Dear members of the Yellow Bike Community,

This is the first of the newsletters that we will be mailing out after each collective meeting.  At collective meetings we set new shop hours for the coming month, discuss upcoming projects, work parties and events.  We thought that it would be a good idea to keep the yellow bike community up to date on what we are thinking about after the meetings.  The collective meetings are on the first Tuesday of the month.

As always, all this is made possible by volunteer work, as we have no paid employees.  Shop hours and the projects that we are able to accomplish are greatly affected by the number of volunteers that we have.  If you are interested in volunteering or would like to know more about it talk to one of our shop coordinators or send us an austinyellowbike@gmail.com.  Donations are also greatly appreciated.  Bike donations can be dropped off at either of our shops during open hours.  If you would like to make a monetary donation we are now accepting them through our website via PayPal.

So enjoy this first installment and thanks again for your support, participation, and interest in our project.

-The Yellow Bike Project

 
PROPOSED HELMET LAW - There is a proposed helmet law that all in the Austin bike community should be aware of.  It would require that Bikers of ALL Ages would be required to wear a helmet by law.  There are groups in Austin working on both sides of this issue.  We encourage you to read the proposed law and voice your opinion to the city council.  For the Law: view former mayor Bruce Todd's full press release (this seems to be the only online effort that supports the helmet law).  Against the Law: League of Bicycling Voters (you can contact City Council or sign an online petition through this site), Bicycleaustin.info, Community Wiki on the Proposed Law.  There will be a City Council meeting on Thursday August 24th at 10AM.  All are encouraged to attend to voice their own personal opinions.  

YELLOW BIKE HELMET LAW ACTIONS - In the 51st street shop we will have a set of petitions FOR and AGAINST the proposed law near the sign-up sheet.  We will take the set of petitions to the City Council meeting on August 24th that voice the opinions of the users of our shop.  While many volunteers within our organization have strong opinions on the subject, we as an organization are not taking a position on this issue.  We decided rather to inform our shop patrons of the law, voice their opinions through a set of petitions, and encourage them to become active in the city council hearings.

NEW HOURS - This summer we have been able to keep both of the shops open as many as 5 nights per week on account of strong volunteer support.  This is the first summer that we have not had to cut back hours severely.  Several of our coordinators have jumped town to beat the heat and get on a bicycle for a few months.  While it is great that several new volunteers showed up to the collective meeting for the fist time and want to get involved, we are having to cut the Wheatsville hours back a little to keep those of us that are not on vacation sane.  We were able to keep the 51st street shop open 5 nights a week so come on up and use it.  Shops have been busier than ever with the shop users frequently taking over every work stand and most open floor space.  If you want to volunteer, we recommend that you do it on Tuesday on account of the traffic in the shop during the Open Shops.  Regardless, feel free to volunteer during the Open Shop nights, though it's might to be a little busier around the shop on those days.  If you need to work on your own bike come to the Open Shops, which are now 4 days per week (MWThF)