Positive Spin happenings

8 May - Welcome to Bike Month!

2011-05-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
Yesterday we were interviewed by Channel 5 news about Bike Month. Here's the link to the article. There's been a lot more going on too, just haven't had time to post. Last week students in the WVU engineering Senior Project class completed their solar assisted, pedal-electric car. You can come see it at the shop. Special thanks to Bill Jones for all the help, advice and encouragement he gave these students. It wouldn't have been possible without him. The car has been donated to Positive Spin where it will remain on display.

In transportation news, there are currently three construction projects that are blocking access to bicycles on important routes. They are:

- Landslide on the Mon River Trail between Seneca Center and Star City. See the MRTC website for details.

- Utility construction on Mon River Trail at the Greer docks. See MRTC website for details.

- Replacement of Ices Ferry Bridge on 857 at Cheat Lake. This one is personal for me, see my discussion of the issue at this link. The biggest obstacle to getting action on this issue is the lack of action from cyclists. Things will only change if enough people demand change, they won't do it just for me. If you need bike access through this corridor send your comments to the DOH at (link pending).

Bike to Work/School week is May 16-20, just a week away. Start planning now. Let us know if you're having an event and we'll post it here.

21 April - Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

Positive Spin information table at Student Sierra Club's "Green on the Green" festival.

Good morning,
Today is Earth Day. Positive Spin's basic mission is creating a better world, starting with Morgantown and beginning with more sustainable transportation. We're partners with many other environmental organization for this reason and yesterday all of the local environmental organizations were invited to the Mountain Lair to share our message with students. I had to leave at 3:30 to get back to the shop and many more students were expected to view the displays later after the band was to begin playing. The Daily had this article discussing the event.


Environmental Policy students discussing Positive Spin to their classmates

On the same day, students from Dr. Susan Hunter's Environmental Policy class were making their final presentation for their class project. This has been the best group of student volunteers we've ever had the pleasure of working with. I've put their presentation online at this link so I don't have to describe it in detail, but they've been an active part of 3 of our events in addition to putting on one of their own - and conducting transportation surveys and researching local government commitments to sustainable transportation. Thanks to Ali Jeney who led the group, and to all the group members who went way above and beyond the call of their class to help spread the message and the actions that Positive Spin stands for.
If you're looking for something Earthwhile to do today, consider coming to the Friends of Deckers Creek Spring Meltdown tonite at the WV Brewing Company in Morgantown. Positive Spin has donated a Trek Hybrid bike worth $180 for their auction.

16 Apr - The Best Day Ever for Kids and Bikes

2011-04-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Just a quick note at the end of Tradeup Day. I'd like to thank all the volunteers who helped make this our best event ever. Here are some quick numbers to give you an idea of the joyful mayhem that transpired:
Bikes In - 75 (approx)
Bikes Out - 35 (approx)
First-time Learners - 10
Donations - $480
TV News Interviews - 2 (http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=97854 )
Volunteers - 20
Volunteer Hours - 120
These are all records - thanks to to our volunteers and members, and thanks to BOPARC for the great location.
We ended the day with a live jazz band - the Mountaineer Jazz Project - for everyone who stuck around to help straighten up afterwards.

The Mountaineer Jazz Project trio performs for the volunteer after-party.

The picture below shows how many (few) bikes we had left at the end of the day, and some of the bikes that were repaired during the day and are ready to be picked up by customers.

Empty showroom at the end of Tradeup Day

Customer bikes awaiting pickup

11 Apr - Thanks for a great Workday

2011-04-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who showed up to help for our workday on Saturday. Here's everyone who helped (except for the ones I missed, please let me know if you aren't on here. In all, 21 volunteers logged 110 hours. This is the best participation we have ever had, but we expect to exceed it next Saturday on Tradeup Day. Here's what they accomplished...

Bike Recycling

Zach Heusher, Kenny Rice supervising

Repair bikes (Tyler Coleman, Phil Korpeck, Yunmzauo Liang, Chris Confalore, Ashley Murray, Matt Cavalier)

Decorate bulletin boards (Erica Simmons, Claire Mueller)

Move tools, workbenches and parts out to new shop area when complete

Construction (Bob Hilling, Chris Jeney supervising)

Finish wall framing in new workshop

Hang OSB sheeting on workshop walls

Bathroom - Fix dropped ceiling frames, Install ceiling tiles, finish drywall (Seth Thompson, Tommy Hasserstab)

Hook up plumbing for water heater, sink, laundry, shower

General moving, organizing and transportation – Tyler Coleman, Carmen Colombo, Arathy Gowda, Zach Santer

Outside (Arnold Hall residents)

Abigail Crim, Matthew Motter, Eva Braun, Anthony Zalinsky

Pick up glass in parking lot

Sweep all pavement

Clean out trough under showroom garage door

Clean up litter and brush on hillside

Additional Thanks

Special thanks to Ali Jeney for organizing the students from Dr. Susan Hunter's Environmental Policy and Claire Mueller for organizing the Tau Beta Pi volunteers who helped with bike recycling and collection.

Thanks for sponsorship from area businesses:

Discounted building materials from Lowe's in Westover and 84 Lumber in Sabreton

Discounted lunch and refreshments from Kroger
Thanks also to volunteers who came in on Sunday (when the weather was beautiful outside) to help finish up a few things and straighten out in the aftermath. Thanks also to the Environmental Policy students who handed out information and answered questions at the Amizade Water Walk.

We'll still have a busy week getting ready for the Tradeup Day next Saturday, please come in and help out if you can. We'll be working 9-5 Tuesday through Friday to get ready, and we can still use volunteers on Saturday. And as always we can use more bike donations. Call the shop if you can help out.
Thank you.

9 Apr - More about what we do, and how we do it

2011-04-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
My last editorial, which I put here and in the monthly newsletter, generated a few email responses showing that others do recognize and appreciate what we do here. Let me make a few suggestions to get these comments out where everybody can discuss them. First, if you have comments about anything mentioned in the newsletter or the blog please post them in the comments here. That way everyone can benefit from your thoughts and the exchange will help us direct our efforts where they will do the most good, and inspire others - even those in other cities.
Now, about how we do things. In the absence of a discussion forum I've made many decisions and taken many actions on my own. But that doesn't mean I'm doing them surreptitiously. I've lived in 5 different states in my lifetime, all of them were among the 10 most bike-friendly in the country. (WV is 48th this year). In my home state of Wisconsin, in particular, I've seen conditions for biking rise from what they were in 1975 (similar to the conditions in WV now) to some of the best in the country. I know some of the people who were instrumental in that long, slow change and they've talked to me about how they did it. In addition I get input from the national organizations that we are members of - the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) and the Alliance for Biking and Walking (ABW). These organizations collect and distribute "best practices" and demographic information to help all cities get the tremendous benefits that come from supporting non-motorized transportation (not just recreation). And every year I attend the LAB Bike Summit in Washington DC where advocates, planners and participants share what they've learned in their localities about what works best for non-motorized transportation.
The only place where I don't get a lot of input is Morgantown. Sure, there are a few people who have made comments. But I want this to be a lively (and friendly) discussion - I don't need to hear myself talk, but I'm happy to share what I know when it can help. So please use the comment feature of this blog and share your interests, hopes, plans and opinions on what we can do with the resources we have to make Morgantown transportation more sustainable.
Thank you for your passion, concern and action.
Nick

