- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Examples of business plans?
by Carolyn Szczepanski 28 Sep '11

28 Sep '11

Hi folks- I'm the communication coordinator for the Alliance for Biking & Walking, a coalition of more than 185 state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. The majority of our member organizations are of the standard advocacy model (bike safety classes, encouragement programs, state/local lobbying, policy work, etc) — but there's incredible interest in the energy, power and equity of community bike shops / earn-a-bike / recycle-a-bicycle programs. Several advocates have recently asked me if there are any examples of community bike shop "business plans" that might serve as inspiration or models for, say, a community bike shop in her area of Mississippi. Would anybody be willing to share or provide some feedback? Thanks in advance! A huge admirer of all of your incredible work, Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Coordinator Alliance for Biking & Walking carolyn(a)peoplepoweredmovement.org Submit your best photos of biking and walking in the 2011 People Powered Movement Photo Contest!

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Insurance
by Skipriffle＠aol.com 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

I am the president of _www.BikesForTykes.org_ (http://www.BikesForTykes.org) a children's program that refurbishes old bikes into near new condition and then gives them to the underprivileged kids in our area. Even though we are the oldest continuous bike program in the US, we still encounter problems. My question is how most of you handle shop liability and event liability? I see a lot of posting about having kids work on their bikes, however the 'hold not responsible' forms you have people sign just will not do it in a court of law. The only close to 'protected' way is to have shop and event liability through an insurance company and get your 'not hold responsible' forms signed. Even then it is not a 'sure thing'. It all depends on the judge. Has anyone run this by an attorney? What did he/she have to say and where do you get the insurance from? One injury to a child and a parent out to make an example out of any of us and your program is toast!!! I have not got the best answer so I am asking all of you what you have done. Sincerely, Skip Riffle, Pres. Bikes For Tykes, Inc. _www.BikesForTykes.org_ (http://www.BikesForTykes.org) _Skip(a)BikesForTykes.org_ (mailto:Skip@BikesForTykes.org) 238-450-3366 cell

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Help BICAS win $5000, voting ends Friday!
by troy neiman 18 Sep '11

18 Sep '11

Oooo Dang, The heat is on as Community Cycles and BICAS ride head to head to try and capture the most votes for the Clif Bar Challenge. JK Anyhow, BICAS was also chosen as one of the 15 finalists for this contest. Most votes gets 2.5-5k given to the writers favorite bike charity. *Vote for "Stolen Bike, Answers to Maddie" to make a vote for BICAS. * It only Takes a second, seriously (no signing up or nothin) Here is the link to the post - http://www.good.is/post/ http://www.good.is/post/submissions-share-a-bike-photo-and-your-best-bike-s… May the best story (and photo) win! Good luck CC, and to all the other bike orgs.

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Women's Shop Night
by MoBo Bicycle Co-op 16 Sep '11

16 Sep '11

Hello Think Tank Collective! We at Mobo are working on trying to get more women to participate in our women's open shop night. We normally have 1 or 2 women or those who gender identify as female come in. Women's night is held once a month, although we are piloting a 2nd day on a weekend to see if we can get more women in. Some of this is a response to request from members to have more weekend shop and a desire to see another women's night. Do you have a lot of attendance at women's open shop (if you have one?) What are some ways that you've reached out to the women riders in your communities? Thank you! Ellie Jones MoBo Board Member -- MoBo Bicycle Cooperative a project of The Village Green Foundation 1415 Knowlton St. Cincinnati, OH www.mobobicyclecoop.org

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Reddit offering free ad space to nonprofits
by Ryan Feller 15 Sep '11

15 Sep '11

Reddit, a fairly popular online forum/community, is offering $100 in ad credit to nonprofits. They have message boards covering most imaginable topics, including many cycling-related boards (go to http://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling, see list on the right side) and boards for most cities. I'm pretty sure you can set your ads to run on the boards of your choice. It might be helpful if you're looking for a few small donations or more Facebook likes or general buzz for your org. It doesn't explicitly mention that 501(c)(3) status is required to sign up, either. Here's the info: http://blog.reddit.com/2011/09/if-youre-nonprofit-organization-we-have_14.h… Thank you! Ryan Feller, Director Bike Broward (954) 232-3790 www.bikebroward.org ryan(a)bikebroward.org

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Help Community Cycles in Boulder win $5K
by Rich Points 15 Sep '11

15 Sep '11

This takes one second & Community Cycles could make $5000 Vote for Semper Fi by Bicycle #15 * http://www.good.is/post/submissions-share-a-bike-photo-and-your-best-bike-s… PLEASE pass this on!!* -- Rich Points Community Cycles Executive Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) CC is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting. Find us on FaceBook http://facebook.com/home.php#!/CommunityCycles Volunteer orientations are held 6p.m. on the 4th Wednesday of each month.

