- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Re: [TheThinkTank] bikebike 2010
by lunch＠bikepirates.com 09 Sep '09

09 Sep '09

Hey Thinktank, We are very excited to be hosting the International Bike!Bike! conference here in Toronto next year. We will be having an initial organizational meeting sometime in the next few weeks and will decide then on the exact date. Most likely it will be at the end of July or sometime early August. Care packages will be sent via snailmail in the spring, so if you did not receive one last year (like if you are just starting a new project/shop) you should submit your address/contact to the Wiki as well as emailing it to us here (info(a)bikepirates.com). We know that crossing the border may be an issue - we have done it three years running - and may require a bit of work for many of you. But you have 11 months to get things processed. The delegates from MOBO have offered to help anyone needing assistance in processing or applying for their passport - they say it is not as difficult as you may think! We'll let you know when the website and forums are up and running. We would love to see more people talking over the website this year. Thanks to everyone in Minneapolis and all over the continent for making Bike!Bike! 2009 a great success and wonderful experience. Love, Ainsley, Geoff, and the Bike Pirate crew.

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Community Bicycle Programs in Amsterdam?
by Anthony Siracusa 07 Sep '09

07 Sep '09

Hello all-- I'm in Amsterdam as part of a year long journey across five continents to study bicycle cultures, and I'm wondering if anyone on the list knows about community bicycle programs in the Netherlands--particularly in Amsterdam. Any tips or leads are greatly appreciated! I found "Smerig" yesterday--a very well organized and 25 year old co-op operating in formerly squatted but now legal space. Any other suggestions are welcome! Best, -- Anthony Siracusa www.anthonysiracusa.blogspot.com +31 64 75 06 507 Thomas J. Watson Fellow, 2009-2010 People Using Pedal Power: Global Bicycling Communities www.watsonfellowship.org

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Re: [TheThinkTank] bike bike 09 on Flickr?
by Kristen L. Abdullah 05 Sep '09

05 Sep '09

Just posted my photos on flickr. the tag is bikebike 2009, and my username is krissyabdullah. hope you all like! On Thu Sep 03 03:04:21 EDT 2009, joshua muir <muirjoshua(a)gmail.com> wrote: > uploading some photos now. . . great to see you Boson. Great to > see a > whole bunch of other as well- Hopefully i'll make it to Toronto > next year. > > > josh > bike church santa cruz > > On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 4:54 AM, Boson Au <instructions(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > >> So I uploaded my personal bike bike pics up on flickr w the tag >> bikebike2009 >> >> if no one objects, perhaps we can all do that for this year's >> pics? I'd >> love to show people back home how awesome this was. >> >> -Boson Au >> velocipede bike project >> baltimore md >> velocipedebikeproject.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)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.… >> >> > > > -- Joshua Muir > muirjoshua(a)gmail.com > > Frances Cycles -- www.francescycles.com > Handbuilt cycling framesets > Touring, Track, Road,Cross, and Cycletrucks for hauling any > distance > (831) 469-3369 > > The Bicycle Church Collective > Community Self-Service Cycle Repair > 3pm to 7pm everyday except Sunday > 703 Pacific Ave (enter on Spruce St) > Santa Cruz, CA 95060 > (831) 425-2453 > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)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.… > Kristen Abdullah kabdullah(a)ufl.edu

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Freehub database
by andrew lynn 05 Sep '09

05 Sep '09

a few people brought up 'Freehub' database application (i believe developed at the bike kitchen?) in various contexts at BikeBike. Does anyone know how to get any more info on it? Is it free? does it require a dedicated server? is it modular? is it web-based? what is it useful for? Andrew Troy Bike Rescue -- andrew lynn | 518-573-7947 | troy, ny digital media | bike repair | tree work http://www.breathingplanet.net http://www.troybikerescue.org http://www.mediasanctuary.org http://flickr.com/photos/breathingplanet

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Think Tank, and Uniting the Rebels.
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

