Hello everybody,

since 10 years I'm involved in bike collectives, first in Grenoble (Un p'tit velo dans la tęte), which is now the biggest French bike grass root organization, and one of the oldest bike workshop (since 1994). For 5 years i have been promoting networking between bicycle DIY workshops, by creating L'Heureux Cyclage. I will send you soon a presentation about our network. When we started in 2007, less than 10 workshops were opened. Now we count more than 50 ! L'Heureux Cyclage wishes to support this dramatic growth and we already created:
- a website: www.heureux-cyclage.org
- a wikisite: www.wiklou.org (to help anyone to create a bicycle workshop, or to capitalize French-speaking copyleft and information about cycle mechanics
- a worldwide map of bike workshop... soon
- an annual meeting like you do with Bike bike!
- and during the last annual meeting of L'Heureux Cyclage, we decided that any member of a workshop, member of L'Heureux Cyclage, can use other workshops when he is travelling by bike...
- in Spain, in Italy and in France there is an annual critical mass where we meet each others.

We have, of course, many other projects to make our activity more recognized by people and institutions, but also to help workshops to develop themselves.

What I suggest is, if you are interested, to make a presentation about "bike workshops in Europe (with a special focus about France) and the velorutionnary growing movement"
But I also really would like to talk with you about "how to connect the north american and european networks?".

I will be at the TRB annual meeting in Washington DC from the 22nd to the 26th, and then I think I will go to New York few days. And I can probably make a stop in between.

So if we can meet ...

With cycling regards,

Julien

On Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 1:00 PM, Christine Bourgeois <cbarreb@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

My friend Julien Allaire, an avid cyclist and leader for l'Heureux Cyclage in France, is looking for some contacts on the East Coast.

He is interested to learn more about bike collectives and sustainable transportation in the US.

During our last visit in Paris this Fall, Julien organized an event at the new Maison Du Velo: he wrote a great article (in French) about the community bike shop in Santa Barbara.

Julien will be in New York and Washington DC in January.
Please contact him directly: Julien Allaire <allairej@no-log.org>

Thanks for your help.
--
Christine Bourgeois
805 699 6301
Education Coordinator
Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition (SBBC)
www.bicicentro.org
www.cycleMAYnia.com