Second Meeting went Great!

Hey everyone!

 

May 5^th marked the second meeting for the Tampa Bike Cooperative and it went great. It was fantastic to see new and old faces at Transitions Art Gallery working together to make a better community for bicyclists.

 

We managed to get two people onto used bicycles, something that is always a goal of the co-op. I hope those people start riding more frequently and continue to care for their bicycles. 

 

Joe and Sam held a workshop on how to true a bike wheel, which is something that definitely takes time to get good at, but is a very useful skill. It was a great lesson on a common problem that happens to your bike.

 

 

 David held an insightful discussion on bicycle safety and how to safely ride in traffic. It was both informative and for some empowering. Hopefully those who paid attention gained some knowledge from the tips Dave gave and will start riding safely and with confidence.   

 

The next co-op meeting will be on June 2^nd again at Transitions Art Gallery. We are still brain storming ideas for a few lessons and maybe some more ideas to help plan the next meet, so please contribute as much as you can and want to.

 

You don’t HAVE to be a mechanic to teach a workshop - if anyone has knowledge on fixing any part of a bike you can teach a workshop. The more people that participate in the co-op the better, so please don’t be shy about teaching or lending any amount of time that you have, whether that be 10minutes or 3 hours – whether you bring food or donate an old bike part you don’t use anymore. Communicating with each other inside and outside the cooperative is an empowering and helpful resource.

 

Pictures from the last meeting that Lily took are posted here:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampabikecoop/

 

also if you took pictures go ahead and join our Flickr group:

 

http://www.flickr.com/groups/tampabikecoop/

 

There will also be new flyers/posters available soon and a new PDF of the flyer will be available on this website ASAP – if you want copies of flyers for promotion please let Lily or Dave know at tampabikecoop@gmail.com and they will get them to you.

 

Let people know about the site, hand someone a flyer, let someone that doesn’t have a bike know that the cooperative exists and that they too can be a part of the co-op! Getting new people involved is a huge objective right now and it would be great to have more people promoting something positive in the community.

 

I hope we can continue the momentum the cooperative is gaining and can’t wait till the next month! Everyone is giving so much and doing a great job. Keep it up!

Second Co-Op Meeting MONDAY, MAY 5th!

 

It’s time again (already!) for another Bike Co-Op meeting.

 

 Monday, May 5^th at 7pm, Transitions Art Gallery will be host to our tools and bike guts.

 

 We are really excited about this second meeting and hope it’s going to be even better than the last. It would be great to see more people gathering and helping each other work on their bicycles.

 

The two workshops we have planned for are

1. Wheel Building
2. Vehicular Cycling (with skits)

Please let us know if you would like to conduct a workshop in the future, or if you would like to be a more dedicated member of the cooperative. A few of the solid mechanics we have are taking leave for the summer and we can always use more help each month.

 

We also are planning on having a veggie pot-luck, so bring your favorite recipe for others to share and make sure you help yourself to whatever we put on the table!

 

Transitions Art Gallery is Located At:

4215 East Columbus Drive
Tampa, Florida 33605-3202

 

For more info:

www.transitionsartgallery.com

 

Hope to see everyone there and please spread the word about the community we are trying to build. The more bikes that get help the better.

Input

Leave some comments and let us know what we want to do with the Co-op.

Here’s some ideas of different ideas you can share.
-What went well on the first bike night?
-What was lacking?
-What is something you’d like to see brought to the table?
-What is something you have planned to add to the mix?

You can add comments openly, and there is no requirement to create an account, or leave an email.

Jeff Daines gets a new bike

Jeff Daines had his bike stolen last week. He made a donation to the co-op and built up a frame from the our stock pile to get him up and running the next day.

Two others have recieved bikes as well! Pictures and a line soon.

Tampa Bike Co-op Grand Opening

The Co-op grand opening was last night. It was a grand time, with two dedicated repair stands doing open repair and teaching, one workshop, two movies, delicious food, and very excellent company. Thanks so much to everyone who came out. You can check out a better write up by Jack Sweeny here