Hey Everyone, Thanks for coming to bikebike! and being so participatory. I got home, went over my notes, and realized I have two lists of email addresses. Apologies to everyone who's already on the thinktank list for receiving this twice. Just wanted to get this out to as many of you as possible. Please forward to those you think might be interested. One is folks who didn't know about or how to sign up for the Think Tank email listserv. To do that, just click the link below this paragraph, and you'll be added. It's not moderated, so if ever you decide that you don't want to receive emails anymore you'll need to unsubscribe yourself. <TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org> To manage your subscription, plase visit:http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollec… The other list I have, and I suspect some folks who aren't on ThinkTank will be interested in, is those of us who spoke about joining forces as collective bike shops into one big organization, or a federation, or something. The three big things this organization would do are: - Serve as a (501c3) fiscal sponsor for startups. Of course, this would only be offered to bike projects in the US, as other countries have other systems and requirements. Insurance also was mentioned as a possible benefit. - Be able to potentially approach tool and/or part manufacturers directly for lower cost for frequently ordered consumables like cables, brake pads, etc. - Offer some sort of structure for a "Woofing <http://www.wwoof.org/>" type program, where mechanics and organizers from one organization could visit and stay with another organization to check out their systems and organization. - Lastly, and the most easily doled out benefit this group could offer would be startup help for burgeoning projects. Either in the form of money that's collected from existing projects, grants, sales of parts to for-profit shops, etc...; and/or wisdom through offering sample paperwork from other orgs, such as sign up sheets, flyers, curricula, etc. The last one there seemed like the easiest place to start, since a knowledge share wouldn't require all that much infrastructure to establish. In fact, it's already in the works. There is a google spreadsheet here<http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tEo1aMT9rFo0CgB_ESvW5JQ&hl=en>that hopefully will grow as folks add their information and add columns to track info for other shops, and we can use this to network with shops doing similar work, or with similar programs. Please add your project's name, and it's details when you get a chance. I've volunteered to be the lead person in getting this process started, but I have no experience organizing a group of existing organizations, so hopefully someone else can step in and offer up some expertise and keep the momentum going. Thanks to everyone who came to the workshops, discussed options and potential conflicts. I don't think any of the bulleted list above is out of our reach, but navigating through some of the trickier bits via email could eat up some time. josh.

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bike bike 09 on Flickr?
by Boson Au 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

So I uploaded my personal bike bike pics up on flickr w the tag bikebike2009 if no one objects, perhaps we can all do that for this year's pics? I'd love to show people back home how awesome this was. -Boson Au velocipede bike project baltimore md velocipedebikeproject.org

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BikeBike Northeast!?!?
by andrew lynn 02 Sep '09

02 Sep '09

hi everyone. mad props to the grease pit!!!! Mnpls rawked. what do people think about a possible BikeBike NE????? Our long ponderous car trip back combined with numerous people expressing interest in visiting us here in upstate NY hatched the idea of BikeBike Northeast April 2010. This is the email where we put it out there and see what kind of feedback comes back. Why BikeBike Northeast? 1)we dont have to wait a whole year for that bikebike feeling. 2)there is bikebike southeast, right? 3)there are a bunch of shops in these here states over here that werent represented (consciously or unconsciously) at the nat'l conference. 4) hosting bikebike NE would help us jumpstart our summer building bicycle culture and community because it would be a local event as well as a broad regional one. 5)this bikebike would show off our lack of infrastructure and midwestern motorist niceness, thereby strengthening bikebikers urban riding skills and temporarily importing cycling culture to help people understand what we are talking about. What would happen at BikeBike NE? workshops & discussions for fledgling shops, mini film festival, more welding, trailer building, exploring urban ruins on bike, an Albany-style alleycat, and bla bla bla. whatever you all want to happen? Where would this go down? primarily at the Sanctuary for Independent Media (http://mediasanctuary.org), our awesome, volunteer-run community media center. When? Seems like April 23-24 is OK. before bike month, but most of the snow will have possibly maybe kind of melted. Who? Delaware, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Ithaca, Montpelier, Burlington, New Hampshire, Boston, State College PA, Providence, Worcester, NYC, various known on-campus projects..... and??? OK. So this is really just the notes of an earlier brainstorm. what do you all thinks???? Andrew & the TBR crew http://troybikerescue.org

