. i know this is a tricky question, but any advice you have will be helpful! thanks, liza -- Liza Mattana www.pedals2people.org Spokane, WA

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mailing list
by Tom Christopher 25 Jan '08

25 Jan '08

Please put me on your mailing list. Thanks, Tom

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Collective Board of Directors
by Andrew Bushaw 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

This is what I have proposed to our collective in regard to forming a Board of Directors. If anyone is familiar with Participatory Economics, this is sort of modeled after that system of Producer/Consumer and Worker Councils. FM Community Bicycle Workshop Organizational Structure General Collective Membership is defined by: Working regular, accountable shifts of 4 hours in length, once a week for the duration of at least one month. After that one month, working regular, accountable shifts is still expected but is flexible depending on circumstances. Attending and actively participating in at least three consecutive General Collective, Board, or Worker Council meetings. If a General Collective Member is inactive for the duration of one month without a prior notice, their membership is terminated with the option to rejoin the collective through by meeting the same criteria as a new prospective collective member. The General Collective will meet once a Month at a regularly scheduled time to discuss the day to day operation of the shop, update schedules, make suggestions and in general report news to the collective from their respective worker councils. Worker Councils (WC) consist of members from the general collective who wish to have an increased level of participation. There are six WC: Finance/Legal, Advertising/Hardcopy, Physical Donations, Shop/Tools/Ordering, Education, and Community Outreach. Each WC chooses a representative within to represent their interests on the Board of Directors. These representatives are easily recallable by the WC or the General Collective as a whole. These representatives along with co-representatives, if appointed, would be the collectives primary key-holders. The six WC representatives are also members of the Board of directors, and taken as a whole, make up the producers council. Worker councils will meet as needed. Collective members would generally only officially participate in one WC, two if necessary. The Board of Directors -- Members-At-Large would represent the interests of the groups that the FMCBW explicitly intends to serve. In other words, they would collectively make up the consumers council. These Board members-at-large would be chosen by the General Collective at the annual meeting and would serve a one year term. Board Mechanics: Six Collective members representing their respective WC and 6-8 Members-At-Large to represent the communities we intend to serve. The Board of Directors will meet quarterly and are open to general collective member attendance. Two weeks notice will be given before the quarterly meetings and one week notice will be given for special circumstances. Voting by proxy is allowed but consent must be given in a written form and it must be on a specified proposal and not a general power. Voting by email is valid and legitimate but if any board member feels that there needs to be more discussion the vote can be vetoed and a meeting called in it's place. Quorum for Board of Directors meetings will be 50%+1. The board of directors will determine what specific democratic decision making process suits but with an emphasis on consensus decision making when possible. The board will have a Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. In the case of vacancies, the General Collective will be charged with finding a suitable replacement, taking into consideration input and suggestions from the Board Members-At-Large. I think the overall effect of this would be to allow outside input and give us community perspective, tap external resources, organize more effectively in our WC, increase general collective membership thus "throwing more people" at the issue of staffing the shop when open, Allow individual participation to determine level of involvement in decisionmaking, allow a broader number of people to lead in their areas of interest, as well as being "legal" in terms of US regulations. Andrew ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Collectives and board of Directors
by plan_9＠riseup.net 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

