Newsletter - September 2007

Dear Supporters of Yellow Bike,

September is here and we are again offering a full schedule of shops.  Due to coordinators' summer vacations, we were only open 3 days a week last month and had very crowded shops with 40-50 people as the norm (52 people is the all time record) .  Compared to a year ago when 20 people in the shop seemed busy and 30 was overwhelming, a lot has changed.   We're all excited about the growing numbers of folks learning about bike repair in our shop and riding a bike of their own as a result.

Read below for upcoming volunteer opportunities and Yellow Bike sponsored events.  As always we appreciate your continued support for the project!

Ride on,
-The Yellow Bike Project

SIGN UP FOR OUR BIKE REPAIR CLASS! - Do you feel like our open shops are overwhelming? Crowded? Intimidating?  Looking for a calmer learning environment with a planned curriculum taught by our wonderful volunteer coordinators with attention to spare?  We think we have a solution! 

In November, we are offering a 4 part bike repair class on Sundays from 5-8pm.  The class will cover almost everything: repair basics; overhaul and repair of brakes, hubs, bottom brackets, chains, and derailleurs; truing wheels; and road safety.  The class will be capped at 10 participants, which should feel like a private session compared to our 40-50 person open shops.  The cost of the 4 part class is $40, which will go to support the work of Yellow Bike.  Participants with perfect attendance will be rewarded with an Earn-a-Bike (your choice of used parts from our shop to build the bike of your dreams).  By the end of the course fixing up your Earn-a-Bike will be easy and fun!  To sign up for the class send us an email with your contact information.  We will contact you and send confirmation of enrollment once payment for the class is arranged.

150 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR YELLOW BIKE FUNDRAISER! - New Belgium Brewery's Tour de Fat is happening again in Austin on October 20th at Fiesta Gardens from 11am to 6pm. Proceeds from the event will go to three Austin area cycling groups: Yellow Bike Project, Austin Cycling Association, and Austin Ridge Riders. We need 150 volunteers to staff various aspects of the event from ID checking to tear down. Some positions require TABC certification, which New Belgium will pay for. Please email us at if you are interested in volunteering. This has been a large fundraising event in the past and we would love your help in pulling it off.

At the event there will be a Bike Parade, Beer, Music (The Reals, Asylum Street Spankers, March Fourth Marching Band | Video), Mutant Bike Rodeo, Kids events, and Vaudeville acts. There will also be a presentation of the winner of the Austin car for bike trade. The winner will receive a new Black Sheep commuter bike and BOB trailer in exchange for their old car. Applicants submit a 2 minute video or 2000 word thesis (click for information to enter).

HARVEST MOON RIDE - The annual Harvest Moon Ride is coming up on the night of Saturday, September 29th. The ride starts at 2am (past midnight) on the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge ( view map). The ride, lit by the full moon and hundreds of blinkie lights, takes you 25 miles (never fear, with pit stops), lasts for 2-3 hours, and deposits you on top of a downtown parking garage just in time for breakfast and the sunrise. Come bike with us on the most popular group ride in Austin. Here are some old posters for the ride from the Austin Bike Culture Archive to get you excited. See you there - don't be late!

SHOP SCHEDULE! - This month we are back to being open 5 days a week at 51st street and 3 days a week at Treasure City.  All of our shops are Open Shops so feel free to work on your own bikes or volunteer for the project.  The calendar version our schedule is available on our website. 

* Red Hours indicate Volunteer Shops: These shops are reserved for volunteering. Volunteers are also welcome anytime our shops are open. Volunteer Shops are usually less busy and facilitate a better learning experience. Personal projects are not allowed during volunteer shops; they can only be worked on during Open Shops. While volunteering, you can learn to fix bikes while giving back to YBP or accrue volunteer hours counting towards a free bike of your very own.
** Collective Meetings: Shop "closed" for collective meeting at our Main Shop (51st Street) on the 1st Tuesday of the month. Meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Open to the public. If you would like to contribute ideas to the collective, make requests, learn more about the project and its internal workings, or just get more involved this is the forum for you.
*** Volunteers Needed: We need volunteers so that we can expand and maintain hours of our shops. We want to be open more often. Come to the main 51st street shop to learn how you can help.

GREEN CITY FESTIVAL - On Saturday, October 13, the City of Austin will host its first Green City Festival from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at City Hall. Eleven City departments and 40 partnering non-profit organizations, including Yellow Bike, will provide a one-stop bonanza of green information wrapped in fun, music and interesting activities for the entire family. Everything you want to know about energy, water and resource efficiency will be on display. Enjoy educational talks, hands-on workshops and an interactive Kids Korner.  The festival partners include the Downtown Farmers Market and the Austin Children's Museum on 4th Street. For more information view the event website .

FREE SKOOL CLASSES AT YELLOW BIKE - The Free Skool Austin is a collectively run educational network that emphasizes "freedom of thought" as much as "free of charge." Yellow Bike is teaching a two part frame-up bike building class this month at our shop as part of their program. Unfortunately these classes are full, but check their website for other upcoming adult classes.