- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

membership/donor management software
by Falls City Community BikeWorks 17 Jul '14

17 Jul '14

Hey all, I'm new to this community resource, but love it already. Such creativity out there! I'm trying to find some free/cheap software to help organize our new community bikeshop's mushrooming files. I've looked at BigTent, GroupSpaces, MemberPlanet, and SilkStart...they don't do what I need them to, and really just create more work... Features wishlist includes: - Membership management (with admin ability to add members, a way to attach a signed waiver to each member account, and easy option to send out membership renewal reminders) - Shop calendar (with sign-up options) - Donor management (with option to track donations) - Online payment option (or ability to link to PayPal) Any advice (pro/con) about the software you've tried would be greatly appreciated. With gratitude, Bella Isabella Christensen & John Krueger (FCCBikeWorks) 502-558-3157 / 859-221-5329 https://www.facebook.com/FCCBikeworks http://bicyclingforlouisville.org/#fccb

9 12

Volunteer Scheduling and Hours Tracking
by Andy Bakker 17 Jul '14

17 Jul '14

Hello everyone, We're looking to improve our system for both scheduling and tracking volunteer hours. Right now we have a spreadsheet in google docs but it doesn't get used very often and can be confusing for new folks. Does anyone have a good system for volunteer hours, either electronic or that we could use in the shop? Thanks! Andy Bakker http://www.velocitycoop.org

5 4

Announcing: Peterborough Youth Bike Summit
by Tessa Nasca 16 Jul '14

16 Jul '14

Greetings from up north in Peterborough, Ontario! I am writing to announce Peterborough is gearing up to host its first ever Youth Bike Summit. The summit theme is "People Powered! DIY Bicycle Friendly Communities", and the event is scheduled to occur on October 4, 2014. The summit will feature youth-lead workshops and discussions, a DIY bike maker's space, bike maintenance courses, and youth advocacy opportunities. The summit will run concurrently with our 4th annual Peterborough and the Kawarthas Cycling Summit, but the Youth Bike Summit will be entirely youth-lead and youth-oriented. We are currently seeking workshop facilitators, presenters, and maker's space contributors. A call for proposals is attached to this email, and we gladly accept out of town proposals. We have a small budget to help cover speaker costs, and are happy to help arrange billet in Peterborough if your presentation is selected. If any young people from your respective organizations are interested in attending, the summit registration is FREE, and we would love to have you! :) Don't hesitate to contact me with questions or workshop proposals. Cheers, -- Tessa Nasca Program Coordinator B!KE: The Peterborough Community Cycling Hub communitybikeshop.org

2 1

San Diego's Bikes del Pueblo needs your help!
by Olivier 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

Hello! We are Bikes del Pueblo, San Diego's bike kitchen! We've been operating since 2008 from member's garages and basements, doing clinics and workshops with a lot of local organizations, and have been present at our Farmer's Market every Saturday since 4 years! We also went to Bici!Bici! in Oakland last year and many of our members have visited and been inspired by other Bike Kitchen in the US and other countries. Now we want to get a permanent workspace so we could be open more days, do more workshops, accommodate more people at the same time, store more donations, etc... I am sure you know how having a space is important for a bike kitchen! We started an online crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bikes-del-pueblo/x/8096365 The goal is to raise $10,000 to secure 6 months of rent, cover some moving expenses and have a reserve for rainy days! So please check our video, donate if you can and most of all share with your networks of friends and bike supporters! Thank you so much for your support! Bikes del Pueblo!

1 0

Re: [TheThinkTank] Good parts storage?
by Gordon Hamachi 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

Some good ideas for bike storage are here: http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/1221/diy-wooden-bike-rack-looki… On Jul 3, 2014 1:35 PM, <DCoppley(a)intercitytransit.com> wrote: > Hey bike folks, > > > > I am trying to whip the bike and parts storage space for our program into > shape. I scored some nice industrial shelving hand-me-downs, but I need > smaller storage containers (boxes, crates, etc) to store parts in. I don’t > particularly want to use plastic, as I’ve found most of it breaks. Does > anyone have any good solutions for sturdy, stackable storage? Thanks for > reading, > > > > David >

3 2

Sherbrooke, Qc
by claire grover 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

Hi there, My friend Brigitte in Sherbrooke Quebec, would like a bike place in her vicinity, any suggestions ? Claire Vélorution, Paris http://velorution.org/paris/themes/paris-cyclable/2014/

1 0

Kids and shifting: Tips on how to teach
by Carl Voss 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