7 Apr - What We're About

2011-04-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I've talked to a few individuals who had a fundamental misconception about what we do at Positive Spin and I thought I might be able to clarify things here. Our mission statement is: "We provided service and support to area citizens who choose sustainable transportation to make Morgantown more livable." Our goal statement is: "To reduce motor vehicle traffic in Morgantown by 80% before 2040." Nowhere in these statements does it mention anything about money. That's because we treat money as a tool to accomplish our mission and attain our goal. A few people have implied that selling bikes, asking for dues, soliciting donations and charging for memberships somehow tarnishes their perception that we are doing this for charity. However, just because we are a non-profit doesn't mean we are a charity - in fact charity is very low on our list of priorities. Most people are driving themselves to bankruptcy - one unnecessary car trip at a time. It costs $1/mile to operate a car, of which 70 cents comes from the owner (fuel, insurance, repairs, etc) and 30 cents comes from the community where the car is operated (paving, lost tax revenue, emergency services) and many non-monetary costs are incurred like air/water quality loss, environmental damage, road-kill, degraded health and added weight.
When you ride a bike you save yourself $1/mile in improved health alone. The savings for walking are more like $4/mile. In addition you avoid the driving costs (saving $10,000/yr by some estimates) there are many non-monetary benefits like calmness, more free time and better sleep. Positive Spin can teach anyone how to save large amounts of money. We provide service and education to help anyone achieve these savings and benefits. Anyone who recognizes what we are offering won't mind making a donation to Positive Spin as a percentage of the money they save. We're still waiting for this idea to sink in. In the meantime we're recycling bikes, charging dues and asking for monetary donations to pay the bills that come with having a building where we can provide the services that provide these benefits. The money that we collect isn't making anyone rich. In fact because of the move last year I've been unable to pay myself anything since November. With Spring riding weather arriving we've seen our revenue start to grow, but only to the point where we can pay past-due bills. There still isn't enough to pay a salary yet. In the meantime I'm doing administrative, management and mechanic work for free that would earn me a large salary (paid gratefully) at most for-profit businesses.
Many of you have expressed gracious thanks for the work that I do. I appreciate that greatly, but the thing that would mean the most to me is to see members of the community take over the administrative work and get more involved in the long-term planning and conduct of business here. Sustainable transportation is important enough that the business that serves as its most enthusiastic advocate should have more than one voice. If I leave would you want to lose what I've helped start, or are you willing to be part of seeing that it continues?
LATE UPDATE: Joe Sallmen has volunteered to be treasurer! Is there anyone else who can help? We need a volunteer coordinator, Secretary, Membership chairperson and Board Chairperson.

1 April - Cool Posts About Sustainable Transportation

2011-04-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
For April Fool's day I thought I'd pass on some interesting links found on other blogs that relate to biking, walking or sustainable transportation. I hope you find something that inspires you.

- Articles about Biking from Grist Magazine

- "Life Happens When You're Biking" Essay contest.

- Olympic Velodrome Completed for London Olympics

- Rising Gas Prices make this a great time to break the oil addiction
.

22 Mar - The MidMarch Special Edition Newsletter is out

2011-03-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon,
With all the activity going on as the riding season approaches, I've posted a newsletter with reports from the Bike Summit, plans for workdays, bike collections and Spring Tradeup Day. You can read the newsletter online at: http://www.positivespin.org/Newsletters/2011_03_SummitNewsletter.pdfat: In our new location we expect a lot more activity and we'll need more volunteers to serve everyone. Please consider volunteering to help out on workdays, shop days and as a board member to help plan and keep things going throughout the year.
Right now, as we start construction on our new office and shop areas we need a plumber and electrician to help with the work before our volunteers come in to finish the walls. If you can help please call the shop. Construction starts this Thursday.

15 Mar - Back from the Summit

2011-03-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
I arrived back from the Summit on Friday. I can't say enough words of grattitude about my rides (Kim Coram of Parkersburg there, and Greg Good of DC/Morgantown on the return). Thanks especially to my homestay hostess Elisabeth in DuPont Circle. You can read the trip report online at this link. Saturday we saw some customers and donors beginning to venture out into the Spring weather. Now that Spring is officially upon us and the daylight lasts longer we expect more. We'll be back to our regular hours this week - Wed 1-7pm and Thu-Sat 1-5pm. Hope to see you.
Some of you know about the transmission Kenny and I have been working on, I was able to show it to a couple of manufacturers at the Summit and they seemed to show genuine interest. Now that I'm back I intend to get the transmission mounted on the bike that it was built for, and get out and ride it.
During the Summit I was particularly impressed by the talks about getting kids on mountain bikes whether for fun days, clinics or races. It makes sense that parents will let their kids play in the dirt before they'll let them play in traffic. I'm looking for anyone interested in helping plan a pilot event (working title "Take our sons/daughters to Dirt") possibly to be held in May, and focusing our youth instruction on MTB riding rather than street riding. If you love to work with kids and would like to be part of this please call the shop, or come by Wed Mar 22 at 7pm for an organizational meeting.
On a personal note, I have moved out of my temporary Cheat Lake home and am staying with friends until I can find another place that I can afford. My preference is to rent a room in a home, within 5 miles of town but not in student housing. If you know of someone who has an affordable place please contact me at the shop phone number. And also remember that the best thing you can do for cycling is to ride, the second best thing is to take someone with you.
Nick

11 Mar - Riding the Summit

2011-03-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
Today the delegates who were still around got together for a ride from the capitol building. I used one of the Capitol Bikeshare bikes. The people you see here are just a small sample of all the riders, I got to the start late so I didn't get a group photo. There were probably 200 riders who turned out on this chilly (~40deg) cloudy morning. We rode North along the route of the Red Metro subway line and then back on the trail that goes alongside it. Had a great time talking to the riders, in the 3 days we've been here we've ate, talked, slept, walked and dreamed bikes.
Today we finally got to ride some. I'll be heading back in about an hour. Looking forward to seeing you in the shop tomorrow.

10 Mar - Lobbying Day

2011-03-10T05:37:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
Yesterday we heard speakers and seminars on various aspects of bike advocacy and action. I've put my notes online at this link for anyone interested. In particular I was impressed by the youth education seminar and the tremendous success that's been had by staging kids' mountain bike races and building mountain bike parks. I would like to direct more of our energy toward this as I think it might bring in more customers and volunteers. Any comments?

We had our meetings with lawmakers today. We were told in advance that the flag flying today (photo above) has been dedicated to cycling. We met Capito and McKinley in person. for Manchin, Rockefeller and Rahall we talked with legislative staffers. All were positively impressed by the herds (800) of happy, slim and energetic people running around with bike pins on. This made a bigger impression than corporate money, it was fun to be a part of it. I'll be back in the shop Saturday at 1pm. Hope to see you then.