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bike bike 2010?
by Boson Au 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

hey everyone, first of all, I just want to say that bike!bike! was rad. I'm happy that I met some new people and reconnected with others. I know that next year's will be held in toronto, but I was wondering if we know what date(s) this will take place? A collective member here works as a nurse and due to that, she has to schedule days off as early in advance as possible. So if the toronto folks can give even an approx week that it will happen itd help her out a lot. thanks in advance -Boson Au velocipede bike project baltimore, md

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Our Booth at Interbike 2009
by Jonathan Morrison 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

The Bike Collective Network booth is scheduled for Interbike in the same place as last year. It wasn't in the cards for me to go to Bike!Bike! this year, but if everyone can bring materials from their shop to Bike!Bike! and entrust them with someone who is going to Interbike to drop off at the booth, we we gladly display them. Feel free to send pictures and videos (with labels) to me and we can make a display of them too. Everybody loves pictures. In addition, if you are going to Interbike, let us know, we need people to staff the booth. A large group is staying at Circus Circus and you can get a room with two beds for $22 a night right now on hotels.com. We are cramming as many people in a room as possible to keep the costs down. 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/ The mission of the Salt Lake City 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 Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households. On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 10:24 AM, Jonathan Morrison < jonathan(a)slcbikecollective.org> wrote: > Like last year the Bike Collective Network will have an advocacy booth at > Interbike (www.interbike.com) from Sept 24th until Sept 26th. Yes, they > scheduled Bike!Bike! on top of it this year. So if you are not planning on > going to Bike!Bike! this is a great opportunity for grants, tools, parts, > sponsorships, manufacturer seconds, networking, professional workshops that > will put your head in a whirl for months, and not to mention tearing up the > Vegas strip on a bike. So three things: > > 1) This booth is for all of us, and people with deep pockets ask where the > closest community bike shop for a donation, it is helpful if we can give > them your info. So please mail any materials you want handed out before > Sept 22nd to: 2312 S. West Temple; Salt Lake City, UT 84115. If you have > photo albums, they would be great and we will mail them back after the show. > > 2) We will be printing out copies of the Bike Collective Network Directory > (not the wiki) to hand out, so please make sure you are listed. > http://www.bikecollectives.org/component/option,com_sobi2/sobi2Task,addNew/ > > 3) If you are planning on going to Interbike, please contact me (off the > list) so we can establish some volunteer shifts at the booth. If you are > coming alone feel free to room and board with us, we usually get a bunch of > rooms at Circus Circus and pack as many people in as possible. > > -- > 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/ > > The mission of the Salt Lake City 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 Bicycle Collective provides > refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on > children and lower income households. >