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Bike Collective Network at Interbike
by Jonathan Morrison 12 Sep '11

12 Sep '11

The Bike Collective Network will be in booth "L4" (http://ib.goexposoftware.com/2010/goExpo/floorPlan/viewFloorPlan.php) this year for Interbike. Yeah, we got bumped. But it will still be fun. It is that time of year again, where we pack rooms at Circus Circus, ride in crazy alley cat races, attend the NBDA seminars for non-profit applicable nuggets of info, check out the cycling industry's 2011 lines, and... then there are the things that stay in Vegas. A group will be driving out from Salt Lake City, Utah on the 21st. If you are planning on going, need help with badges, rooms, etc.,... please let me know offlist. Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison c: 801-688-0183

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Examples of successful flyers?
by Ryan Feller 06 Sep '11

06 Sep '11

Hi all! My collective is planning to make 8-1/2 x 11" (or similar size) flyer to post on public bulletin boards and publicize that we collect bicycles and put them to good use. I know at least some other bike collectives use flyers, and it'd be super helpful to see what works and what doesn't in terms of design and what we should say. Would anyone be willing to scan and send over a couple? Thank you! Ryan Feller, Director Bike Broward (954) 232-3790 www.bikebroward.org

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Stolen and Suspicious bikes
by Graham Stewart 06 Sep '11

06 Sep '11

I'd like to know what policies shops have in regards to bicycles of suspicious origin (possibly stolen). Here at the bike dump we have a strict policy to not trade or buy bikes. But, we also don't ask or check about nice bikes found in alleys, garbage, donated, or pulled out of the river. We don't usually say anything when someone comes in with a nice bike to fix missing the back wheel and seatpost, or tries to sell a Trek 8000 for $20. I know there are lots of stolen bike registries out there, but do any of the co-ops take the time to check? What do you say when someone brings a bike to fix that was likely stolen at some point? Do you ask for or record serial numbers? Obviously, asking where they got the bike from based on profile alone is a really shitty thing to do. Stopping scruffy looking native guys for questioning because they are riding a nice bike is the sort of thing the asshole cops do. Graham at the bike dump in Winnipeg

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Join me on StumbleUpon!
by gothicsurf 06 Sep '11

06 Sep '11

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Request for Wiki Articles from August 2011
by Godwin ! 05 Sep '11

05 Sep '11

Hey folks, I've put together a short list of articles that have stemmed from discussions here over the past month: http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Thinktank_Seed… article has a link to the thinktank discussion to help remind you of what we were talking about. I've also made some changes to the bike shop template, it shouldn't take much to update to the current format but it will allow us to better organize and find information about each other, feel free to ask me questions if it's confusing or send me feedback. Please take a quick look at your shop's page, if it isn't using the current template all you need to do is edit it and click "Load" to load the current "Community Bicycle Organization" template. The template is basically a form and the resulting page will look something like this: http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Neighborhood_Bike_Works. If you're really keen, I've started making some articles that need more information: http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Stubs. Anything you can add to these articles would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone!.godwin

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carbon repair
by karl swanson 30 Aug '11

30 Aug '11

I was lucky enough to be shown carbon fiber fabrication by Craig Calfee, and used the material for awhile to fabricate recumbent racing frames. Easy to use, relatively inert in the various formats available (in many ways what carbon picks up from the fabricator or tools, namely oils, is worse for it than direct contact is for the fabricator) and used in conjunction with epoxy resins (much less noxious than esthers), carbon can be a pleasure to work with. When sanded or cut, it is another thing. The particles are very small and invasive, cause terrible itching and possible rash, potential respiratory irritation and worse. I am encouraged by any attempt to re-use or recycle the material, but really think that the world doesn't need to be using the stuff, and that is why I no longer do. As for repairs, done correctly they work well. Never as elegant as the original, but nonetheless dependable and trustworthy. I, too, think that nothing works as well, for all effected, as steel. Truth seems to be that if we were a tad more creative/resourceful and a lot less acquisitive of shiny, new objects, then we could never make another new bike and be just fine....keep using, repairing, customizing and reconfiguring what exists. As for the potential danger from handling a damaged frame, I would say just don't inject the frame into your abdominal cavity and you will probably be fine :) Touching the stuff, especially any form other than dust, is not an issue. Karl Swanson Swanson Design Maxwell Cycleworks Santa Barbara

