Hello from Brooklyn! It's been a busy season trying to get our coop off the ground, including some setbacks over the recent months, but last night marked a real milestone for us: *We had our first real workshop, in a space that might become our regular home!*
The backstory is that a local women's cycling group let me know they were prepping for a big upcoming ride that was going to be a real challenge for them. We pitched staging an event so that their people could have access to a well-staffed open workshop where we could help them head off problems and feel more empowered about their bikes. AND we pitched it to a church space that looks like they're going to invite us to move in and treat it as our home. AND, it was a smashing success. We publicized through a few channels, mostly women's cycling groups, and got a really great turnout from minute 1 right through to the end. People had a ball. Mechanical Gardens volunteers did great with putting the tools in the riders' hands. Lots of bikes got fixed. Great diversity in the crowd. Watermelon got eaten. It was pretty much just perfect.
It was also the first real moment of life for New York City's first-ever bike coop. And it was the first moment that this dream I've had of starting a coop here -- a dream you all made me feel was possible -- has actually seemed like it might really be coming true. Last night was a definitive milestone for us, and I'm dedicating it to you all.
Here are two photo sets on Facebook of our very first workshop: Look! https://www.facebook.com/bikecoopnyc/posts/1091320244271412 and also Look! https://www.facebook.com/bikecoopnyc/posts/1091769297559840 They're great. Look, like, and share, please.
More stories and details to come, but so much love and gratitude from me, and from the rest of the Mechanical Gardens, to you all everywhere.
Josh