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 36, Issue 33
by Emily Lindberg 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Recycle-a-bike in providence will be working at Interbike east coast outdoor demo, as well running Roller races and raffle, a bike in movie, and bike vallet. Anyone interested in helping out email emily(a)recycleabike.org, or come by for the events in the evening! happy biking! On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 4:07 PM, <thethinktank-request(a)bikecollectives.org>wrote: > 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. Our Booth at Interbike 2009 (Jonathan Morrison) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:52:29 -0600 > From: Jonathan Morrison <jonathan(a)slcbikecollective.org> > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Subject: [TheThinkTank] Our Booth at Interbike 2009 > Message-ID: > <4dd29fd10908260852md8d9408s3df4ed77b453df19(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > The Bike Collective Network booth is scheduled for Interbike in the same > place as last year. It wasn't in the cards for me to go to Bike!Bike! this > year, but if everyone can bring materials from their shop to Bike!Bike! and > entrust them with someone who is going to Interbike to drop off at the > booth, we we gladly display them. > > Feel free to send pictures and videos (with labels) to me and we can make a > display of them too. Everybody loves pictures. > > In addition, if you are going to Interbike, let us know, we need people to > staff the booth. A large group is staying at Circus Circus and you can get > a room with two beds for $22 a night right now on hotels.com. We are > cramming as many people in a room as possible to keep the costs down. > > 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/ > > The mission of the Salt Lake City 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 Bicycle Collective provides > refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on > children and lower income households. > > > On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 10:24 AM, Jonathan Morrison < > jonathan(a)slcbikecollective.org> wrote: > > > Like last year the Bike Collective Network will have an advocacy booth > at > > Interbike (www.interbike.com) from Sept 24th until Sept 26th. Yes, they > > scheduled Bike!Bike! on top of it this year. So if you are not planning > on > > going to Bike!Bike! this is a great opportunity for grants, tools, parts, > > sponsorships, manufacturer seconds, networking, professional workshops > that > > will put your head in a whirl for months, and not to mention tearing up > the > > Vegas strip on a bike. So three things: > > > > 1) This booth is for all of us, and people with deep pockets ask where > the > > closest community bike shop for a donation, it is helpful if we can give > > them your info. So please mail any materials you want handed out before > > Sept 22nd to: 2312 S. West Temple; Salt Lake City, UT 84115. If you have > > photo albums, they would be great and we will mail them back after the > show. > > > > 2) We will be printing out copies of the Bike Collective Network > Directory > > (not the wiki) to hand out, so please make sure you are listed. > > > http://www.bikecollectives.org/component/option,com_sobi2/sobi2Task,addNew/ > > > > 3) If you are planning on going to Interbike, please contact me (off the > > list) so we can establish some volunteer shifts at the booth. If you are > > coming alone feel free to room and board with us, we usually get a bunch > of > > rooms at Circus Circus and pack as many people in as possible. > > > > -- > > 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/ > > > > The mission of the Salt Lake City 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 Bicycle Collective > provides > > refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing > on > > children and lower income households. > > >

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Non-Profit Industrial Complex
by Macho Philipovich 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi everyone, It looks like I'm not going to make it to Bike!Bike! this year, but there was a discussion I was really wanting to initiate. It mostly comes out of lived experience, but is well-articulated by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence in a recent book they wrote called "The Revolution will not be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex" I would love for people, especially those in shops with an anti-capitalist/non-hierarchichal/anti-oppressive bent to them to have a look at that book and then to have discussion around some of the points raised, specifically of limitations in 501(c)3, state funding, and foundation funding models. If people have had a chance to look at the book and would like to discuss it here, that would be great, but even better would be if there were someone willing to lead a discussion next month in Minneapolis. Macho http://bike-dump.ca

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 36, Issue 28
by Clifford McCarten 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Before I get into the distributer stuff, I want to SINCERELY THANK the bike!bike! organizers for sending us the BEAUTIFUL poster and invite. We received it a while back and have affixed it to the wall for good. It made us so happy to feel included in the bikey community (and the poster was gorgeous). We can't make it this year, but have applied for funding that might send us next year. -- Distributer stuff: This is a really exciting project that some of you are taking on, and I echo Geoffrey's comments below about the need for such an org in Canada. The relative ease with which an account can be had through Babac (Quebec distributer) does little to make up for the fact that they're stocked with bottom of the barrel parts. This and the annually increasing minimum to place an order makes a less-than-ideal situation. co-op/shop needs -low volume supply of basic, quality parts -ease of account acquistion (a way to give ordering accounts to orgs that haven't incorporated yet) -ability to sell parts without having a pristine storefront (a requirement for many brands) Obviously, this is a complicated situation, because the bike shop and its users buck the familiar way that capitalism mediates buying/ selling privileges. But nothing we do is easy, right? Shimano's Canadian headquarters is in my city, there is potential to talk with them directly. I'm keen to stay a part of this discussion: are there other canadian shops on this list that see a need for a co-op distributer? Clifford McCarten Co-Director, B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop 400 Wolfe St, Peterborough ON K9J 2P3 (705) 748-6681 http://www.communitybikeshop.org On 21-Aug-09, at 6:01 PM, thethinktank-request(a)bikecollectives.org wrote: > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:01:01 -0400 > From: Geoffrey B <vous.je(a)gmail.com> > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Distributors and interacting with the > profit model > Message-ID: > <6ff82e30908211501y557c22e7y9b7d9a453b4194a9(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > In canada, the need for a community operated distibution network is > much > needed. > > I have been frozen out of accounts with big distributors because of > our > close proximity to other bike shops. I was even thinking about > creating a > mail box outside of our city to take on bigger distributors...thus > your idea > of a community operated distro. > > We send out about 3k a month to local Qubec based distro such as > Damco, and > Babac, even a West Coast distro wants our orders...Asama. > > Creating a go to for up and coming community shops is a must. We > need to > make accessibility to basic parts and tools a priority for small > community > initiatives in Canada, America and the United Mexico. > > Geoffrey > Bike Pirates > Toronto, Canada > > ********************************************

