Mar 31 - New Streamliner

Good afternoon,
Last week I returned to Morgantown with my new car, a homebuilt full-suspension pedaled streamliner.  Today with Chad Jones (volunteer of the day) we put the fairing back on and rode around in the parking lot for some short demonstration riding.  It was a great ride, even though it was just around the parking lot.  Come to the shop and check it out if you're interested.  We'll be doing some rehab on this bike in the coming weeks.  I plan to make it my Wadestown commuter.  You can also view the video at this link to see it in action:


Today we made final arrangements with Duncan Bock of the Greenriders  for their June visit to Morgantown.  Duncan and his sister will be riding electric-assisted bikes across country from CA to DC.  They'll leave their home on Earth Day, April 23rd.  Along the way they'll be showcasing heroes of the environment who are making the necessary changes in lifestyle to make our lives sustainable - enjoyably.  In Morgantown they'll be the featured speakers at Green Night at the Library (Thursday June 24) and will also be guests for an event at the Paul Brown home in South Park the following day.  Positive Spin will support their message with information on how you can make your transportation more sustainable.  You can view their trip map and updates here:
http://thegreenriders.blogspot.com/

Mar 28 - Getting people out on bikes

Yesterday was busy at the shop.  It seems as though everybody in town decided that they wanted a bike at 3pm.  It was just Will and I trying to help "too many" customers.  A wonderful problem to have, but I hope more of you out there will consider coming in to volunteer on Saturdays.  There's always work to be done and with you there to do it we're more free to help customers - all of us will be getting more people on bikes more often.  It was a beautiful day, so I got some riding in myself - running errands and helping out at "Our Studio" where I'm also a board member.  They're moving to a new (smaller) location just off High Street.  They can use your help today if you can spare some time.  More info at www.ourstudio.com.
Collections for the "Bikes for the World" shipment are going well.  We're about halfway to a full truckload with 2 months left to go.  Donations have started coming in for our Spring bike collection and we expect many more in the coming weeks.  We'll be open 1-5 Monday-Sat this week during Spring Break.  If you have some time please come in and help out (call a day or so in advance if you can).

Here's a link to a friend's site - Greg Kolodziejzyk is an ultra-marathon athlete who is building a boat that he will pedal across the Pacific Ocean from Canada to Hawaii this Summer.  Greg is like the Steve Fossett of human power.  This is a video tour of the ocean-crossing boat:
He is currently conducting sea trials, read more at his blog.

Thanks,
Nick

Mar 27 - Bikes for the World, Bikes from the World

Good morning,
Yesterday we started collecting bikes and parts for shipment to Cumberland, MD in May.  From there they will go to "Bikes for the World" Vienna, Va and then on to anyplace in the world where they are needed for transportation.  Although we didn't get all the volunteers we expected, the ones that showed up finished an amazing amount of work in a short time.  Thanks to Tim, Duncan, Jim, Mark, and (Mark's girlfriend) who helped sort and strip bikes at the warehouse and sort parts at the shop.  This is our annual opportunity to clean house by sending parts that we don't need to places where they'll get used.  As we get more bikes and parts from our Spring Drive there will be more work to do.  Please consider volunteering as a group or individual to help us out.  Through the drive we'll be open Mon-Sat 1-5pm, Wed til 7pm.

I saw this article on one of the blogs I read, it gives you an idea of how popular velomobiles are becoming (at least in Europe).  Velomobiel.nl produce the shell for Strada in Slovakia now and they need to transport big amount of shells from there to Netherlands where final assembly occurs.  In North America velomobiles are slowly becoming available, primarily from Blue Velo in Toronto, Canada.  It's only a matter of time before you'll see one in Morgantown.

Lastly, we have a close working relationship with Our Studio, a Morgantown educational art program.  This weekend they are having a big moving/fundraising sale at 601 E Brockway Ave (map).  Please show up and see what they've got, you'll be glad you did.

