some addendums

Forgot to say, If you or anyone you know needs a bike come on in. We have an ever growing pile waiting to find happy homes.

and

Also in the works is a Women Only night at the shop. Ladies come on in and learn care and maintenance of your bike and/or help teach these skills in a testosterone-free space.

A status report and some upcoming plans.

The Co-op is rolling along nicely. We are having three or four people stop by whenever we're open. Two bikes have been added to the streets that weren't out there before and many others have been brought in for a tune-up or just to fix a minor problem. We are also getting people in the space that have nothing wrong with there bike but just want to learn how to wrench so if they do run into trouble they're prepared. The grand opening a month ago also went well, we had about thirty people swing through during the day. Only four brave souls took the bracing ride down to the brewery in 11 degree weather but we had fifteen back at the shop for our showing of "Triplets of Bellville." More Bike-in movies are on the way. Also coming soon is our photovoltaic system. Plans are to install on Saturday the 5th of December. Also happening that same day/evening will be our first in a series of Open-mic nights. For more information on that or to sign up swing by the shop. And lastly, maybe most importantly, we are getting a truing stand in on Thursday so bring in those wobbly wheeels and learn how to get 'em riding straight again.

Take a look at this:
http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/19322

Grand Opening this Weekend!

Come and check out our grand opening this weekend at the shop. It will take place from 1-5PM at our shop across from Sanfords.

During these hours we will have open space for you to come up and see what we have to offer the community. We will have a couple workshops throughout the afternoon on basic bicycle maintenance and tuning up your bike. So if your bike needs some tweaking, bring it on up and we'll help you out. Jesse from Rushmore has also offered to come up and do a wheel truing workshop if there is enough interest. We realize it will be quite cold, but we are still planning a ride to the Brewery at 5PM so bundle up if you are adventuresome!

After the brewery, back at the shop we will be watching a bike movie at the shop. We have a couple options and haven't decided on a title yet. If you have any questions, email us at: spearfishbikecoop@gmail.com or call John at 641-3955 or Jeremy at 722-7535. See you Saturday!

Swarm Days Parade Photos

The following are a few of the photos from the Swarm Days parade for Black Hills State University's homecoming. Hard to believe we now have snow this week. Sorry for the out-of-orderness.

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2009 Climate Ride

This last week I had the opportunity to participate in a bike ride from New York City to Washington DC. Around 170 riders from all across the country joined together to raise awareness of climate change issues, especially the recently introduced Senate climate bill and upcoming talks in Copenhagen this December. We rode 300 miles over five days and had the evenings filled with speakers and movies. Most of these speakers were also riding with us. Some highlights were the Danish Ambassador to the US, biking infrastructure consultant Mikael Colville-Andersen, and No-Impact Man Colin Beavan. Upon reaching DC we were joined by many local cyclists and continued onto the Capitol where we were then greeted by an array of Senators, Representatives and environmental/non-profit leaders. The following day Focus the Nation had arrange for all of the riders to be able to meet with their Congresspersons and Senators to raise concerns and push for stronger legislation to mitigate the effects of global climate change. Focus the Nation was one of the recipients of monies raised by riders to participate in Climate Ride. As a Focus the Nation fellow I was on the ride to thank the other riders and to explain this co-op project to them. These discussions with others riders also helped generate many good ideas that we can hopefully implement as the co-op grows.

And growing it is, during my absence John continued getting the space ready for our quickly approaching opening, October 10th. We are still working out details but keep an eye out for a community bike ride, slow bike races, a bike in movie and hopefully some collaboration with Hills Horizons and the last Farmers Market of the season.

For more info/pictures of the Climate Ride check out www.climateride.org

Getting Up and Pedaling

Welcome to the first post for our blog that will document the up and coming of Spearfish's new bicycle cooperative. We were started with a grant from a group called Focus the Nation. Focus the Nation is a youth oriented Nonprofit organization based out of Portland, Oregon that is dedicated to community based clean energy. For more information visit their website at www.focusthenation.org.

Over the next several months we will be getting our shop location up and running, raising community awareness, hosting workshops, and building more bicycle culture in Spearfish.

Inquiring minds may be asking just what a bicycle cooperative is. Traditionally Bicycle co-ops function as a place where community members can learn to maintain and repair their own bicycle. Coops are generally run by volunteers and are supported solely by donation and fundraising. They also work to distribute bicycles to people in need of a bike and they encourage bicycle involvement within the community.

In the last two days we've managed to get the space cleaned up a little as well as throw a new coat of paint on the walls and floor. People are already coming by to help out and give some community support. The basic bike tools are on their way and should be here Friday, which should be the same day we start moving in some of the bike parts we have accumulated.

If anyone is interested in helping out or otherwise lending a hand, our shop is at 727 North Ames in the old machine shop across from Sanford's. No set schedule yet, but check here as we get things going or send a line to spearfishbikecoop@gmail.com and we can work something out.

Jeremy Smith and John Williams