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Distributors and interacting with the profit model
by Rigel Christian 21 Aug '09

21 Aug '09

Hi, I had an interesting discussion with someone who worked at a smaller distributor today. I had called in order to try and cultivate a business relationship for our local co-op, which is in desperate need of tools and consumable parts like bearings and cables. He mentioned that a lot more co-ops were inquiring about accounts. He also told me the reasons why co-op/DIY shops were problematic from his end, and it's a reasonable criticism from that perspective. Individually, we simply dont do the volume of business necessary to be attractive to a business interest. The time necessary to administer and verify an account that does maybe a couple hundred dollars worth of business a month for the higher traffic shops kind of burns your profit margins, which are not large at that level. distributors count on reliable, volume business to stay afloat, and take a smaller cut of profit on the assumption that that's the type of business theyll be doing. I've know that some of the longer running co-ops and collectives have relationships with distributors, but clearly many of the newer ones do not. I'm curious about a couple of things. 1) Does your collective have a relationship with a parts distributor? 2) Regardless of the answer to #1, roughly how much does your shop spend on tools/consumables/things-that-one-would-get-from-a-distributor? It seems to me that in the first few years of a co-op/nonprofit/collective situation, lots or most of these organizations leverage either existing ties to, or the goodwill of LBSes. My suspicion is that in some edge cases, where the bike or DIY culture isnt all that strong, this can be a fairly significant issue for a fledgling operation, in terms of both finances and social capital. The idea that i'm trying to push here is that of a sort of buyers club. Disregarding for the moment the perfectly valid criticisms of the legal structure of 501(c)3s, if there was a nonprofit that could act as a go-between for a parts distributor and a number of regional shops, that would serve the needs of both the for-profit distributors AND the co-op shops. distributors wouldnt have to deal with as much volatility from taking on co-ops as charity cases, and co-ops banding together could drive the price of a lot of the most necessary consumables and parts down even further than their current distributor relationships can offer. in the ideal case, of course. I would appreciate any input people have. I dont know if this has been suggested before (I suspect it has), but i didnt see anything in my archive of the last year or so. If I'm totally off base in my assumptions I'd like to know that too, where i went wrong, and what the real deal is. cheers.

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Winnipeg to minneapolis for bikebike-Ride needed!
by shanny1＠telus.net 20 Aug '09

20 Aug '09

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Re: [TheThinkTank] ride wanted- chicago to minneapolis for bike bike!
by Kristen L. Abdullah 17 Aug '09

17 Aug '09

Awesome, keep me updated. If you would like, give me a call at (904)613-4948 ane we can chat about the ride. thanks, krissy On Mon Aug 17 11:03:52 EDT 2009, Geoffrey B <vous.je(a)gmail.com> wrote: > we might be through Chicago by Wed August 26th > > On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 2:48 PM, Kristen L. Abdullah > <kabdullah(a)ufl.edu>wrote: > >> Hey, >> I'm couchsurfing in Chicago at the moment, and am looking for a >> ride to >> bike bike in a couple of weeks. Just me and a couple of bags. no >> bike. >> Willing to split gas money. Please email me if you have an extra >> spot. >> thanks in advance! >> >> krissy >> kabdullah(a)ufl.edu >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)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.… >> > > > > -- Geoffrey B > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)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.… > Kristen Abdullah kabdullah(a)ufl.edu