Hope things are well back home, wish me luck.
Nick

8 Mar - Out of Town

2011-03-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

Arriving in DC, the Pennsylvania Ave. Bike Boulevard
While in Washington DC this week for the annual League of American Bicyclists Summit, someone else will be watching the shop. Ken will have it open tomorrow from 2pm-7pm. I'll be back on Saturday. We've been working on finishing more bike projects before the riding weather arrives. The new transmission is working and you can see a video on youtube - search for NickHeinWV. I've got the prototype with me and I'll be showing it to friends in the industry to see if there's interest. Have a great week.
Nick

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood addresses the opening banquet of the Bike Summit

21 Feb - Things are heating up

2011-02-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
With the warm weather, and an overnite jump in gas prices of 10c this week, customers have started coming in to the shop again. We have several repairs and can use any help you can offer as a volunteer. We are also still encouraging everyone who uses the shop to get a membership to help pay for our (much) improved facility. You can also check out some of the new projects going together - an adult scooter, a recumbent conversion and a new transmission design.
See you soon.
Nick

7 Feb - Rail Trail Closure South of Downtown

2011-02-07T05:52:00.001-08:00

This from our friends at MRTC.
The work at the Robert C. Creel Water Treatment Facility (near mile 11.5 and Greer) will likely detour the trail for one more year and there will be on-going work at the Deckers Creek treatment facility for another year. Event planners should contact BOPARC to coordinate efforts.
Caperton Trail Closure from February - July 31, 2011:
The second Phase of the MUB water and sewage infrastructure project will begin February 1 to July 31, 2011 and will close a section of the Caperton Trail in the Wharf District. The trail closure is approximately 2 miles from the Deckers Creek Bridge at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park to the Robert C. Creel Water Treatment Facility (near the Greer facility- mile 11.5). There will continue to be access to the restrooms and outdoor amphitheater at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park.
Exploring the trail:
There is no doubt that we will all be glad when this section of trail is opened again for use. But this is only 2 miles of a 48-mile trail network. We hope you continue to use and enjoy the rail-trail and perhaps explore sections you have never seen. For Event Planners: Alternative routes might include the Deckers Creek Trail or the Caperton / Mon River Trail north. Contact BOPARC at 304-296-8356 or at www.boparc.org.
Please stay away from the construction area and spread the word to others. Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have questions about the project; call the Morgantown Utility Board at 304-292-8443 open Monday-Friday from 8:00AM to 4:30PM.

22 Jan - Winter Riding and its After Effects

2011-01-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
I was running around town yesterday shoveling sidewalks and doing errands, a total of less than 10 miles in total probably, but this is the result. My bike is covered with snow and salt, shifters are frozen and non-working and large-scales/long-term corrosion is likely to reduce the life of this bike. I've long had ideas about improving the all-weather capability of a bike, but I'd like to hear from readers of this blog about your ideas. Please feel free to post them in the comments. As far as I'm concerned there's no such thing as bad weather for biking, just bad bikes for weather. Let me know if you've got a good one - whether you've built it or just thought about it.

In other practical matters, I'm posting this photo of the powered trailer that Laird Knight brought by the shop a few weeks ago. He built this from a trailer and gas-powered assist motor he got from Ebay, and parts that he scavenged from our bins. This motor allows him and his wife to carry all the family cargo when they go on rides with their 3 kids, without working very hard. The rig can achieve up to 30mph on level ground, and help maintain a good climbing speed up hills in traffic. I took a ride on it and, although I generally prefer electric (or no) assist, it was an unmitigated blast to ride. When you think about it, this is a vehicle that gives you most of the utility of a car (in good weather at least) while weighing less than 100lb - vs a car or motorcycle that might weigh 1000-6000lb. For short-distance travel in good weather (even with our local hills) this makes a lot of sense - and you can still get a workout whenever you want to by just turning off the engine. Feel free to send comments or pictures of similar rigs you've seen.

21 Jan - What's going on

2011-01-21T04:44:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
Here's what's happening at the shop this week, and where we have opportunities to volunteer...

Invention: We're helping build a kayak trailer for a volunteer and her friends that can be pulled behind a bike.
Construction: We're finishing office space - need plumbing, electrical and carpentry skills. Also need materials (insulation, paneling, electrical supplies and a kitchen sink/cabinet)

Reporting: We're doing financial and activity reporting for 2010, this will help us get volunteers and donations in 2011.
Grantwriting: There are several grant opportunities coming up and we need to get our applications in soon.

As always your financial donations are always welcome and there's always work to be done to get bikes ready for the coming season. Call if you can come help and we'll arrange a time, even if it's outside regular shop hours.
Thanks,
Nick

14 Jan: Urgent! Help needed

2011-01-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

Truck Needed to deliver 25 bikes to Cumberland by 10am tomorrow.
"Bikes for the World", our overseas shipping partner for recycled bikes, is planning to fill another container this weekend to give bikes in countries where people need them for basic transportation. If they meet their target they'll have 50,000 bikes shipped since starting in 2005. But they need our help. We've got 25 more bikes that wouldn't fit on the last truck they sent, we need someone with a pickup truck or trailer who can deliver them to Cumberland, MD by 10am tomorrow. Call the shop at 304-276-0213 if you can help.
Update 17 Jan - The BFW driver (Phil Ruth) was kind enough to drive the extra distance and pick up our bikes and parts. They are anxious to fill a container with 500 bikes, which they expect to do today, and load their 50,000th bike. Here's a video article of director Keith Oberg talking about where these bikes will go. The total number of bikes put on the container was 514, meaning that our 25 helped put them over the top.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=131342&catid=373 .

Carpenters and laborers needed on Make-a-Difference Day - Monday
This Monday is Martin Luther King day and United Way is sending us $100 and student volunteers so we do some wallbuilding to create more shop and office space that will help us serve our mission better. We plan to put up partition walls, simple stuff but we need carpenters who can supervise unskilled volunteers and make sure the job gets done well. Call the shop at 304-276-0213 if you can help.
Thanks for your continuing support!

Update 17 Jan - Thanks to Will and Don Ravenscroft and Doyle Campell for showing up and helping out. They completed framing of the office wall, giving us a good start to this project. We welcome help in finishing it from anyone with electrical, plumbing or carpentry skills.

8 Jan - January newsletter is out

2011-01-08T04:49:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
I've just published the draft January newsletter. You can see it here. Leave comments here on the blog or on the website forum if you have suggestions/corrections. As you can see it's been a busy year, even with being closed for much of the Summer. Next year is going to be much bigger, and we'll need more help to support all the activities that the community needs for better bike/pedestrian education and sustainable transportation. Please volunteer generously, and remember to join or renew your membership. This gives us funds to continue operating through the Winter when bike recycling income is down.
Thank you for your continued support in the coming year.

Update: The final version of the newsletter is now out at:
http://www.positivespin.org/Newsletters/2011_01_PSNewsletter.pdf

Please consider volunteering to help with our many activities..
Thank you

6 Jan - A sidetrack to GPS tracking

2011-01-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
Some of you may know that I haven't always been a bike mechanic, I have an extensive technical background in vehicle (mostly aircraft) simulation. Yesterday I happened across a website that will map any bike ride that you want to put in, similar to mapmyride and other online mapping tools.

http://ridewithgps.com/
What's exciting about this one is that it will output the course coordinates if you want to use them for other things. In my case I've written a bike simulation that calculates power required on a given route for different types of bikes (specified by weight, drag coefficient, rolling resistance, mech efficiency) and riders (specified by power, weight, etc). There was a little bit of finagling required to get the data in the format I needed, standard format is lattitude/longitude/altitude and my program uses x/y/z in ft. Here are some screen shots of the online program and the output of my processing program (written in QuickBASIC with output in Excell-ready format).

