Hi all,
Here is a Free Cycles Missoula 'Covid' update:
We've had no one except staff (3) in our shop since March 13th.
A lot of 'curb side' service tho, with free bikes, sale bikes, parts, and tool loaning, all ordered on our website (http://www.freecycles.org/), or by phone, or a note put in our drop box.
It's often 'contact free' as we lock a sale bike or free bike outside, and give people the code.
Sale bikes (about 200 since March) can be fully refunded up to 2 weeks.... only a small handful have been returned, due to lack of correct fit.
Free bikes have been great.. normally there is a class and 4 hours of service for this earn a bike program. The class and service have been waived during Covid. We've had to exchange and/or do some follow up maintenance on some of those, not much tho. Biggest change is we build the bike instead of the recipient.
We follow up with people the best we can, to make sure needs are being met.
We had a volunteer install a library style 'drop box' that has been awesome- for small part donations, tool return, and cash donations.
We affixed colored locks to a rack out front, which makes it easy for anyone to donate a bike and lock it (we have the universal key hanging inside).
We added a gate to a side yard, with a combo: we have 2-5 volunteers per week, and we give them that combo so we do not have to let them in and out- they can do that themselves. We change the combo once a week. We meet them initially, and get them started on some kind of outside task.
We have vols only work outside, and agree to covid protocols.
We've used this 'down time' to renovate, organize, clean and deeply think about programs and projects...while also making sale bikes, free bikes and filling parts orders.
One project was renovating a 1,000 sq ft 'shed' into an outdoor bicycle classroom/ work space, so we'll be ready for 2021 bike boom to continue and hopefuly gather once again.
BTW, Montana cases are rising, and we've been super cautious this whole time, in it for the 'long game'.
We say 'no walk ups'. Yet that has been the hardest thing to 'enforce'. So we are flexible and lenient and help people as we can, sometimes taking in a repair or giving advice, thru a chainlink fence often. Not too friendly of a system, yet neither is Covid.
Been thinking how all us community bike shops are a 'radical movement of inclusiveness' and how Covid changes that completely upside down, more or less.
We are shifting the focus of free bikes, prioritizing essential workers, low income and BIPOC. Which still includes a lot of people and thus requests. We got a month behind at the end of summer, now about caught up (about 200 of these free bikes out the door since March too).
The free bikes are lesser quality than the sale bikes, yet sturdy none the less.
The parts requests are fun, cuz our parts room is fairly organzied and we are well stocked. We put those- serveral a day- on a table outside for pickup.
Hope this helps others, and looking forward to continued collabaration thru this list!
-Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Quoting wormsign@gmail.com:
Hey Momoko BRW is open for curbside sales 3 days a week. We allow a max of 4
volunteers inside at a time. We have one day a week that is building
bikes and cleaning shop. Bike sales have skyrocketed and if it keeps pace it will keep our
lights on through this.The bicycle kitchen has a huge outdoor space and has been allowing
patrons to wrench by appointment if they follow the protocol. They
figure that when masked and keeping distance the transfer risk
outdoors is much smaller. I was considering looking into how tool lending libraries function
to see if we could offer a similar service so patrons can put on the
parts they purchase.Loconte
On Oct 19, 2020, at 19:21, barts@drcrankys.com.au wrote:
At Dr Cranky’s we usually support Bicycle Hospitals run by parent
volunteers at schools. We can’t do that in Victoria, Australia so have tried shifting to
remote/contactless operations. We’ve managed to recycle over 50 bikes during CoVid and log the
results online without any contact. We send basic tool kits and parts to volunteers to use in their homes.See
https://www.drcrankys.com.au/uploads/8/6/0/2/86023530/remote_operations_unde...Bart Sbeghen Founder/CEO, Dr Cranky’s M 0418 231 686
<image001.jpg> www.drcrankys.com.au
From: Thethinktank thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org
On Behalf Of momoko saunders Sent: Tuesday, 20 October 2020 12:24 PM To: The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: [TheThinkTank] Shop Operations During CovidHey all,
I'd love to get a quick update on what shops are doing for shop
operations during covid. There was an awesome virtual workshop put
on a few months ago. What are shops up to now?At Bike Farm, we're still far from being open in our usual way. We
have a parts selling shift for one day of the week. We meet people
outside and get a list of items they want to purchase, then
volunteers rummage around and find the parts and bring them out for
the patron to choose from. We do not allow use of tools which is
really hard but most people understand. We do have a selection of
tools which we have available for sale for real cheap. This
includes random loose allen wrenches, other wrenches, multi tools.
Here are the guidelines for this shift.We also have a shift where volunteers work on bikes in the shop for
sale or for our community partnerships. We limit all volunteer
groups to 5 people at a time, and we try to keep people in germ
bubbles so that if someone does get sick, we've limited the
exposure. Everyone wears masks at all times and keeps distant.We have a 3rd night which we just added called our infrastructure
night. On this night we work on cleaning the shop and making it
more functional.We have a document outlining our covid protocols. I've made a copy
of it for the thinktank to view. Everyone in the shop must read and
agree to these guidelines before being able to volunteer.
With a vaccine looking like it will not be here and widely
available till summer or even fall of 2021, we're looking for more
creative ways to provide resources to the community, stay safe, and
maybe make some money to pay rent. I'd love to hear if others have
come up with creative ways to continue operations during this time.Hope you all are well, -Momoko ____________________________________
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