Mar 25 - Spring Bike Collection

Good morning,
Our Spring bike collection is fully underway this week and Tau Beta Pi has done an excellent job providing publicity again.  See the articles at these links:
State Journal:
WBOY Channel 12 TV, State Journal , (more to come)

Yesterday was a big day for volunteers.  Lots of students have been coming in to get their hours out of the way before Spring break and there were over a dozen people in the shop at one point - a great situation when the Channel 12 reporter showed up.  However, I'd just like to mention that if you are part of a group that is coming in, please call a day or more in advance so I can have plenty of work ready.  We nearly ran out of things to do at the end of the day - not because there wasn't work, but because I didn't have everything together to do it all.  Today I've got plenty more ready if you do show up, but I still appreciate some warning.

In the morning I went for a ride to Pt. Marion to see how the Mon River Trail was recovering from our eventful Winter weather.  All of the trees have been cleared to the state line, and there is just one place on the PA side where you have to scramble through a bit.  It looked like clearing has begun and by the time you read this things may be all cleared up.  I hope to do it again tomorrow and I'll let you know what I see.  It was a great reminder of why we ride.  The trees are budding, birds are singing, the river is flowing fast with spring melt and rains.  It was a great way to recharge my emotional batteries.
Remember, the best way to promote walking and biking is to get out and do it so other people see how much fun you're having and want to join in.
Have a great day.

Mar 22 - Back to business, and busy-ness

Good evening,
After returning from a week-long road trip (Florida to drive a car back for friends, Apex NC to inspect a school site for June bike classes, Raleigh to pick up a new bike, Martinsville to spend a few days with raw-food friends and Charlottesville for an LCI seminar) today was my first full day in the shop.  I expected it to be quiet for a while before people discovered I was back, but apparently there was a lot of pent-up demand.  We had calls starting early in the morning to donate ,borrow and buy bikes.  Also lots of students are choosing to do their volunteer hours with us before going off on Spring break.  This afternoon we had a particularly memorable customer brought to us by connecting link (ph 304-296-3300) who needs to get to work at a night-shift job in Sabreton on bike.  It turned out we had the perfect bike for her, and accessories to go along with it.  We'll be getting her fitted out tomorrow.  This is just the kind of thing we are here for, and we hope to get more referrals from Connecting Link now that they know about us.
This week we begin our Spring bike collection to get us enough bikes for the Summer.  We'll need a LOT at the rate they're going out the door.  If you (or anyone you know) have bikes you aren't using and you'd like to see them find a good home please send them our way.
On Friday afternoon from 1-5pm we'll be doing a big strip party at the warehouse.  Just to clear things up, this means we'll be stripping usable parts off unrepairable bikes.  This is very labor intensive, but fun when you have plenty of people doing it.  If you're available please give a call to the shop and we'll sign you up, we'd love to have your help.
Thanks,
Nick

20 Mar - LCI Seminar

Good evening,
I'm in Charlottesville, VA (home of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello) assisting with the League of American Bicyclists' "League Certified Instructor" seminar.  We have 14 students, 4 assistant instructors and the lead instructor - Preston Tyree.  If you don't know Preston you should at least get to know his work - he is the national director of education for the League and has been instrumental in developing all of the teaching curricula - Traffic Skills (101 & 102), Commuter, Group Riding, Safe Routes to Schools, etc..  Taking a bike class from Preston is like having Jesus for a Bible Study leader.  Preston is always positive and helpful, knowledgable and more experienced than anyone else I know.  The picture above shows Preston directing the group to ride in formation, closer than they ever have before, while drinking from their water bottles and looking back for traffic.  The entire weekend was a great time, in addition to a great learning experience.  The best part of it was watching cyclists conquer their fears of pack riding and and busy intersections.  The self-confidence that comes from this spills into everything else they do.  The second best part of the class is that Frank won't be the only lonely LCI's in the state any more.  We now have Ryan, Marilyn and Gunnar for company - pretty pleasant company too.  I'm now hoping to give a few of them the additional training to become youth and parent instructors so we can get another generation on bikes.

Mar 17 - A new bike

Good evening,
I don't usually make a big deal about my new bike purchases but this one is unique - and practical.  It's a carbon homebuilt (~2000) made by John Tetz of the Metro (NY) Area Recumbent Society (MARS).  I picked it up in Raleigh NC where Roger Vale had taken it after purchasing it but deciding not to keep it.  I'll be using it to make the regular commute from the shop to Wadestown.  There is a detailed construction history at this link:  http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/OFS/projtetzOFS.html
Come by the shop next week if you're interested in seeing the real thing.  I took it on a magnificent ride today.
Tomorrow I'll be in Charlottesville, VA to attend Bike League instructor training with a group of other Morgantown cyclists getting their LCI certification.  I'll be back on Sunday.  In the meantime John Dorsey is handling the shop and you can call him at the regular number if you need to get in outside regular hours.