GPS track in Google Maps from Positive Spin to Cheat Lake

Excel plot of dist vs alt for same route processed from .tcx output file

29 Dec - Shop Open Today 1-5pm

2010-12-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
I'll be in the shop from 1-5pm today for appointments with several people who have called in the past few days. I invite any customers or volunteers to come in during that time. This is the only time this week we will be open. Next week on Wednesday we will begin our Winter hours - Wed 1-7pm and Sat 1-5pm.
Now that the Christmas drive is over we'll begin working on bikes for the showroom and for the tradeup day in April. Looking forward to seeing you.
Nick

26 Dec - Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

Hope this update finds you in good spirits from the holidays. Positive Spin received a very generous unrestricted cash gift from an area family that will put us in a little better position to get through the Winter. We can still use your membership or other cash contributions, we're not totally out of the woods yet - but we can see to the end. I also want to thank John Barnes of Cheat Lake Heating and Cooling for coming in Christmas Eve to install our water heater. When everything's done we'll have hot water in the sink, a shower and laundry for volunteers who have to commute some distance and want to smell nice when they start work. John is also the hero who moved our furnace into the shop/showroom so that we can work in warm comfort. Thanks also to the many volunteers who have helped us move into the new Marilla Park building and make it a place where people connect with each other, and sustainable transportation they can afford.
In the coming week I'll be sending out membership cards to those of you who have joined, preparing the year-end report (including financial report) and planning for the year's calendar. I'll also be applying for grants to help us cover operating expenses and expand our recycling and education programs. If you have time we could really use your help - particularly with report and grant writing. We could also really use a membership coordinator to track and communicate with members. Of course we'll be in the shop working on bikes as well over the next week - in short all kinds of help are welcome. Call if you can help.
Wishing you Peace in your heart, home and world - today and throughout the year.

16 Dec - Christian Help Toy Drive a Success

2010-12-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

The Bikes

On Wednesday we delivered 79 bikes to the armory for the Christian Help Christmas Toy Drive - our 6th year of involvement. In spite of starting late we had the largest collection ever, and the most volunteers ever, resulting in a record number of bikes fixed up. In addition there were 6 new and 2 used bikes dropped off at the armory (all of which required some minor repairs and adjustments from us) for a total of 84 bikes waiting to go to new homes at Christmas time. Thanks to all of you who helped in any way, it took all of you to make it such a big success.

The Move Crew

Special thanks to Bill Jones, Ken Rice and Will Ravenscroft who provided the vehicles and labor to get the bikes there. Special thanks to ace mechanics Daniele from the WVU cycling team and MHS student Alex who worked all afternoon on Wednesday doing the final checks to make sure the bikes were ready. And as always thanks to Tau Beta Pi who have worked with us from the first year, and who once again donated the new helmets that were given away with the bikes. John Kuhlman, faculty advisor, and Claire Mueller, VP and bike project chair, put exceptional and cheerful effort into getting everything together and making things happen.

The Armory

In spite of the supply there were several families who would have liked to get bikes, but didn't have room to take them home. Next year we are looking into providing delivery to those who need it. In the few days since the drive there have been 4 more bikes delivered to such families, bringing the total number of bikes delivered to nearly 80. Thanks again to everyone who helped in every way.


The Remains of the Day - 9 bikes out of 84 weren	't taken

9 Dec - Emergency Organizational Meeting

2010-12-09T18:27:00.000-08:00

We'll be holding an emergency business meeting at the shop tomorrow (Friday Dec 10) at 5pm to discuss how to get out of and stay out of the financial hole we're in. We've been helping the community for 5 years, we need people to step up and help us - serving as officers, staff and fundraisers - if we are to continue. ... Most significantly we need someone to perform the duties of board President (even if only for a few months) while we build a functioning board. There will be a social event afterwards. I've been asking people to do this for 5 years, it's crunch time now. We risk legal trouble if it isn't done. Thanks.

3 Dec - Christmas is Coming

2010-12-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

On December 15th we'll be delivering about 70 bikes to the Armory for Christian Help's Annual Toy Drive. We'd like to celebrate by throwing a pot-luck party to thank all the people who have helped us continue to do this (now in our 6th year). We'll have live music and presentations. There will be drawings and door prizes. Bring the whole family and all your friends. There's room for everyone.

It's also a time we need to ask for your financial help. Due to our partial closure this year we've come to the end of the bike season with our bank account so low that we won't be able to continue unless we get additional income. We aren't asking for donations, all we are asking is that you get a membership (or give one as a gift). You'll get 10% discounts at local shops (Adventure's Edge, Pathfinder, Wamsley) and the money will help us meet our goal of reducing traffic and improving quality of life in Morgantown through sustainable transportation. We need at least 50 new memberships to get us through December. If we get 100 we'll have plenty to get through to next Spring. We're counting on your help - join, give memberships and spread the word to your friends. If you can't come to the party you can join or donate online at our website. Cash donations are also welcome.

Publish Post

21 Nov - A Family Affair

2010-11-24T03:37:00.000-08:00

Good morning,
This family came to the shop last week with their kids, the Dad wanted to help fix bikes and is an experienced mechanic. All of them wanted to be able to ride together. Mom and Dad have been wanting to do it for 15 years - and with a little scrambling we were able to find bikes and a trailer for everyone. They rode happily together out the gate on their first family ride ever. This is the sort of thing that we consider a big success at Positive Spin.

The ride didn't go very far, the kids all wanted to play at the skate park and they never got any further. Maybe next time.
Nick

Nov 11- How WV can make biking mainstream

2010-11-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

Update: We had another great day in the shop. We received a donation of ceiling tiles that will cover 2/3 of the ceiling. Still looking for another 50 tiles to finish it off. If you have any please consider donating them. It keeps us a lot warmer on cold days and nites. Thanks to whoever delivered them and Ron, Chuck, Jim and a few others who risked the threat of death by dust to get them in.

Check out these articles from YES! magazine this month...

How the Dutch made bicycling a (22-95%) part of their transportation system

An interstate bicycle route system for the US

9 Nov - Not just bikes

2010-11-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

Although most people think about Positive Spin for bikes, our mission is to also support citizens who walk, use transit and carpool. This article in YES! magazine gives specific advice on how people are sharing their cars in more effective ways. Check it out if you would like to use your car less, but can't give it up yet. Here's a quote from the article:

Still need a car for some trips? Instead of buying one, you can join a carsharing service. Between 2007 and 2009, membership in North American services like Zipcar and the nonprofit City Carshare rose by 117 percent—and is projected to hit 4.4 million within six years.

Still need a car for some trips? Instead of buying one, you can join a carsharing service.

Own a set of wheels? You can still share them. We’re seeing a proliferation of new peer-to-peer carsharing services like RelayRides, Spride Share, and WhipCar, which let you rent your car directly to strangers or share a single car among several friends. Let’s say, for example, that you’re visiting Cambridge, Mass., for a day and need a car for touring the city. You’d look at the RelayRides website, find the nearest participant who is renting out her car, check availability and reserve the time, and then go get your ride. There are also many new companies—such as Avego, Zebigo, and Carticipate—that connect carpoolers over the Internet.

The environmental benefits of carsharing are enormous. Research by the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimates that, “on average, each shared vehicle replaced 15 personally owned vehicles in 2009 and carsharing members drove 31 percent less than when they owned a personal vehicle. These two factors translate into 482,170 fewer tons of CO2 emissions and less travel congestion in urban areas.”