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plastic bikes
by Mark Rehder 30 Aug '11

30 Aug '11

At least that's what I call bikes of carbon-fiber construction... We just got our first one donated due to irreparable frame damage. Sure, we pull the parts from it, but the frame will have to go to landfill. I am wary of the future of bike repair / recycling as c-f becomes more common. Hopefully they'll find ways to recycle this stuff, because I don't know if there'll ever be a safe way of checking these frames for hidden damage. Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca

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Lice - No Nit Policy
by Andy Greif 29 Aug '11

29 Aug '11

From: Andy Greif [mailto:cbcofme@gwi.net] Sent: Monday, August 29, 2011 9:55 AM To: (thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org) Cc: 'cbcad(a)gwi.net'; 'Bronwyn Potthoff'; national(a)tripsforkids.org Subject: Lice - No Nit Policy Hi Folks, What is your policy when participants appear in your programs with head lice? Do you have a No Nit policy? Do you check participants for nits and adult lice? Do you have polices specific to helmet sharing? Take care, Andy Andy Greif, Executive Director Mailing: P.O. Box, Biddeford, ME Shop: 284 Hill Street, Biddeford Shop Phone: 207-282-9700 Cell Phone: 207-229-8199 Website: www.communitybike.net "Providing Opportunities for Youth to Grow"

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Progressive Dinner and SSYR recap
by The Hub of Detroit 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Hub Newletter 2.0 Is this email not displaying correctly? [1]View it in your browser. [2]Friend on Facebook [3]Follow on Twitter [4]Forward to a Friend Links: 1. http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=821e37e08c4938b774e49bd50&id=e02d204fba… 2. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b77… 3. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b774… 4. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=821e37e08c4938b774e49bd50&id=e02… Safe Streets Youth Ride Last Saturday, August 20th, about 40 of us got together. This was Youth Earn-a-Bike participants, their parents, volunteers, Detroit Cyclists and two of the racers from Motor City Racing (I bet you didn't even know we sponsor a racing team did you?)! Anyway, we got goodies donated from [5]Avalon and set off to the East Side with help from our friend Wayne of the East Side Riders. We ended up meeting up with the first graduating class from the [6]Mount Elliot Makerspace Youth Earn-a-Bike and rode through Indian Village (where the photo above was taken). Then we came back to the shop and had a picnic out back in the alley. Thanks to everyone that came out. Hopefully we'll see ya'll next year! Links: 5. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b774… 6. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b774… Sneak Peek _Other upcoming events to watch for:_ In October as things slow down at the shop, we are going to clean out the warehouse and have a _benefit concert surrounded by all our bikes_. People seem to like hanging out in our warehouse, hopefully they like rock and roll as well. Look out for that. 1st Ever Progressive Dinner Event Save the Date: Sun. Sept. 18th As you will read below our last event, the Safe Streets Youth Ride, was a complete success. Why stop there though? We are going to keep it moving with our first ever Progressive Dinner. We already have an [7]online registration set up for the event. $25 dollars will get you five courses of food along with supporting our Back Alley Bikes youth programming. You need to register before Sept. 11th so we know how many people to prepare for. The food is being prepared locally by awesome folks such as [8]Neighborhood Noodle, [9]Suddenly Sauer, Organaman and more. There will be vegan and vegetarian options at this event. The event will include a ride (between 10 and 15 miles) with 5 stops along the way where you get to eat amazing food with some good people. If you don't want to pay online you can come into the shop during retail hours and pay with cash. Let us know if you have questions! Links: 7. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b77… 8. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b774… 9. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b77… Groupon Fundraiser As you can tell, we are getting a little more serious about fund raising around here. We were approached by the [10]Groupon G-Team and basically from _August 30th-Sept 1st_ you will be able to donate on their website to help us fund another month for one of our Mechanics in Training. So if you donate on the Groupon site, we'll use that money to employ one of our teenage mechanics for another month and provide them with skills to work on bikes and survive in the work world as they move on to greater things. Keep your eyes open for that. Links: 10. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=821e37e08c4938b774… [11]follow on Twitter | [12]friend on Facebook | [13]forward to a friend _Our mailing address is:_ The Hub of Detroit 3611 Cass Avenue Detroit, MI 48201 [14]unsubscribe from this list | [15]update subscription preferences Links: 11. Twitter Account not yet Authorized 12. # 13. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=821e37e08c4938b774e49bd50&id=e02… 14. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=821e37e08c4938b774… 15. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=821e37e08c4938b774e49b… Sent to thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org — [16]why did I get this? [17]unsubscribe from this list | [18]update subscription preferences The Hub of Detroit · 3611 Cass Avenue · Detroit, Michigan 48201 Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?aid=821e37e08c4938b774e49bd50&afl=1 Links: 16. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/about?u=821e37e08c4938b774e49bd5… 17. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=821e37e08c4938b774… 18. http://thehubofdetroit.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=821e37e08c4938b774e49b…