Mar 12 - A new era

I've just returned from the National Bike Summit in DC.  In addition to the celebrities I was able to hobnob with (that's Gary Fisher in the photo above) there were 3 other delegates from WV - Kim Broughton (Parkersburg), Dennis Strawn (Charleston) and Brian (?) from Martinsburg.  On Thursday we met with aides for Senators Rockefeller and Byrd, and Representatives Capitio, Mollohan and Rayhall (who met with us personally - photo coming soon).  All were very receptive to our requests to support legislation (Safe Routes to Schools, Active Communities Transportation and Complete Streets) , joining the bike caucus and supporting increased funding for non-motorized transportation (NMT).  WV leads the country from the bottom with 0.2% NMT funding yet 8% of trips are non-motorized (14% in Morgantown).  It was a great big deal when Sec. LaHood made the following proclamation at the closing reception: "People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.”  Let's get this message out in Morgantown - tell everyone, not just bureacrats, because leaders will make the changes demanded by the people who elect them.
More breaking news on the new DOT bike/ped policy at this link:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/policy_accom.htm

The 10 mile bike ride on Friday was a great success in spite of threatening rain (which didn't amount to anything).  I was the sole West Virginian on the ride, my "mountaineer tough" compatriots skipped out, I have pictures of the young family who stuck it out for the ride - just to make them feel (justifiably) guilty.

Thank you!

Mar 9 - Bike Summit

Good evening,
The summit opened tonite, this picture shows Dennis S. (from Charleston) and I at the opening reception where we heard some from some of the other small communities who have made bicycling a big part of their communities (and economies).  A small town in MN (pop 800) who put in a trail saw their hotel tax proceeds rise from $250K to $4.7 MILLION after putting in the trail.  League leadership made it clear that now that we have separate trails to ride on and have shown our economic impact, it's time for us to have space on the road.  That's what this summit is going to be all about - passing the:
Safe Routes to Schools Act
Active Communities Act
and Complete Streets Act.
Fortunately Dennis tells me that all of our lawmakers are already planning to vote in favor of these bills so all we have to do when we show up is thank them.  We'll still ask them to do more of course, but this is a great position to be in.  Please take any opportunity you can to write Mollohan, Rockefeller or Byrd and thank them for their support of better roads for bikes and other vehicles to share.  Then let them know what else you'd like to see.
And keep in touch with them.  In the advocate training workshop they reminded us that you have to stay in this for the long term.  Copenhagen and Madison, WI took 30 years to get where they are.  Using their example we can do it faster, but only if we stay on the job
Thank you.

Nick

Mar 6 - How to get things done

Short answer: Do them. This week a customer came in looking for a donor bike for a project, and we had time while sitting in gridlocked traffic to talk about some things. This gentleman, Stan, was the first president of the Mon Rail Trail Coalition (MRTC). Before that though he lived in Masontown where the railbed had been abandoned and cleared but not graded. Stan knew someone with a grader, so they graded it. This kept going until the graded section of the railbed reached Morgantown, where it might would have been an embarassment to do nothing - so things got done. Activists in Morgantown got together, made a plan and implemented it to create the 50+ miles of trails we now enjoy. If there's something you want done and you're hoping for help or cooperation from someone else, stop waiting. Do what you can do now to get the ball rolling, then it will be much easier for others to see how they can help.
In case you can't think of anything, let me share some ideas. This week I'll be travelling to the 10th annual Bike Summit in Washington, DC where much of our time will be spent lobbying senators and congressmen to vote for legislation that promotes biking and walking. It will make our job a lot easier if you're sending letters and calls to their offices to let them know you back us up - and you vote.
Here's the web page with more information (Specifically on the Active Communities Transportation act)
http://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/site/index.php/site/blog/2636/
Other bills currently in consideration include:
“Safe Routes to Schools” Act S. 1156/HR 4021
“Complete Streets” Act - S. 584/HR 1443