3 Nov - Anatomy of a (minor) crash

2010-11-03T07:35:00.001-07:00

Good morning,
I had a minor crash this morning while riding my Motobecane into Morgantown in the dark and it was a reminder to me about a simple, but profoundly helpful, riding habit. I was coming down a slight hill on an alley with speed bumps. The speed bumps weren't marked in any way so I didn't see this one and hit it with my hands lightly on the bars, and holding the brake levers. My immediate instinct was to grip the bars to keep from slipping off forward - when I did so I pulled the front brake, throwing me over the handlebars. I was mostly uninjured because I kept my arms out in front of me, Superman style, and landed on the (smooth, paved) ground impacting my elbow, hands and thigh.

The habit I would recommend is that you don't put your hand on the front brake unless you plan on using it. Some of you 24hr MTB riders might have additional advice on this. I also plan to do the following to prevent other incidents.
- Get a better light
- Ask the property owner to paint the speedbump
- Ride my recumbent more.
- Practice riding down bumpy descents
It was also a reminder that 80% of crashes don't involve any other vehicle, that means the prevention is completely within our control by learning to ride safer.

30 October - Make a Difference Day

2010-10-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Today we were assisted by 7 United Way volunteers (and 1 from Tau Beta Pi) in kicking off the Christmas Toy Drive effort. Volunteers helped sort and move bikes (35 counted so far) and clean/ inspect/ repair 16 of them. Special thanks to all who showed up, and Brandy (along with an anonymous assistant) who dropped off the lunches. This week we'll be turning on the gas heat, starting the Fall Bike Collection, having a retreat at the Black Bear (Tuesday 6pm) and teaching a class at MTEC on Thurday morning. Call if you can volunteer to help or attend any of the events.
This past weekend, right above the shop there was a Cyclocross race going on. Read here if you want to learn more: http://www.wvucycling.com/ (more pictures on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/bstephens?v=photos)

This Thursday nite at 8:30pm there's a great mountain biking flick at the Hollywood theater: http://www.raceacrossthesky.com/ It tells the story of the annual Leadville 100 race, and the woman who won it this year.

Publish Post

27 Oct - Today's events

2010-10-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I've updated the blog. These are a few pictures from our Grand Opening Party on Oct 22 where Jim Savarino provided entertainment for a small but enthusiastic crowd. Due to media coverage since then our donations volunteering levels are picking up again and we've been accomplishing a lot. Come and be a part of it. Here's what else is going on.

On Sunday Channel 12 WBOY-TV just aired a great story about us , highlighting how our bikes help Bartlett House residents find homes of their own. The good news is that the residents who were interviewed have been taking good advantage of their bikes to find work and other supportive opportunities. The bad news is that the person who was scheduled to show up didn't make it because he went on a drinking binge and his bike was stolen. I know this has happened before, I'd like to find a way we could keep it from happening again. Any ideas?

This week the statewide Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) conference is happening in Morgantown. After today's sessions there was a bike ride around town to show local successes and challenges for bike transportation. Since the ride ended early there was time to tour Positive Spin before the picnic dinner. A surprising number of conference attendees bike, several commute by bike and one rode the unicycle and tallbike in our shop. At the picnic afterward (in Marilla Park) I got to know some of the attendees a little better (their kids too).

These events are coming up in the coming weeks:
Friday Oct 30 - Bike Board education committee meeting (I'll be attending to suggest ways to put youth bike education in the next Transportation Enhancements grant application)
Saturday Oct 31 - Make a Difference Day - We'll have 25 volunteers available to do work we need done around the place from noon to 4pm. I could use some additional (experienced) volunteers to help supervise this group. Please call the shop if you can help out.
Saturday Nov 13 - Our Fall Bike Drive starts next week and we hope to start getting bikes donated in large quantities again. We've arranged with Mon County Solid Waste to collect bikes at the Football game against Cincinnati. They'll have volunteers rounding up bikes at the parking lots, but we'll need help at the shop to process them when they're brought in. Please consider helping out.

Oct 20 - Grand Opening Party this Friday

2010-10-20T08:42:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: Live music will be provided by local folk singer Jim Savarino from 6-8pm. See samples of his music at his website: http://www.jimsavarino.com/

Good afternoon,

It's been 5 years since we started helping Morgantown citizens go places under their own power and along with the fact that we're in a new location it seems like a good time for a celebration. If you can help with setup, publicity, music or anything else please call the shop. If not, please print the poster and put it up at your favorite hangouts. Either way come join us on Friday for the celebration.

23 Sep - Time for a party: Oct 9, 1-7pm at Marilla Park

2010-09-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

Positive Spin has now been in business for 5 years, this is a big milestone for us. Five years ago at this time Hurricane Katrina had just hit and we started to collect and repair bikes for relief aid. We sent 50 bikes on a truck with other relief supplies, and John Lozier and I drove to "Plan B" in New Orleans French Quarter to unload and repair bikes for local residents and relief workers. Upon our return to Morgantown we were given enough workspace and bikes to continue recycling locally, and decided to include sustainable transportation in our mission with a goal of reducing vehicle miles travelled by 80% in the Morgantown area before 2040. This seems like a good time to invite our volunteers, past and present, to a party to christen our new location and show our appreciation for all the help we've received.and plan for our continued growth. We need volunteers to help with this though. If you can help with planning, publicizing, recruiting or anything else please call the shop or email volunteers@positivespin.org.
Thanks!

Update - Oct 6: We've booked the Jenny Wilson Jazz Trio to play for the afternoon. I've scheduled a planning meeting for tonite from 5-7pm at the Marilla shop. If we don't have adequate interest or help the party will be postponed.

6 Sep - Big move is complete!

2010-09-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to help from volunteers (and their trucks) we got everything moved out of the warehouse Saturday and into the Marilla location. A few things remain at the old shop, where I will continue to keep the office until we get phone and internet in Marilla. Thanks to Candace, Dave, Colin, Sandy (and grandkids), Jen, John, Ken, Bill, Tiger Joe, Dan and anyone I might have missed. We sold our first bike - a bright red Specialized Rockhopper to a new student who will be using it for transportation around campus. More pictures and details coming soon.

3 Sep - Now Open, still moving

2010-09-03T02:32:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
After 2 days of operation in our new location we've served 4 customers and had help from about a half-dozen volunteers. There's still much to do though and we can use your help. The picture above is our first customer, Julie Bossart, who came by to drop of a bike for donation. We're having a workday tomorrow from 10am-5pm, meet at the Marilla store to get an assignment. Much of the work will be moving, sorting, building and repairing bikes. This won't happen without your help, so if you're staying in town for Labor Day and want to get away from game craziness we're just what you're looking for. Call the shop to let us know when you're coming and we can have work ready for you.
Thanks,
Nick

1 Sep - Opening Day

2010-08-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Tomorrow will be our first day doing business at our new location in Marilla Park. The address is 801 E Brockway, Morgantown. To get there go down the road that goes past the skate park until it ends and drive through the gate. Hours will be Wed 1-7pm, Th-Sat 1-5pm. Come visit, hang out, help out or just ride around on the indoor riding course. See you there. We will be announcing a Grand Opening celebration date soon.
Nick

30 Aug - Almost ready

2010-08-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
We got a good start on the move this weekend, but we never got a truck to move the big things and only about 8 people showed up to help. We've got everything at the new place that we need to open for business on Wednesday, but some of it still has to be setup. If you can help please call and we'll arrange a time. Here's the work that remains to be done.
Inside jobs
Rent or Borrow a big truck
Get boxes from recycling center
Pack and move stuff from warehouse (includes a large display cabinet)
Dismantle fixtures at old shopshop(wheel/tire racks, remove slotwall)
Pack and move stuff from shop (includes large parts shelves, tables part cart)
Setup toolboards/worktables along W wall of SE room
Outside Work
Rake and sweep paved areas and parking lot
Clear and remove brush around building
Check that culvert is clear to drain free
Clean gutters

A big THANKS!! to everyone who showed up - Chauncy, Jen, Bill, Kenny, Daniel, The Wiles Hill family (forgot names), John and anyone I forgot to mention.