Later this month, the Des Moines Bicycle Collective will sponsor our fifth annual Bike Camp for kids at an inner-city YMCA. The week-long camp is generally a highlight of the year. Okay, one exception: Gears are our friends, but this has been a challenging message to get through to some kids. The entire notion of shifting and anticipating a shift seems beyond what some middle-school kids can get their heads around. And, those lousy, unreliable grip shift systems on entry-level bikes don’t make it any easier. What is working in your community for instruction tips? I almost hate to do this, but I’m ready to ride up a moderate hill with each kid to make sure they understand how helpful gears can be. I welcome your suggestions. Mucho thanks! Carl Voss carlvoss(a)mac.com Mobile: 515-210-0237 Des Moines Bicycle Collective, Central Iowa's only nonprofit bike shop

7 6

Re: [TheThinkTank] Good parts storage?
by Jim Fredrickson 10 Jul '14

10 Jul '14

In my workshop we have one pretty cool way of storing little, easy to lose parts like bolts, nuts, and washers. We have a board which is mounted to the wall length-wise and is protruding out from the wall at about a 45 degree angle (The top of the board is connected to the wall about 6 inches away from the wall itself). We have twist on jar lids screwed to this board with the jars full of the little bits screwed in. When we need something you just unscrew the jar, get the part and when you're done you find the matching lid to the jar and screw it back in. I've attached a picture to help understand, you can ignore the funny man ;) Jim -----Original Message----- From: veganboyjosh <veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com> To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org> Sent: Tue, 8 Jul 2014 22:14 Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Good parts storage? Derailer in Denver had at least one parts bin that was a repurposed "nail" bin donated from a local hardware store, i believe. like this one: http://www.generalsupply.tv/images/StorePics/BoltsEtc/NailBin.jpg obviously they're built to handle some weight and still rotate. On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 5:04 PM, Gordon Hamachi <gordon.hamachi(a)gmail.com> wrote: Some good ideas for bike storage are here: http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/1221/diy-wooden-bike-rack-looki… On Jul 3, 2014 1:35 PM, <DCoppley(a)intercitytransit.com> wrote: Hey bike folks, I am trying to whip the bike and parts storage space for our program into shape. I scored some nice industrial shelving hand-me-downs, but I need smaller storage containers (boxes, crates, etc) to store parts in. I don’t particularly want to use plastic, as I’ve found most of it breaks. Does anyone have any good solutions for sturdy, stackable storage? Thanks for reading, David ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a> ____________________________________ The ThinkTank mailing List <a href="http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o…">Unsubscribe from this list</a>

1 0

Ghost bikes and collective action
by Jim!! 09 Jul '14

09 Jul '14

Hi everyone, I'm writing with sad news from Mexico City. A cyclist was killed two days ago by a drunk police officer who hit him and another cyclist who is still alive but in critical condition in the hospital. It happened in downtown around a very busy area and workers from the mercados nearby caught the police officer who tried to run away after the crash, but immediately, more than a 100 riot cops arrived to save the cop and to arrest people who were trying to make justice on their own hands. An ambulance never showed up. Today the chief of the police department announced that the cop who was driving was negative on the alcohol test, so she is only going to get fired but will face no other charges. We are so sad, angry and feel powerless about not being able to do much. Today we are going to have a ride at night in memory of the dead cyclist and on saturday we will install a ghost bike for him. I'd like to hear what you all have done in these cases, what else besides ghost bikes and rides have you done when you have faced such terrible situations like this one? Any ideas? Have you documented any action you have done? Also, I know legal procedures may be so different but, have any of you used any legal tool in these situations? Thanks so much. Best, Jim -- *Jimena D. Mayerstein*

11 21

bicycle-based libraries?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 09 Jul '14

09 Jul '14

i've got a friend who's part of a group that is interested in starting a bicycle based library in the Los Angeles area. They're still working out most of the details, but basically imagine a cargo bike or trailer with a bunch of books that rides around and parks and has books available for checkout/free Is anyone involved in something like this? Or know of projects like this? I know I saw a video of one a long time ago but can't recall where. The bike/library in that video had a taller wooden box with swing-open doors and was primarily a homeless outreach program at the beginning. I would love some links if you know of any. Would also love to put my friend in touch with someone who's done it before to chat about the process of getting it set up, equipment, costs, etc. The person I know who's involved is a recent (past two years or so) convert to the awesomeness of bikes, so a lot of nuts and bolts (literally and figuratively) of this thing can likely use some experienced guidance. Thanks! josh.

5 4