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ride wanted- chicago to minneapolis for bike bike!
by Kristen L. Abdullah 17 Aug '09

17 Aug '09

Hey, I'm couchsurfing in Chicago at the moment, and am looking for a ride to bike bike in a couple of weeks. Just me and a couple of bags. no bike. Willing to split gas money. Please email me if you have an extra spot. thanks in advance! krissy kabdullah(a)ufl.edu

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rejecting trash bikes
by Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

hey folks, a moral or social dilemma: when your shop accepts donations of used bikes, but you're already filled to the gills with hundreds of bikes that may or may not ever get fixed up, how do you begin to turn away donations that are really not worth the space? or do you? just looking for some suggestions of how other shops have dealt with this issue. it gets to the point where we don't have the time, space, or man-power to strip down all those pieces-of-crap even to send to the scrap yard, but now that people know that we accept used bikes, it's hard to know how to say no. thanks! sarah Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building) Wilmington, DE 19802 Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00 Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org

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rejecting trash bikes
by Bob Giordano 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

yes, yes. and we have a nifty new design (although i'm sure it's been done), that puts a pipe through two bottom bracket shells, for a parking rack, and for bike/garden cart/trailer. we use 2 rear triangles cut off 'reject' bikes. more on that to come... -Bob g., free cycles missoula, freecycles.org Angel York wrote: > Rejectable bikes are also pretty great material for making bike trailers. > > On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 7:51 PM, MoBo Bicycle Co-op < > mobobicyclecoop(a)gmail.com> wrote:

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Hiring Business Consultant for bike program in Guatemala
by arik grier 13 Aug '09

13 Aug '09

JOB OPENING: International Business Consultant position for an exciting nonprofit appropriate technology center and bicycle retail store in Guatemala. Maya Pedal is the organization that makes and markets “bici- maquinas,” labor-saving, cost-effective pedal powered inventions, to individuals and cooperatives who are off the electrical grid and can’t afford diesel generators. Maya Pedal has amazing technology but lacks sound financial and organizational stewardship. Job Description: Bikes Not Bombs (BNB),Working Bikes Cooperative and Maya Pedal(MP) seek a Spanish-English bilingual person who has small business management and sales background, and experience with nonprofits. This job will require developing a marketing plan and a business plan for the organization, Maya Pedal, a nonprofit appropriate technology center in San Andres de Itzapa, Guatemala. To be an effective consultant in this job you’ll need to be able to work well with people and yet be straightforward in your assessment for restructuring the financial oversight and management of the organization. First order of the day will be to assess the current state of operations and develop a business plan and an annual budget. The second task of work will be to develop and implement a marketing strategy. Thirdly, you will make recommendations as to how the MP Board should be comprised and help to start new board development process. Finally, you will oversee a hiring process to find appropriate administrative personnel for Maya Pedal. Job duration is six months and is expected to begin in early to mid October. Lodging is supplied in beautiful San Andres de Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Job pay will include a round-trip air fare, a return transition stipend, international emergency medical insurance and a $550 stipend per month. Experience working internationally with small businesses in Latin America Is an important plus. This is a tremendous opportunity for someone who wants to gain hands-on working experience with Latin American indigenous nonprofits and marketing of Appropriate Technology. Job tasks will include: • Review and report on current fiscal solvency of Maya Pedal • Review and establish an appropriate accounting system • Assessment of current sales department and marketing strategy • Some direct involvement in customer relations/sales • Development of a business plan for Maya Pedal • Assessment of functionality of Board of Directors and recommendations • Creation of an annual budget and financial reporting system • Help to develop a marketing plan • Research possibilities of web based, on-line giving procedures • Participation in management and shop staff meetings • Work with internal committee to hire administrative personnel for Maya Pedal as recommended and agreed upon by Maya Pedal and international stake holders. This will include review of potential candidates and training personnel once hired. Please send your resume and cover letter by September 8, 2009 to: hiring(a)bikesnotbombs.org or check out the link on the Bikes Not Bombs web site at: http://bikesnotbombs.org/node/584

