Hi Tim et al.
Thanks for the plug Leanne! I helped found Haida Gwaii Bike RePsych, and can say that it is definitely a unique area to service. The nearest centre to service bicycles is a 7 hour ferry ride plus a 1.5 hr drive away… or fly 2hrs to Vancouver.
We opened up after a group of individuals began sharing our tools and knowledge in an effort to service a community where a full fledged bike shop just wouldn’t be able to survive.
Our name comes from our vision of encouraging people to be excited and empowered to use and fix their bicycles on the island. We are run in a simple way with some starting grant money (we used about $5000) to buy tools, shop supplies, and a trailer to operate out of. We have collaborated with the local high school, the local teen centre, as well as the local village office.
We open once a week with volunteers from 4 to 8pm where we offer our tools and our knowledge to help people learn about bicycle repair, and to help them get back on the road. We offer bike repair services with the caveat that the individuals must fix their bikes with us. This ranges from people just using our tools, to us offering advice every so often, to us essentially fixing the bike for them and explaining what we are doing while they are our assistant. We also participate in community and school events where whenever we have a couple of volunteers available…those are great ways of getting public awareness of our existence.
To keep volunteers from burning out, as well as due to a lack of space, we have refrained from from taking peoples bikes and fixing them for them…even if they want to pay us for it.
We host RePsych volunteer only days where we go through donated bikes, evaluate them and strip them for parts or RePsych them. We don’t sell our RePsyched bikes, but rather “rent” them out to visitors and to university aged students who are there for a short amount of time.
We have been in contact with schools and provincial networks to bring cycling education to all of the schools in our communities, as well as with our village council to help develop a cycling infrastructure plan.
I would love to chat with you about how we run in a small space.
There is another small Co-op in Waldport, Oregon that might have some other ideas for you…. the Green Bike Co-op http://www.seashorefamily.org/green-bike.html
Waldport is just over 2000 people, and is located between larger communities on the 101…a well used cycling route. I stopped in last year and volunteered with the crew for a week, and I can say that they definitely understand co-ops in small communities.
cheers,
Steve
On Dec 13, 2016, at 3:16 PM, Kickstand kickstandbikes@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all, There is a successful rural co-op in British Columbia, called Haida Gwaii Bike Re-Psych (https://www.facebook.com/BikeRePsych/). They operate on a remote island archipelago with a population of about 5000 people, and are an important community resource. They are also all really nice people - pretty busy but nice :).
- Leanne
Kickstand Community Bikes 1739 Venables Street, Vancouver, BC, V5L 2H3 Hours of Operation M • W • F: 5pm to 9pm Sunday: 1pm to 5pm WGQT Night: 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month, 6:30-8:30pm
kickstandbikes@gmail.com eastvankickstand.org
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On Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 9:16 AM, Kevin Dwyer kevidwyer@gmail.com wrote: Smaller urban areas seem to able to support "repair cafe" type opperations which appeal broadly to the DIY and limited means community. Many have bikes as a large portion of their focus.
On Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Jean-François Caron jfcaron3@gmail.com wrote: I don't have any experience, but working collaboratively with the established co-ops in the bigger cities would be an obvious thing to try. If the distances are not too far, you could try to make your shop/space/co-op be known as the official bike stop for cyclo-tourists between the two cities. This could bring in the kind of revenue and awareness that helps co-ops survive.
Jean-François
On Dec 12, 2016, at 08:59 , tim crandall tpcrandall@yahoo.com wrote:
Hey there,
Has anyone had any success in setting up a coop or any cycling project in a rural area/small town?
There’s a small town/city nearby with less than 16000 population. Recently, the first cross-town multi-use trail has been approved, and I’d like to jump on that momentum to further some of my own ideology.
We’re also right between two largish urban areas, so the draw would be local only, as each of those areas are already served fairly well.
I’d ideally like to set something up where I can teach the community bike safety and skills, teach kids bike repair, sell rehabbed bikes, and be a community anchor.
I’ve studied programs in larger urban areas, and have an idea of what works, but would really like some input from some rural programs. The city is cool, but the countryside is where I live and the area that I’d like to improve for cyclists as far as road safety, accessibility, and further down the line, multiuse trails.
I’d like to look at some other similar models, and see what I can draw from these. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Tim ____________________________________
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