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Map of Bike Collectives
by Christine Bourgeois 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Hi all, Thank you for mapping bike collectives on Google Maps. It's very impressive to see so many of them all over the US. The French "ateliers" chose to locate theirs on Openstreetmap http://www.heureux-cyclage.<http://www.heureux-cyclage.org/spip.php?article25> org/spip.php?article25 <http://www.heureux-cyclage.org/spip.php?article25> Is there an easy way to transfer their location on Google Maps? I cced Julien Allaire who is a "leader" for L'Heureux Cyclage in France. Happy riding! -- Christine Bourgeois 805 699 6301 Education Coordinator Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition (SBBC) www.bicicentro.org www.cycleMAYnia.com <http://www.cyclemaynia.com/> From: Angel York <aniola(a)gmail.com> > Date: Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 5:52 PM > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org> > > > This is a map of bike collectives. It may be of some use to you - it was > originally created as a way of mapping bike collectives with locations, > hours, and contact info for bike touring. If you find other bike > collectives during your travels, please feel free to add those to the map. > > > http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215640192972316876618.0004a00c0210cf27f… > > Angel York > Davis Bike Collective > > >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org >> To unsubscribe, send a blank email to >> TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org >> To manage your subscription, plase visit: >> >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… >> >> > > >

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shipping
by Chuck Fox 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

We're aiming to ship 50 bikes from our upstate New York location to the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Looking for help with information or suggestions regarding shipping companies, freight forwarding companies, sources that can help with info on tariffs, duties, necessary filings, etc. Thanks! Chuck

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Car-Free Cities Conference / Examples of city support for bike co-op?
by Bobby Gadda 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Hello Think-Tankers! I am going to the Towards Car-Free Cities conference<http://carfree.mx/mx/?tag=english>this next month, and I will be doing a presentation/workshop on bike co-ops! First of all, is anyone else from a co-op or bike project planning to go? I think it will be a very educational and inspiring conference, let me know if you are going. Second, I am focusing my presentation on how bike co-ops are a fantastic addition to a transportation system, and how city governments should support them. Does anyone have any good examples of a city or other government agency providing a free space, or funding, or other support for a bike co-op? I already have the Austin Yellow Bike story of how the city helped them get their land... Thank you! Bobby Gadda The Bicycle Kitchen in Los Angeles

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Communiy Cycles in Portlandia hiring gen manager
by Casey Wollschlaeger 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Hola Compas, Here's a link from idealist.org for a General Manager position opening. It's berry season in the NW btw... http://www.idealist.org/view/job/HgbGmnkPjpFP/ Love from the desert, Casey -- Casey Wollschlaeger Art Coordinator BICAS 44 West 6th Street Tucson, AZ 85705 520.628.7950 art(a)bicas.org www.bicas.org

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Community Cycles Earn-A-Bike Defined
by R Points 16 Aug '11

16 Aug '11

Hey All, Over the past five and a half years our Earn-A-Bike program has morphed, changed and matured. We've recently put a lot of work into defining and explaining our Earn-A-Bike program. Our hopes are that anyone could read this and have a full understanding of how the program works. http://communitycycles.org/programs/earn-a-bike.html Any comments questions or feedback you might have is appreciated. Ride On! -- Rich Points Community Cycles Executive Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) 303-589-0597 (C) CC is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting. Find us on FaceBook http://facebook.com/home.php#!/CommunityCycles Volunteer orientations are held 6p.m. on the 4th Wednesday of each month.