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Bike shops in Puerto Rico?
by Josh Brown 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

Anyone know of, or work at, a bike project in Puerto Rico? We recieved an email (below) from someone looking for one. Thanks! josh. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Community Cycles <igiduran(a)yahoo.com> Date: Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 12:26 PM Subject: Ignacio Duran has contacted CC about Other To: josh(a)communitycycles.org This message was sent from Ignacio Duran igiduran(a)yahoo.com Ignacio has the following comments I just discovered your website, I'm interested in the social benefits of cycling and would like to be active in Puerto Rico, but I noticed on your list of collectives (showing the different one by States) and noticed that there is none in Puerto Rico, so my question is: is there maybe one that you know of but has not made it to the list or do you know what I could do to start one? Thanks, Ignacio Duran

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Turning prison work into money?
by Bob Giordano 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

We've been helping pre-releasers get bikes for several years. They are not allowed to go thru our typical 'bike well' program (2 hours vol time, one class, then build a free bike) because the pre release center does not want them volunteering (we are working on changing that). So they budget $20-$40 to buy a bike from us that they complete. It can be hard on us to facilitate that, so i went to their execs. They suggested, which we are considering: we buy a sweet fleet of bomber bikes (they will help us fund that), and we then rent the bikes to them for $1 a day. They already budget money for food and rent- i think it comes to $14 a day, so $1 more for transport sounds good. i'm thinking 50 cents a day, which is still $180 a year. These would be mountain bikish, fenders, strong rack, light, u-lock, repair kit, helmet, maintenance lesson, safety lesson... Of the 100 in the prerelease program, an average would be: 80 ride bikes, of which 60 come to us, and 19 go to walmart, 1 goes to a retail shop. The prerelease center is on outskirts of town here too, and they are not allowed to ride in n'hoods. They often have been hit by cars, and we are stepping up our advocacy efforts to make the roads safe, there and throughout town. -Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula, MIST veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com wrote: > But perhaps not like it first sounds. > > Does anyone out there work with populations of prisoners or recently > released inmates? Have you had any success finding funding for this work? > > Community Cycles has a program in which we work with our County jail's > work > release program. When inmates here have less than 25% of their sentence > left, and qualify for the program (this is determined by the jail based on > factors such as non-violent, non sexual offenses, behavior during their > stay, etc.) they are given 2 weeks in which to find a job on the outside. > During this 2 week period, they are very strictly monitored, and must > check > in when they arrive at a location, must let the jail know when they are > leaving, etc. > Once they've found and landed a job, they are let out in the morning, and > return to the jail at night, paying rent for the remainder of their > sentence. The job allows them to start saving money for free life once > they're out, and gets them back into a schedule and everything that comes > with the regularity of work. They are not given bus tickets or money for > travel, and must either walk back and forth, or rely on family members and > friends for transportation during this time. The jail is located out of > the > way, several miles from the center of town and any decent work options. > > Community Cycles has partnered with the jail and we are now a place where > inmates in the program can come and get a bike through our regular > Earn-a-Bike > program. They typically do this during the first two or three days of > their > 2 weeks, and then they have wheels which allows them to go farther faster, > and opens up many opportunities for work which walking would't. > > We've heard from the jail that the recidivism rates of those inmates going > through our EAB program are the lowest of any group and that the jail has > had to install more bike parking as a result. > > I've contacted the supervisor of the program on the jail's side, trying to > suss out any possibility of getting some kind of financial support either > through the country, or through other outside groups, but they were of no > help. When I broached the subject, the immediate response was "Well, we > don't have any money, so you're not going to get any from us!" and it > didn't > get better as I probed more. > > Do any of you have any experience with groups that fund work with inmates? > Any suggestions for ways to get or "work release" program to start paying > for itself? Right now, the only thing that makes it a "program" is that > the > Earn-a-Bike participants are a specific demographic--inmates--who all come > from the same place. If they didn't tell us they were in the Work Release > program or staying at the County jail, we would have no idea. > > Thanks! > > josh.