28 Aug - Update

2010-08-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
Due to mechanical problems with the truck we had planned to use we were unable to do much of the work we had planned for last nite. It doesn't look like the truck will be working today either, and with Marilla Park closed for the Sprint, Splash and Spin we wouldn't be able to get a vehicle in to the building anyway so we'll spend today doing the cleanup. Here's the updated task plan. We hope you can volunteer to help. Call 304-276-0213 if you have any other questions.
Thanks,

Saturday - arrive 10am, Marilla Park
Park in upper lot, walk to our building

Clear out debris, load into dumpster or truck
Collect misc lumber and stack in one place
Sweep all areas, mop all areas, dry out standing water

Saturday - Outside activities
Rake and sweep paved areas and parking lot
Clear and remove brush around building
Check that culvert is clear to drain free

Sunday
Rent or Borrow a big truck
Get boxes from recycling center
Pack and move stuff from warehouse (includes a large display cabinet)
Dismantle fixtures at shop(wheel/tire racks, remove slotwall)
Pack and move stuff from shop (includes large parts shelves, tables part cart)
Move/setup all showroom bikes and displays into SE room
Move part shelves into middle of SE room to form partition
Setup toolboards/worktables along W wall of SE room
Open for business

Thanks! We're looking forward to working with you, making this a fun and worthwhile new phase for sustainable transportation in Morgantown.

27 Aug - The Move is on, Starting Tonite

2010-08-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Last minute change of plans - same schedule, different venue. We found the Sabreton School too leaky, but BOPARC has graciously offered us the old Habitat ReStore location in Marilla Park a few blocks away in Sabreton. This will be a great location, right next to the trail and lots of other traffic.

Update: On Thursday morning Marc Wise gave myself and Bill Jones a walk-through of the building. Everything looks great for a weekend move, although since the Sprint, Splash and Spin will be going on Saturday we want to do all the heavy moving on Friday nite (after the kids' race) so we can just work onsite Saturday and won't need to have vehicles coming and going. We'll need volunteers at both times, we'd appreciate it if you can bring things like hammers, drills/screwdrivers, pushbrooms, mops, rakes, pruning shears and saws as needed for the work to be done (label your personal tools clearly). Here are the other details:

Friday - arrive 7pm, warehouse
Get boxes from recycling center
Pack and move stuff from warehouse (includes a large display cabinet)
Dismantle fixtures at shop(wheel/tire racks, remove slotwall)
Pack and move stuff from shop (includes large parts shelves, tables part cart)

Saturday - arrive 10am, Marilla Park
Park in upper lot, walk to our building
Clear out debris, load into dumpster or truck
Collect misc lumber and stack in one place
Sweep all areas, mop all areas, dry out standing water
Move/setup all showroom bikes and displays into SE room
Move part shelves into middle of SE room to form partition
Setup toolboards/worktables along W wall of SE room
Open for business

Saturday - Outside activities
Rake and sweep paved areas and parking lot
Clear and remove brush around building
Check that culvert is clear to drain freely

Thanks! We're looking forward to working with you, making this a fun and worthwhile new phase for sustainable transportation in Morgantown.
Nick

23 Aug - The Move is On

2010-08-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon,

Yesterday a group of volunteers showed up to help clear and clean the basement of the Sabreton School so we can get moved in. Big thanks to Kenny, Bill, Jennifer and Todd who put their hands and hearts into helping get the place cleaned up. You can see from the before/after pictures what a difference they made. Enough area has been cleared to fit the shop and showroom, now we still need to clean it up and do the demolition and carpentry to make it a working business. Below is the CAD drawing showing the plan. We'll have the showroom and store at the front with the shop behind it. At the back of the big room will be a classroom area. In the long room next door we'll store bikes that we are now keeping at the warehouse. This facility will enable us to have everything in one location so we don't have to run back and forth through the horrible traffic (that we're trying to reduce).

Next weekend will be the big move-in day and we'll need lots of help finishing the cleanout, cleanup and moving. If you have time here's what we still need to do. Call 304-276-0213 to volunteer.

Task List

- Clean floors and walls, mop up water
- Repaint as needed
- Set up shop area in center of Big room (stands, toolboards, worktables)
- Set up shelves for parts in shop area
- Set up showroom area

- Move pottery from bike storage area to upstairs storage room.

- Remove shelves, clear and dispose of wreckage

- Move repair bikes into small room

Offsite activities (need vehicles):
- Haul trash
- Bring bikes, parts, tools in from old shop and warehouse

17 Aug - State and Federal funding recissions

2010-08-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Protect vital bicycle funding programs- demand proportionality in rescissions!

The Jobs Bill passed by Congress last week contains a $2.2 billion rescission of transportation funds from state Departments of Transportation. In many states, the DOT will likely target bike funding programs for the money to send back to the federal government – unless local advocates speak up and make sure that doesn’t happen . States must report which program funds are affected by August 25th - so action is needed this week!

Unlike previous rescissions there is no proportionality requirement calling for equal distribution of funding program cuts. Instead, the law gives the States maximum flexibility to choose the unobligated balances of funds to be rescinded.

The amount each state has to rescind is up to $200 million for the largest states. Many programs that fund bicycle projects are threatened by these rescissions including. These programs are often unfairly targets for cuts or rescissions, and in some cases have been completely gutted.

Take action now! Please contact your Governor and ask that rescissions be done equitably across programs, and that those that traditionally fund bicycling projects not be unfairly targeted. Take action HERE
by writing to the Governor and demanding that recissions be spread across all transportation modes, as has been standard practice in the past.

12 Aug - Condemned

2010-08-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon,
This morning the city code inspector condemned our office and shop so that we are no longer able to conduct operations. Volunteers and customers will no longer be allowed in, and we have about 4 weeks to vacate the premises. This puts greater urgency on our relocation activity. I've called our landlords at the Sabreton School to let them know the increased urgency of our plight, but have yet to hear back from them. This doesn't mean that there is nothing to do, in fact we need volunteer help more now than ever to clear out the old shop and move everything down to the warehouse. Then on Sunday Aug 22, starting at 1pm we'll have a work party to prepare the new space. If you can help with time, a vehicle for hauling or anything else we might need pre-event (like coordinating volunteers, publicity, etc) call the shop and we'll be glad to show you what we need.
Thank you,
Nick

Update: 17 Aug
Because Grand Central Station has gone into bankruptcy and there is no buyer for the building, it appears that the bank will forclose - probably in a little over 30 days. That is how much time we have to prepare and move into our new location, all the while keeping up our busy Fall activity schedule. We need volunteers for this weekend to help get the new place ready. Call the shop if you can help.

9 Aug - Our New Home

2010-08-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Today we just came to agreement with the owners of the Sabreton School for the use of their basement as our new home. This will be a big improvement for us, being closer to the trail with better parking. The Rock Forge Neighborhood House is upstairs, a good source of students and parents. There is also a gym that can be used for beginner bike skill clinics. Our space will be in the basement as shown in the drawing, tomorrow I'll take measurements and then start drawing plans for dividing the space. We'll need lots of volunteer help in the next few months to do demolition, cleaning, painting and construction. If you can help call us at the shop. There will be a schedule up soon for workdates.

