thanks for the thoughts everyone,
i have been involved in bike!bike! for the last 6 years as a workshop planner and shop founder and i am proud to finally live (coincidentally though it may be) in this year's hosting city. please know that planning is underway and we will update you soon via the website (www.bikebike.orgfor those of you who are new.)
those of you who have posted concerns have been to a handful of the conferences, and as many people have pointed out, your off-season is someone else's peak season. try to find someone at your shop/in your town who wants to become involved, isn't as busy as you, and send them as a delegate. i'm new to vancouver so i'm not in a position to list all of the details of the date choice, but i am completely confident that june is not peak season for every shop for every town/city/backyard/bike nerd/etc.
we will be sending out mailers soon and updating the website again, so please hold tight and try to be patient with us. also answer your phones, i need to double check the list before i start sending mail! :) it's going to be a great conference, we have lots of fun things planned and a very exciting philosophy tumbling around for how we want the workshops to be set up. vancouver is a very unique place and we want to share that with you. we will try to keep everyone posted via the website and this list as we get closer to june.
also keep in mind that i am speaking for myself and not on behalf of the planning group. i don't work for any shop at the moment and all of my bikey energy is being independently devoted to this conference. i know the history of bikebike, have attended half of the conferences, and care passionately about the outcomes of this very special week. i know a lot of you and i am looking forward to seeing my old friends and making some new ones.
<3
sunny (allison)
On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 3:52 PM, Ainsley Naylor needleandthread@gmail.comwrote:
This conversation seems to repeat itself each year, and yes, there is no *best* time for everyone. There are too many variables (including climate) to consider.
However, this conversation always seems to disregard one important element
- that the folks who have volunteered their time, lives, couches, shops and
love to running this conference have put a great deal of thought and consideration toward when they will be hosting us. They need to know that all of the resources they require will be available and that they are not competing with any other large local events (plus a myriad of other factors of course).
I also can't really imagine a *time* when a group can not attend. In my mind, you are either doing awesome and in the peak of your season, and you can easily spare a volunteer or two who want a weekend off for fun and learning - you get the most volunteers during peak bike season, right? OR you are small and starting up and struggling in one way or another in which case you can definitely afford to close your shop for 3 or 4 days (maybe 1 or 2 of which are operating days) because of the amazing value of the information and tools that you will bring back to your space after Bike!Bike!
For me, B!B! is my once-a-year vacation, and I schedule it into my summer. It is an excuse to get to visit cities and people I would otherwise never get to see. I think Vancouver is going to be awesome, and I give huge thanks and high fives to my friends who are bottom-lining this big project.
x ainsley - Bike Pirates, Toronto.
On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 6:04 PM, Jimmy Hallyburton < jimmy@boisebicycleproject.org> wrote:
There's probably no such thing as a "good" time for everyone. But June doesn't look like it's going to work for the folks at the Boise Bicycle Project either. Just too busy with the shop and the annual 2 week Pedal 4 the People festival. I have a filling that someone will be left out no matter what, and it sounds like June with leave a lot of folks out. Good luck with this one Vancouver.
On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 3:01 PM, veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
there's also the fact that as this movement grows and gains momentum AND members, more folks will be interested in attending BikeBike! every year. which, at a certain point, becomes unsustainable. can you imagine what the weekend would be like with 1000 attendees? 5000? would your organization want to put it on if it did?
there's obviously no threshold at which it becomes "too big",but i think it'll happen in a sort of organic way, with a shop here or there not attending "The Big One" or shifting their focus to a more regional "version".
and i think this is what's been happening in the last few years.
for the record, i think it's an awesome thing and i'm very happy to be witnessing it.
it is frustrating and sad to think that it's only going to get harder for all of us to come together for a kick ass weekend anymore, but that just means we're succeeding.
what would it mean if none of us had a busy season?
On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 2:39 PM, Plan B nolabikeproject@gmail.comwrote:
Hey Rich,
There's a lot of different seasons. Ours is September through May, so I understand your anguish, but if New Orleans gets it next year, We're shooting for late September...which means a lot of University folks might not make it, but y'all will. Just wanted to point it out.
Love ya! Victor
Victor Pizarro Project Organizer Plan B, The New Orleans COmmunity Bike Project
On 1/20/2012 1:38 PM, R Points wrote:
So I just checked the Bike! Bike! website and I see that this years event is scheduled for June 21-24. Why? This is literally the peak of the season and makes it impossible for us to attend.
We've been to 3 Bike! Bike!'s in the past and they were some of the most magical, inspiring events for our group; invaluable. It's a shame that we will again not be able to attend this year.
Frustrated!
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