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Bike Collectives in Colombia?
by plan b NOLA Bike Project 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

Hey yáll, It's Victor from Plan B in New Orleans. I'm in Panama City right now, which may actually be the least bike friendly city I´ve ever been to. In fact it may be bike impossible because even walking is terrifying here! Anyway, I'll be travelling through Colombia next week. Anyone know of any collectives/clubs/cool shops I should visit? Also, in my deepest fantasies I would love to borrow/rent/ buy a bike to use for Ciclovia in Bogota and for touring. If anyone knows anything it would be great. All the best, } Victor

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Turning prison work into money?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

But perhaps not like it first sounds. Does anyone out there work with populations of prisoners or recently released inmates? Have you had any success finding funding for this work? Community Cycles has a program in which we work with our County jail's work release program. When inmates here have less than 25% of their sentence left, and qualify for the program (this is determined by the jail based on factors such as non-violent, non sexual offenses, behavior during their stay, etc.) they are given 2 weeks in which to find a job on the outside. During this 2 week period, they are very strictly monitored, and must check in when they arrive at a location, must let the jail know when they are leaving, etc. Once they've found and landed a job, they are let out in the morning, and return to the jail at night, paying rent for the remainder of their sentence. The job allows them to start saving money for free life once they're out, and gets them back into a schedule and everything that comes with the regularity of work. They are not given bus tickets or money for travel, and must either walk back and forth, or rely on family members and friends for transportation during this time. The jail is located out of the way, several miles from the center of town and any decent work options. Community Cycles has partnered with the jail and we are now a place where inmates in the program can come and get a bike through our regular Earn-a-Bike program. They typically do this during the first two or three days of their 2 weeks, and then they have wheels which allows them to go farther faster, and opens up many opportunities for work which walking would't. We've heard from the jail that the recidivism rates of those inmates going through our EAB program are the lowest of any group and that the jail has had to install more bike parking as a result. I've contacted the supervisor of the program on the jail's side, trying to suss out any possibility of getting some kind of financial support either through the country, or through other outside groups, but they were of no help. When I broached the subject, the immediate response was "Well, we don't have any money, so you're not going to get any from us!" and it didn't get better as I probed more. Do any of you have any experience with groups that fund work with inmates? Any suggestions for ways to get or "work release" program to start paying for itself? Right now, the only thing that makes it a "program" is that the Earn-a-Bike participants are a specific demographic--inmates--who all come from the same place. If they didn't tell us they were in the Work Release program or staying at the County jail, we would have no idea. Thanks! josh.

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Ateliers velos (community bike shops in Europe)
by Christine Bourgeois 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Bonsoir! I am getting ready for a trip to France and I discovered that the number of "ateliers velos" is growing all over Europe. In 2007, Rome organized the 1st European Forum of Bike Workshops. http://un-e.org/toulousebikeforum/images/stories/velocity.pdf http://un-e.org/toulousebikeforum/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsec… This year, Marseille is going to have a Heureux Cycleur week-end at the beginning of October (same idea as Bike! Bike!) All the best, -- Christine Bourgeois www.bicicentro.org

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dispensing housing
by Jonathan Morrison 08 Aug '09

08 Aug '09

Has anyone figured out a good way to dispense new housing in bulk? A new set of cables / housing on a bike makes a huge difference -- but I don't think people realize how much this costs and take it for granted. We can of course try to throw volunteers / staff that we don't have at the situation, but I am hoping that there is a way were we could show the cost of housing as they pull it out. Just like gas at the gas pump. I was looking at this rope application as a possible solution..... http://www.botachtactical.com/pmiropmeas.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/ The mission of the Salt Lake City 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 Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

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