We will continue to operate by appointment from our current location (call for appointment) until the new space is open, sometime in September.
Check out this new segment from WBOY12 news that aired on Sunday, thanks to Derek Springston and the Morgantown Bicycle Board. http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=84080

4 August - Back from vacation

2010-08-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
Just returned from vacation in my hometown of Monroe, WI. Although I've been gone, things have still been happening. Here's a short list...
- The bike trail reopened on schedule last Sunday. You can once again ride from downtown to Star City peacefully along the river instead of in noisy, smelly, gridlocked traffic. Of course if you miss that, the option is still there.
- The bike board has finished their video Public Service Announcements which will be airing soon. They will be previewed at the meeting this Thursday in the Public Safety Building at 6:30pm. More details at: http://www.morgantown.com/bike-board.htm
- We have a potential new location in Sabreton. When we finalize the deal we will need LOTS of your help volunteering to move, clean, paint, unpack and setup. Call if you can help. Thanks!
- Donated bikes continue to come in and we've been doing repairs and sales as time permits, but we need your help with this too. Please call to volunteer anytime.
- I've been working on a weatherproof drivetrain/bike for personal use and possible commercial sale. If you'd like to see it give a call and come visit. See it here: www.positivespin.org/drivetrain
- Grand Central station has gone into receivership and the future of our current location remains uncertain. It is certain that the floor in the office won't be fixed anytime soon so our ability to operate in the shop is severely limited.

Call or stop in if you can help out, or just want to visit. See you soon.
Nick

Footnote:
Just wanted to add these heartwarming notes from our partners at Bikes for the World. This is how lives are changed with the bikes you donate that we send overseas....

Testimonies from El Salvador

These stories, and others, along with photos will be up shortly on the Bikes for the World website.

My name is Delmy, I am 15 years old and I live in the village of Lower Saint Peter Bethlehem (San Pedro Belen Abajo), up to three months ago I was walking six kilometers daily to attend school, in all honesty there were times that I arrived a little late, but now that I've received the gift of a bicycle I arrive early to classes and it's easy to get together with my friends to do errands. Before, I was begging my parents for a bike, but we never had enough to buy one, now I am very happy, thanks to God and to the good-hearted people who sent us these bikes. We thank Bikes for the World for having donated this useful gift, which has motivated us to continue studying.
--Delmy Adelina Cortez Torres, Canton El Suncita

I live in the village of Lower Saint Peter Bethlehem (San Pedro Belen Abajo), three kilometers from the school where I attend ninth grade. Beginning three months ago, I no longer walk to school, now that I have been given a beautiful bike donated by generous individuals. In my household [in spite of remittances from family members working abroad] there still isn't sufficient money to buy another bicycle, so you can imagine how happy I was the day I received this valuable gift that--besides allowing me to attend school--also helps me fulfil other commitments and undertake errands. I never imagined being able to attend school on my own bike! Gracias amigos altruistas!
--Maria Teresa Melgar Iglesia , Canton El Suncita

21 June - Need new location, and LOTS of moving help

2010-06-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Since last week when I first posted that we are losing our present location, we haven't found a new place and have decided to put everything in storage until we do. We intend to move everything to the warehouse by 5pm Saturday and so we'll need help with the following tasks:
- Repair remaining customer bikes
- Clear out warehouse to make room
- Clear shop space of all unnecessary items
- Have a closeout sale to sell unneeded items.
- Pack up shop items - bikes, parts,tools
- Move everything from shop to warehouse
- Other tasks as needed (sweeping, cleaning, carpentry)
We will be open from 1-5pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 1-7pm from Thursday til Saturday or until everything is done. Please call if you can help and we'll schedule you for a time.

At the end of July, if we have a new location and are able to re-open we will still need much more volunteer help - particularly long-term volunteers who are willing to serve as volunteer coordinators, instructors and board members. This has been way too much work for one person and if it is to continue the rest of the community will have to step up and pitch in.

Thank you for any help you can provide.
Nick Hein

16 June - We're Losing Our location

2010-06-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

URGENT!

Positive Spin's location is up for auction and we will not have a home after June 30. Effective immediately we are suspending showroom operations until further notice and liquidating all non-essential items so we can put everything in storage until we find a new location. Please volunteer if you can help to finish repairs, sort stock, move and look for a new home. Call 304-276-0213

Our tentative plan is to be closed through July and reopen in a new location, but so far we don't have one. Even If the new owners permit us to stay we have building structural issues that will probably force us to relocate. We appreciate any help anyone can offer in finding a new home.

If we don't get assistance Positive Spin is doomed. Thank you.

14 June - Green Riders are coming

2010-06-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Oliver Bock and his sister Catherine have been riding electric-assisted recumbent bikes across the United States since April 22 and will be passing through Morgantown this Thursday and Friday. They will be at the library at 5:30PM for the Green Nite presentation (along with Positive Spin) and on Friday we will be presenting a bike clinic for kids at the waterfront parking garage. Time and other details to follow.
See you there!

UPDATE June 17.
The Greenriders are here. They spent last nite in Wadestown as my guests at the farm and will be running around town today before tonite's Library presentation. They were here at the shop at 2pm today to take the tour and give testrides. Here's the Channel 12 news story from their visit.

12 June - When the bottom falls out....

2010-06-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
This is earthshaking news. Today while I was in the office showing a bike to a customer the floor dropped suddenly about 12 inches. It appears that the concrete slab wasn't adequately supported, it had been a few inches low since we moved in but this was the first time I'd felt it move. John Dorsey and John Lozier gamely came to the rescue to move everything out (we left a few items that we felt wouldn't be missed if the earth swallows them up) and the office furniture is now set up in the shop. This is a temporary arrangment, the more temporary the better in fact. We need to find a new location NOW, where we can have office, shop and warehouse all in one location. If anyone out there knows of such a place and can connect us with people who can make it affordable please call me at the shop phone number. When we find a new home we'll need help moving there too, and will try to recruit volunteers for that as well.
Thank you,
Nick

9 June - Almost over already?

2010-06-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Good evening from Apex, NC.
Andrew DaSilva (pictured above) and I have been giving classes here since Monday to the 1070 elementary students at Olive Chapel School. We've gotten through 750 students, with the rest scheduled tomorrow before we return home. We started early on Monday with 6 classes in a row of all grades (K-5). Katy Caggia, PE teacher and Reed Huegerich, city planner and grant coordinator - met us and we got the gym setup and the course marked with pylons and tape. A full day of elementary kids is grueling in a joyful way. These kids are beautiful, even the squirrely ones. The days have ended well, though usually we take a nap and an evening ride to restore our balance and get ready for the next day. Hard to believe we've seen every one of 750 kids, and that they've learned things that they'll be able to use for the rest of their lives. Teaching's cool that way.
Tonite we left the van at the school and rode our bikes home the 4 miles from school. Since tomorrow's our last day we'll check out in the morning to leave for Martinsville. There we're visiting a raw food friend of mine for an evening, before returning to Morgantown. I'll back to open the shop on Saturday at 10am for volunteers and 1pm for customers. See you then.