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scratching our heads over 501c3!
by Mary Bergeron 15 Aug '11

15 Aug '11

Hi friends, I'm a volunteer at Recycle-A-Bike here in Providence, RI. We are in the middle of applying for 501c3 status and have hit a few road blocks. I was wondering if any folks have applied for 501c3 or are also in the middle of it, and can offer some advice. Basically, my questions are: - Do any 501c3 shops also have a volunteer point system? At RAB, we award volunteers "points" for putting in time, and they can later cash these points in for used parts or time in the shop. We don't want to get rid of this system, but the IRS finds this problematic for 501c3. - Do any shops sell bikes as a 501c3? Have shops set up both models- such as a for-profit bike shop to sell bikes and an affiliated non-profit to run community programs? So far bike sales keep us sustainable, so we really want to keep this up as a nonprofit. Thanks for any insight! Sorry if a similar email was already sent out by another RAB person...we're all trying to collect as much info as we can. cheers, Mary -- Mary Bergeron Funds/Outreach Coordinator c: 508.265.2904 p: 508.273.7101 www.recycleabike.org

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comparing the carbon footprints of bikes vs cars.
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 15 Aug '11

15 Aug '11

There's obviously a lot of variables to have to equalize to get to apples to apples, but this is a decent article comparing the impacts of bikes vs cars, and the number of miles it would take to offset one or the other. http://www.slate.com/id/2300676/

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Re: [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
by Ryan Feller 14 Aug '11

14 Aug '11

Wow! I never thought I'd receive so many thoughtful answers. We have a metal folding table that we'll bolt a locked donation jar to it, and empty it out and take it to the bank after each workshop. We'll also use a receipt book, which is useful for accounting anyway, and we'll try to incorporate donation requests into our receipts. In response to DancesWithCars, we have business cards and t-shirts on the way (we traded a bike to a screenprinter friend for the shirts!), both hopefully this week once we meet up with our designer friends to work on our logo. We also have a website that helps to vouch for our credibility, with more pictures and a redesign soon, and once we start distributing bikes to established nonprofits, our relationship with them should help as well. We'll also have our 501c3 applied for soon. If anyone else has other ideas on how we can look good and prove our legitimacy, I'm all ears :) Thank you! Ryan Feller, Co-Director Bike Broward (954) 232-3790 www.bikebroward.org

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Weight records- 3 tons?
by Bob Giordano 11 Aug '11

11 Aug '11

Our tops so far is about 250 bikes on our big bike trailer- maybe 5000 to 6000 pounds. On that trip i believe we had 2 pedalers on the 3wheel puller, 2 on the back pusher bikes attached to trailer and 2 on each side. We are looking to add 2 more pusher bikes and are always considering a 'team of horses' style front hitch system. We converted an old haywagon. It is also good for parade entries, with bands, bike repair, sculpture, etc. all rolling down the road. We also loan it out so people can move their home in one go. Patrick Van Der Tuin wrote: > Hey everyone, > StlBicycleWorks is moving this Sunday to its new home via bicycle. As part > of this move we are weighing everything that gets hauled by bicycle to the > new facility. > Does anyone out here have any idea about any weight records for moving > items > by bicycle? -- Bob Giordano Free Cycles Missoula Shop: 732 S. 1st St. West, 541.7284 2PM-6PM Mon-Thurs & 11AM-3PM Sat Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation www.strans.org, mist(a)strans.org, 406-880-6834

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assigning value to our work
by ryan jenkins 11 Aug '11

11 Aug '11

Dear ThinkTank, I am writing to inquire about how any of your organization have dealt with the issuing of assigning value to the services that a non profit community bike space provides (ideally in creative ways outside of our money transaction economy), particularly with pre-teenage youth in urban areas. Troy Bike Rescue functions strictly on donations and a sliding scale pay system where patrons are asked to pay for specific items based on what it is worth to them and what they can afford. This sliding scale pay system applies to the 5 or 6 floor bikes we may have at any one time as well as a small selection of tires, bells, locks, and other very basic bike necessities. What we are struggling with is how to become not just a "place to get your bike fixed for free". How do we handle the swarm of kids, convey a message about WHAT we are doing, and also provide the services needed to keep bikes on the road? thanks ryan troybikerescue

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