Newsletter - December 2007

Dear supporters of Yellow Bike,

Here is the news for December.  We've had a busy month with a smashing success at E.A.S.T., a fun and educational set of classes, and much more.  Read on for the details . . .

-The Yellow Bike Project

LARGEST YELLOW BIKE RELEASE EVER FOR E.A.S.T! - On Saturday 11/17 from 10am-2pm at Cafe Mundi we had our largest ever Yellow Bike release as part of The East Austin Studio Tour, a weekend open house of over 100 artist studios on the East Side of Austin. This year the event organizers picked bikes as a theme to emphasize their role in sustainable transportation, and event-goers enthusiastically participated by riding their own bikes from studio to studio, or picking up a yellow bike for the day.  Within the first few hours of the event, we had released all 86 yellow bikes to roam about the area.  About half the bikes returned at the end of the day so that folks could use them the next day.  We also helped people make minor repairs to their own bikes so they could participate in the fun.  Everyone had a great time, and one yellow bike rider commented that the bike riding was the most fun part of the day!  Bravo to E.A.S.T. organizers for promoting bicycling as transportation at this very successful event.

GUS GARCIA MIDDLE SCHOOL GETS A BIKE SHOP – Teachers from Gus Garcia Middle School have been coming to our shop for the past few Saturdays to gain mechanics skills to use in their new bike mechanics workshop.  The school is converting the wood shop to a bike shop, and Yellow Bike is donating a complete tool set and any parts they need to get the shop up and running.

"TOOLZ FOR LIFE" YOUTH BICYCLE PROGRAM  - Fall Wrap Up
The "Toolz for Life" program ended this fall semester with abundant bicycles, learning and fun!!

Youth at Brooke Elementary repaired ten bikes over the course of the semester, learned how to fit helmets, signal safely, and generally became very competent riders; in fact at least five students began riding their bikes to school because of the program!  We also created flags and other bike related puppetry for our final parade, which due to bad weather has been rescheduled for a sunny day in the future.

Kealing MS youth finished the semester in grand style with a Bike Rodeo headed up by the Austin Cycling Association, and some bicycle puppetry performed by members of the Austin Bike Zoo.  Members of our community mapping class spent their final class learning how to use a computer-based GIS mapping program and created their own neighborhood bike map.  (See the Map!)  We visited four different sites on our rides, learning about community bike facilities and a little local history as well.  The repair class finished their bikes and took them home along with helmets and locks.  Now they come into the local YBP shop on 12th St. to volunteer and learn more!!

TREASURE CITY SHOP UPDATE - The Treasure City YB shop has been much more active over the past month.  We have a new lock on the door, a new set of tools, a beautiful new street sign (thanks Sachi and Mateo) and a computer that doesn't quite work. We have been getting more interest in the shop with both personal projects and new volunteers, which is wonderful.  Much good work is being done, and it feels like the neighbors are starting to think of it as their local bike shop.  If we can get a Wednesday or a Saturday shop, or both, we'd be totally legitimate.  What we really need soon is a light outside the door, as it is getting dark before 6pm.  Please come by and check out our little beehive of bicycle action next time you are in the neighborhood.  And if you'd like to see the shop open even more, please come to the shop to find out how you can get involved, or learn more on our website. 

ADULT BIKE REPAIR CLASS - We just completed two, four-part bike repair classes taught at our 51st street shop. Ten people were enrolled in each class and learned through a combination of discussion and hands-on training. We're pleased that all of the students left with a strong understanding of basic bike maintenance and repair, and had fun while learning. We plan on offering the class again sometime in the next few months, but are not accepting any registrations at this time. If you are interested in taking the class, stay informed by reading upcoming newsletters and checking the website for updates on how to register.

We have shop closures this month from December 25th through January 1st.  We re-open on Wednesday January 2nd.  A full month calendar can be viewed on our website. 

* Red Hours indicate Volunteer-Only Shops:  These shops are reserved for volunteering; no personal projects are allowed on these nights.  Volunteers are welcome during any open shop, not just volunteer-only 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.