October Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Fall is officially here and there are plenty of events to celebrate the changing of the seasons! See what we’ve got planned for October:
Open Shop
Every Tuesday 5pm-8pm and Saturday 9am-2pm we are here to help you fix your bike at our community shop. This is also the time to look at the bikes we have fixed and available. You can also donate your old bike or volunteer. This month, we need volunteer mechanics, greeters, tube patching, wheels triaging, and maps folded.
Bike Valet
Whew! What a great time we had with our biking comrades and everyone at Foo, Rocktucket and the Woony River Ride! Our bike valet at the Farmers Market is coming to an end at the end of October. What a beautiful team of volunteers making it happen – it brings tears to my eyes! But we’re not through… Join us Monday, October 3rd from 5-10pm at PRONK Music Festival of the street bands on South Water near Hot Club to park some wheelers and dance.
Big Student Bike Sale
This Saturday, October 1st from 1-4pm, we will be trucking our stock of refurbished bikes to Rhode Island School of Design’s secondhand art store, 2ndLife. Find us on the river next to the RISD store off of South Main Street to get a bicycle, pick up a bike path map, and chat with us about our programs and learn how to get involved in the movement.
New England Bike Walk Summit
The New England Bike-Walk Summit returns to historic downtown Providence, RI on Friday, October 7th! A full day is planned, with interesting breakout sessions, instructional field visits, special guest speakers, and plenty of time for networking. Recycle–A-Bike development director, Jenna Yu, is speaking on Kidsʼ Programs that Work: Safe Routes and Beyond. This year’s conference has 9 breakout sessions on a broad range of topics, including street design, kids’ programs, economic impact of biking and walking, bike sharing systems, low-cost improvements for biking and walking, and much more! Learn more and register.
Basic Bike Maintenance
Wednesday, October 26th from 5-8pm. Learn to diagnose your bike issues, fix flat tires, make cable adjustments, use basic tools, and practice regular bike maintenance with a RAB shop mechanic. $15
Fall Build-A-Bike Progress
Students are learning fast and bikes are coming together – two weeks to go! Interestingly, this class is mostly female. It’s amazing to see a new wave of passion and persistence in our shop. Can’t wait to see where the new knowledge and acquired skills will lead us.
Winter Build-A-Bike Schedule
This is a 6-week course designed to give individuals the opportunity to EARN a bicycle. Build 2 bikes keeping 1 for yourself and donating 1 bike to RAB. This course does not cost money, but it does require a time commitment (around 35 hrs of toiling) and the completion of two repaired bikes in the 6-week period! It’s a 2-day per week course comprised of Wrenching Wednesdays plus Open Shop Thursdays – a total of 12 sessions.
Wednesdays = demonstrations and guided learning with an instructor.
Thursdays = a DIY (do it yourself) learning model in the shop, working on fixing your selected bikes independently, applying what you’ve learned to hands on experience.
Sign up for the winter workshop. Email a paragraph with details on your biking values and why you would be a good fit. Max 10 students! jenna@recycleabike.org
- *Wed. 11/2 6-8pm - 1st Wrenching Wednesday Class (clean and lube bikes)
- Thurs. 11/3 6-8pm – Open Shop (work on your bikes)
- *Wed. 11/9 6-8pm – 2nd W.W. Class (bottom bracket and headset)
- Thurs. 11/10 6-8pm – Open Shop
- *Wed. 11/16 6-8pm – 3rd W.W. Class (tires, tubes, flats)
- Thurs. 11/17 6-8pm – Open Shop
- *Wed. 11/23 6-8pm – 4th W.W. Class (hubs, wheel truing)
- Thurs. 11/24 6-8pm – Open Shop
- *Wed. 11/30 6-8pm – 5th W.W. Class (brakes)
- Thurs. 12/1 6-8pm – Open Shop
- *Wed. 12/7 6-8pm – 6th W.W. Class (gears)
- Thurs. 12/8 6-8pm – Open Shop BIKE COMPLETE!
Donate to Recycle-A-Bike
We are finally a 501c3 non-profit! Please consider donating to us by the end of the tax season! Our goal is 100 people, $100 dollars.
Happy Wheeling from the nice folks at RAB!