And whenever you have the chance advocate for
1) Bike/ped safety education as a requirement in schools (rider education at the grade school level, bike/ped awareness in drivers' education) This will have impact beyond training the current generation of walkers/bikers, it will educate the next generation of voters, legislators, planners and traffic engineers.
2) Increases in non-motorized funding to a level comparable to its mode-share in WV (currently we're the worst - walking/biking is 8% of all traffic, but only gets 0.2% of transportation funding).
Talk to your senators (Byrd, Rockefeller) and congressman (Mollohan). Candidates are already appearing to replace Mollohan after his current term expires, so let these candidates know that you want Morgantown to be a place to walk and bike safely, instead of the traffic slum it's become.
Nick

Mar 3 - It's starting already?!

This evening we had our first bike sale since Christmas, a woman buying a good bike for her husband on his 50th birthday tomorrow.  He bought her a bike for her last birthday and she's looking forward to going out riding together.  Hope he likes it, it was a beautiful bright red GT mountain bike - sweet ride!  Several other customers were in today and may be buying bike(s) tomorrow.  We'd stockpiled about a half dozen bikes to prepare for a busy Summer, but at the rate things are going we'll need a lot more donations to keep up.  If you have good bikes at home that aren't being put to good use please consider donating them to us - it's fun, empowering and tax-deductible.
Tonite we received notice that Bikes for the World will be doing their annual collection and pick up in Cumberland, MD in association with the Cumberland Rotary Club.  They've asked us to bring out our excess bikes to help provide basic transportation in developing countries, as we've done for the past few years.
During ship time tonite Pete (from Waynesburg) got our next pedal generator going, this is the one with the professionally-machined roller.  It works like a champ!  Thanks Pete. The generator will be going to a paying customer as soon as I can get him on the phone.
As I was closing shop tonite a young gentleman named John came in to volunteer.  He's enrolled at WVU for Summer but has lots of time to help out until then and a passion for working on bikes.  He's new in town having moved here from LA, if you see him he may ask for help finding work or moving furniture - help him out if you can.  We want to keep this guy around, he shares our passion for pedalled transportation.  In LA he volunteered at Bike Wave, another community bike shop.
Have a great nite!
Nick

Mar 2 - Getting things rolling

Today I purchased helmets, lights and bike pins to use in our Spring bike/ped classes.  These are vendors we have been using for a while so they recognize our name when we call and ask us how things are going.  I don't really know how to answer this question yet.  While awareness of biking and walking is on the rise, we don't have a way to measure it yet.  The things we do measure, like how many volunteers show up on a regular basis, are small and increasing slightly - enough to give some encouragement.  Wouldn't it be great if there were a huge outpouring of support though?  If you're in  a position to do so please renew your membership, volunteer your time and tell all your friends to do the same.  A big shift in the number of people walking and biking might be what it takes to keep our last 2 remaining neighborhood grade schools (Woodburn and Suncrest) and improve their non-motorized access.  This is a current and critical issue.
Tomorrow at 9 AM we'll be at MTEC with 2 of our WVU MDS Capstone students to give basic bike repair/maintenance instruction, and talk about having the students work together painting bike frames.
Thanks for your support!  Nick

1Mar - Start of the bike/ped Education Season

Good morning,
If you've been following things here or in the shop you've heard me mention that we now have classes lined up in 2 WV schools (Charleston and Martinsburg) as well as Apex NC in June.  In addition we have local bike rodeos for MCCAC, Ridgedale School, Girl Scouts and of course Tradeup Day April 17.  Although those days may seem far away it's we have to start ordering helmets, pins, literature and lights for those events now so we have time to get them shipped here, and before they run out.  Our income from recycled bikes is almost nothing at this time of year, so this is a shameless plea to ask you to renew your membership or make a donation to help us pay for these items.  Also, if you have spare time please come in and work in the office to help apply for grants and assist with the planning for the year.  It's mostly me and I could really use the help and encouragement.
Yesterday's Dominion Post featured this letter from a visiting Nebraskan who was appalled by the poor state of snow clearing in our fair city and gave a few suggestions for improving it.  It serves as a good reminder that, although Mountaineers should always be free to work for their own future, no one is free from the responsibility of ensuring the safety of those around them - other motorists, pedestrians and cyclists who need to get places too.