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Des Moines Bike Collective | | | Opening soon...! Part bike library, part bike co-op, and part bike school. Remember "an old bike is a good friend".
| | |  Opening soon
The Des Moines Bike Collective will be opening soon. (perhaps as early as mid-April).
617 Grand avenue, in downtown Des Moines will be the address for the Des Moines Bike Collective.
What is it?
The Collective will be part bike library, part bike co-op, and part bike school. But more than this, the Collective will be a hub; a gathering place of people and bikes...
Purpose
To put more bikes under more people.
How does it work?
We will get our bikes as donations from folks who have too many [apply "the three years dust" rule: if the dust on your bike is three years old, or older, give it to us, and we'll find it a new owner], or as left-overs from police auctions and elsewhere.
We will see to it that it gets a proper rehab, and then will match it with a person who is looking for perhaps a first-ever bike, or a "first bike since i was a kid" bike.
We anticipate that we'll have bikes for kids of all ages, road, off-road, and townies.
A person desiring a bike will leave a nominal deposit for the bike [say between $25 and $60 or so] and can have the bike for six months. at the end of six months, if the person wishes to return the bike, they'll get their deposit back. If, as would be our hope, they enjoy riding it, and wish to keep it, they can forfeit the deposit and the bike is theirs.
The new owners will get much more than just a bike
They'll roll out the door of the Collective with knowledge of the importance of maintaining this bike, and knowing that they can come back with any questions or concerns.
That's where the other aspects of the Collective comes into play. We'll be offering a wonderful curriculum of classes, from basic bike etiquette, how to ride a bike in town and in traffic, how to maintain a bike, a macgyver emergency repair course, a course on "your seat bag, what it needs, and how to use it," and much more.
We'll have a bike mechanic's course, covering all aspects of becoming a bike mechanic from building wheels to taping bars to fitting rider to bike.
We'll have "ladies nights" when the Collective is open only to women to cover whatever topics the group wishes--both on and off bike issues can be anticipated.
We'll have fixie and single speed conversion nights; when you sign up, bring in a multi-geared bike and, for a few bucks, you ride out with a single speeder or a fixie, depending on the class.
Sweet? you betcha, it is...
Likin' what you are hearing...?
We'll be working with the public schools, and the boys and girls club of Des Moines, to develop bike clubs, giving kids the chance to opt for a healthy drug of choice, and helping them to realize that bikes are more than toys, they are a lifestyle, and can facilitate a long and healthy life, drenched in fun.
These kids will be learning the joys and responsibilities of being a bike riding member of society, and will spend time working both in the Collective, learning to do bike maintenance and bike building, and they'll project a positive image in the public as they wear their club colors as they go on group rides AND perform trail maintenance and clean-up as a part of their membership commitments.
More than this, this big and little kids will develop an appreciation of old steel, and realize that old is good. They'll learn an ultimate lesson about recycling: we intend to re-use as much of the bike as possible, whether in a bike proper, or in other things made from cast-off bike parts. that which cannot be re-used will be recycled for scrap metal. We will be using very green products in the shop.
How can I help?
So you want to join in the fun? What can YOU do to help this place happen?
- Go to your garage or basement, and take a bike inventory. Check the dust on your bikes. Do likewise with the bikes of your friends and neighbors;
- Keep your eyes on this place for updates, or contact the mostly reverend at: eeastonwest@aol.com and have your email added to our list. You'll learn right away about work days, bike drop-off days, days we need folks to volunteer to help build bikes to start our pre-opening inventory, and such.
- Look around for old, unused bike parts and tools that could be better used by us. Remember, this is all tax-deductible.
- Give us money to buy the things that aren't donated. we need bike tools, bike stands, hubs, wheel-sets, saddles, seat posts, stems, pedals. If you don't need them, let US be the judge of whether they can be of use.
- Tell your friends about this place. But not just for donating bikes, but also for upcoming classes and for rides that will be leaving from the Collective. We'll be announcing rides for all abilities, and we'll always be looking for big kids to ride with them.
- Drop by on the Tuesday of bike to work week, as we'll be serving a light breakfast that day
- And finally, just stop by and hang out. Check the place out. Get to know what's happening, and get to know other cyclists. You know that you're cool; take the time to realize that other cyclists are, too...
Collective Shirts
A limited number of T-shirts are available and can be purchased for $20 at T-Shirt Graphix at 3629 Beaver Avenue. If they are a hit, we'll make more!
Collective Home
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posted Mar 29 2008
(5046 views)
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