Thus far the FM Community Bicycle Workshop has been operating as a 501c3 through a fiscal agency agreement with a local non-profit. The agreement is for a limited time period so I have been working on our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Tax forms. The crossroads were at with it though, is that we are set up to operate as a traditional collective (consensus, democratic decision making, non-authoritarian structure) with elements of Participatory Economics (we have worker councils set up). This doesn't seem to reconcile very cleanly with how the US wants non-profits to be structured with a traditional Board of Directors, Chair, Co-chair, Secretary, Treasurer, etc. So what I'm wondering is this: How do other groups that have a non-heirarchical organizational structure set up their bylaws and articles to reflect their values, yet be accepted as a legitimate by the state? I have been told by a few more non-standard organizations that they just set it up like "it's supposed to be" and then disregard it. I really don't want to do that since if it's on the books, we can be held accountable to it. These seem to be the logical options so far: 1. Collective as the Board of Directors. In this scenario we basically form the board using the collective members as board members and build our bylaws around our the rules and procedures that are outlined in our volunteer handbook. To get outside folks involved in this we could set up an advisory board that would give input but not make decisions that would meet something like once a quarter. 2. An Outside Board In this scenario we would form a board that would consist completely of outside individuals who are understanding of our mission and would represent the populations that we serve. The collective would serve the role of the executive director(s). In this situation we would be tasked with the day to day decisions of the FMCBW and have input into the Board of Directors but macro decisions such as funding, long term planning, would ultimately be decided by the Board of Directors. (This idea has already met with much opposition from the group so this is probably out) 3. A Mixed Board In this scenario we would form a board that would consist of some collective members and some outside community members. There could be checks and balances put into place to make sure that the collective continues to have real tangible input into the board of directors decision making. This would take some extra mechanics in our bylaws and is slightly non-standard in the non-profit world, (but is somewhat more standard in the business world) but in the end might be the best of both worlds if done correctly. For Example: We have a board of 9 people, four of which were collective members and five of which were outside community members that would represent the populations that we serve. We could run the board conservatively (as in more resistance to change, not politically of course) where we would put into our bylaws that we there must be Consensus U-3 to make binding decisions. This would enable the collective to block any proposals, given that they have solidarity on the issue, that the board may make that might be against the interest or the intent of the collectives mission. This method would also stand for electing new outside board members, ensuring that the integrity and intent of the organization would stay in line with the collectives mission. The numbers and methods are up in the air, of course, I was just using this as an example. These all have pros and cons to them. The collective as the board we would continue to have autonomous control over what we do and how we operate and would allow us to make decisions "light and fast" but at the loss of credibility, resources and the ever important perspective of the community. Having an outside board would make it easier to propose "self-serving" ideas, such as paying us wages, funding outside training, going to conferences, spending shop money to renumerate the collective. Plus it spreads the risk, it allows input from veterans in the non-profit world as well as access to their resources without begging. It would give us an air of credibility to some institutions that might take us "not so seriously". It also allows us to focus on building bikes, teaching bike maintenance, and developing our programs. The risk is that we don't have control over the board at all and are totally at their whims. We can put a good board in place that understands our values and mission but they are responsible for voting in new board members, and if their judgment isn't the same as ours, there is the potential that a few years down the road there could be a group of people directing us in a way we might not agree with at all, and could possibly disband the collective and appoint a director. The Mixed Board has potential to have the best of both worlds if executed correctly. If executed incorrectly it could possible result in some of the negative possibilities of both the the others. It would probably also take a little longer to make decisions, but since we are already operating fairly well we probably are done making rapid decisions. Sorry for the ridiculously long post, I decided not to chop it down in case this info is useful for the seemingly many new bike collectives that are in the works right now. Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Re: [TheThinkTank] low cost lights
by troy neiman 18 Jan '08

18 Jan '08

Here in Tucson, it is fairly common for folks to get a generic mini maglight from the ace hardware or a sporting good store. these come with a few to many LED bulbs for the cost of 5-15 $ generally the more you spend the better quality the light. Then pick yourself up a couple of hose clamps and put one around the light and loop the second through the first and around the handle bar or stem. this creates a good adjustable, theft resistant bracket as good or better than that plastic crap on the market. This has been a great solution for many people. you get about 10-15 hours out of most of the lights and the cost is a relatively low 10-20 dollars for and aluminum body led light as opposed to a plastic one for the same price. Bike lights that are supposedly built for "bike riding" are probably one of the most frustrating things about the industry, i personally think they are all crap or overkill. > ----- Originale ----- > From: "1304bikes" <1304bikes(a)gmail.com> > To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Piles of freewheels? > Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:31:41 -0500 > > > Christopher, While the points you raise are valid and very good advice, I'm > afraid it doesn' help our shop out very much. We deal with a lot of > homeless and working class poeple who can not or would rather not spend $30 > on a bike light. Likewise, our organization doesn't have the funds to > provide every EAB paticipant with a full set of lights, even though we want > to. > > That being said, I'm still open to hearing what other shops have come > up with for inexpensive solutions to the light issue. I still feel that any > light is better than no light. > > -Doug > 1304bikes, Raleigh > > > > There is a physical problem with lights that are not powerful. As we > > humans get older our cornea become harder and do not open and close as > > quickly as in our youth. This leaves us blind to all but the brightest > > lights after we are hit in the face by car headlamps. I witnessed a cyclist > > disappear when he was backlit by car headlamps. He had a few $15 to $20 > > front flashers, a reflective vest, and reflective tape on the bike. Once he > > was back lit by a car all those inexpensive low wattage lamps were worthless > > to his safety > > > > If you do not invest in a bright light you will disappear when back lit > > and in other situations. The lesson I learned is simple if you are to be > > traffic at night time you need to act like traffic. If you can get the Cat > > Eye 520 at cost, it is about $30 and well worth it. 1200 candle power is > > close to the brightness of a car head lamp, 300 hour burn time with 4 AA > > batteries. When in traffic, act like traffic. If they are well lit, you > > should be equally lit to be seen. A flash light is not enough. > > > > > > I am not saying do not have fun with cheap lights too. I look like an > > alien space craft with all the cheap lights around my bike. I also have a > > serious head and tail light. I do make a spectacle of myself out on the road > > at night. Have fun and think about safety. > > > > Christopher Wallace > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in > > shape<http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489>in the new > > year. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > > -- > 1304bikes > 2419 Mayview Rd. > Raleigh, NC > 1304bikes.org > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > y -- Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com!

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