Well, some of you may have noticed that we haven’t posted much this summer, or advertised much, or done much besides stay open. Well, just so you know, we’re still here and we’ve still got big plans. Here are some updates about what we’re up to:
We’re down to Tuesday and Thursday evening shifts (from 6 to 8), probably our winter schedule. Matt and Stan have been holding down these shifts for more than a year now, and for that they deserve more than any thanks they can be given in a blog post. Also, Madeline deserves a big thanks for holding Women and Trans night all summer. Thanks Mechanics! You are really what keeps Freeride going.
Of course, Members help a lot. This year, we have fewer current members than last year, by 20 or 30. Part of this is surely due to us not having advertised much this summer. Some of the folks who still use the shop probably didn’t renew, because we weren’t as diligent about checking as we could have been.
We did sell a lot of bikes this year; we made more off of bike sales this year than last. We still have a few great bikes on the floor, as well as more on the way, so if you’re looking for one, drop by!
The community bikes project went through a number of changes throughout the year. In trying to include many perspectives from the community in the process, we got feedback on the project that led to an expansion in the project’s projected budget. We realized that with our current funds, we couldn’t pull off our original idea, so we decided to pursue a bike library instead. We’re looking to make the library bikes available in the early spring of 2009. Hopefully, people will be able to check bikes out from a few locations in town for free or for a deposit. We have already built up 4 of the bikes, and expect to have a good-sized fleet ready by the spring. If you’re moved to help with building up bikes, or with writing letters to local businesses, please contact us!
We lost our storage space this year, which was a big deal. We had to let go of 50+ bikes (mostly cheap, department store bikes), making up most of our extra material to work with. We also couldn’t accept many donated bikes since then. While we’ve really appreciated the space we’ve been in, and the relatively low rent, our ultimate goal is finding a more permanent space. I actually had a dream one night where we were buying a gas station in town to convert into a full bike shop. While this would be amazing, we’ll settle for some storage space somewhere if you know of any.
If you’re interested in bike mechanics, or in winterizing your bike and riding through the cold, consider stopping by during our shifts. The winter is a great time to learn with us! And maybe by next year you’ll be able to help out as a regular mechanic!
It was inspiring to see so many bikes on the streets this summer, let’s see if we can continue the trend!
- Colin
Make the most of your consumer dollars on Friday and Saturday November 23th and 24th. Buy a recycled bike from Freeride Montpelier, and help support cycling, recycling, and transportation alternatives in our community. We are having a fall bike sale at Freeride Montpelier Bike Coop. Cutting our already low prices by another 30% makes this a great time to get a nice used bike for yourself, or as a gift. It will also support Freeride, help us make some room in our space, and help keep the rent paid and the heat on through the winter months, so that we can have all those great winter workshops we’ve been planning. Come on Down between 1:00 and 6:00pm have some hot cocoa with us, check out some bikes, check out our space if you haven’t yet been down. We are at 89 Barre St right next to Fischer Auto Parts, around the back.