Side story:
Why I'm here - Last July Bruce Rosar was tragically struck and killed at an intersection near here. Bruce had been a lifetime advocate for cycling to all ages. He was an instructor, Bike League board member and on every advocacy and riding group he could find. I met him about a month before at an instructors' conference in San Jose, CA. At the location of his death there is a ghost bike (above) that I ride past every day on the way to school, you can read about Bruce at this link and this link. Bruce would have been the instructor at this school, I'm grateful for the chance to take his place while deeply saddened by his loss. It's been a sober reminder that we all need to look out for each other on the roads, whatever vehicle we're in. Mostly I hope it will remind us to always appreciate the vitality and joy we give each other by our living presence, friendship and inspiration.
Nick
Article on Bike Commuting in today's Chicago Sun-Times.

4 June - Work Party this Saturday

2010-06-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the shop will be closed next week while I'm teaching bike clinics at Olive Chapel Elementary School in Apex, NC. I leave on Sunday, before then there's plenty we can use help with.
Come to the shop this Saturday if you have some time to help out. Here's what we'll be doing:
9am: Info Table at Hazel-Ruby park for the Decker's Creek Half-Marathon (til 1pm)
10am: Completing the 10 customer bikes that are awaiting repairs
Prepping 20 training bikes for classes in NC next week
Catching up on housekeeping and organizing

Coming Events:
June 16: Green Nite at the Library - We'll be presenting things every citizen can do to reduce their vehicle miles
June 25: Fishing Derby Bike Clinic
July 24: Cheat Lake Cub Scout Bike Clinic

Volunteers are needed to help plan and conduct these events; please call the shop if you can help.
Thank you,
Nick

1 June - Thought for Today

2010-06-01T04:39:00.000-07:00

Happy June, I'm passing on this quote from one of the other blogs I read. I'll post some real news later today.
Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest", but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (1917-1986)

31 May - Memorial Day Ride for Gene Vance

2010-05-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

This morning the Mon Bike Club riders took a memorial ride up Decker's Creek to the site of a memorial for Gene Vance, West Virginia's first soldier to be killed in battle since WWII. Vance was also an avid outdoorsman and worked for a time at Whitetail Cycles and outdoor sports. Many at the ride knew him and spoke of the inspiration he gave them for outdoor adventure. You can read more about his life and service at this link.

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=331603
On this Memorial Day please remember our troops in service, and those everywhere serving to eliminate the causes of conflict. Something to think about while you're riding or hiking on this beautiful day.
Also found this NPR article from 2002:
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=1143683&m=143683

29 May - Thanks for all the help

2010-05-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the volunteers who came to help Wednesday (Tricia, Patrick, Diana, Mary from CCE). Thanks especially to all the volunteers who came through yesterday (Beth, Trent and Andrew) to finish stripping, prepping and loading bikes for our "Bikes for the World" shipment that went out today (Saturday May 29). Thanks especially to Mark from Sound Investments for driving everything to Cumberland this morning on a Memorial Day weekend. Mark and I left at 8am today to make the delivery that the volunteers loaded last nite. This was the scene when we got to Cumberland.

We had a surprisingly busy shop time when I got back. A number of people stopped by to donate more bikes, make repairs and tradeup bikes for growing kids. Thanks especially to Beth for showing up to volunteers, and to Max from the Farmer's Market for bringing by a big load of delicious salad greens in exchange for a replacement bike wheel. We are nearly out of showroom bikes, and our repair pile is getting too big. We need to get all repairs caught up by next week when I leave for North Carolina to teach elementary ed. bike classes. If you've got some time please stop by to help us get caught up. Thanks again,Nick

Late Addition: Here's the thank you note we received from Keith Oberg, director of Bikes for the World.
Way to go!! Many thanks and congratulations to all on accepting and overcoming the challenge arising from the hugely successful collection in Cumberland yesterday! 175 bikes plus valuable spare parts!!! Thank you Larry and Val, for leading the Cumberland Rotary effort. Thank you Nick and folks at Positive Spin, for trucking all those parts and bikes from Morgantown WV. Thank you Craig for preparing and leading the reception at our storage site in Northern VA. Thank you Kathy, JP, Tim, and Timmy Summers for providing the teamwork and muscle to transfer the 175 bikes, uncounted wheels, and other parts from the truck into storage. And especially thank you Phil for leading and holding things together from start to finish-securing, loading, driving, unloading, and returning a 26' rental truck with an immense and valuable load-a long day.
With this weekend's exceptional results, and a few more bikes anticipated to come in over the course of the next six days, we are ready to load a full and appropriate shipment for Costa Rica's Fundacion Integral Campesina (www.fincacostarica.org), a rural savings/credit/investment program, this coming weekend.

28 May - Come help load at 5pm tonite

2010-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon,

We're going to Cumberland! Mark from Sound Investments has graciously offered to truck our bikes to Cumberland again this year for the "Bikes for the World" Memorial Day collection. We'll be meeting him tonite at 5pm to load up and would welcome anyone available to help out. Meet us at the warehouse, in the Wharf District on Clay St. if you can help. There's plenty of work to do for as many people as we can get. Call the shop if you have questions. 304-276-0213.
Thanks,
Nick

25 May - Shipping Party

2010-05-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Positive Spin will be shipping bikes to Cumberland (and the world) this weekend through Bikes for the World who will distribute them to developing countries to be used for basic transportation. We are seeking volunteers to help prepare the bikes for shipping. This consists of removing pedals, turning the bars and loading. If you can help please come to the shop after 4pm tomorrow (Wednesday). More details at the website:
www.positivespin.org

We are also looking for someone with a truck who can drive the bikes to Cumberland by Noon Saturday. Call 304-267-0213 if you can help.
Thanks!
Nick

11 May - Quick Notes

2010-05-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
I arrived back in town last nite around dinnertime and have been scrambling to catch up - on sleep, events and overdue work. I wanted to post this picture though. We always ask people to send us pictures of their bikes that they modify and this one from Shawn was pretty unusual. It started out as a Schwinn 10-speed. It now has a single-speed coaster-brake rear wheel, artfully laced. Handle bars have also been customized. Here are his comments: " It took me a little while to get a photo of it between taking finals and my girlfriend taking it out on bike rides, but here's the end result of the radical rebuilt '73 Schwinn, featuring a coaster brake in the back, hand brake in the front, complete with fenders and lights to make it a real fun commuter!"
Thanks for the pic Shawn!

This morning we received a call from an old friend, a Christian minister who came through with a cycling group las Summer. While they were here they sewed up our brown shop aprons, wrench pockets and stapler holder. These are items we use every day, and I've thought about them frequently and how I never had a chance to thank them again. I passed that on today. She let me know that she's been using the bike we traded to her, and is now looking for a little lighter one. I referred her to a local bike shop, but also told her that we'd look out for one here too.
More later.
Nick

6 May - Safe Routes Day 4, then to CT

2010-05-06T04:28:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
My internet access has been limited this week so I haven't been able to update as often as I'd like. Since Monday the classes have been going well. We've ironed out the helmet distribution process, gotten more volunteers for marshalling the course and guiding the students through it. Several more students have learned to ride for the first time, and others have had such a good time in the class that they've gotten teacher permission to come back and help out during their study hall. On Tuesday nite I went riding with new road riders from the local bike shop (Eastern Panhandle Bike Company - Brian Weber prop). Here's the picture we took at the end of the ride, a beautiful 15 miler on backroads - it even smelled beautiful out there.

The kids in these classes have been great, even when they're trying not to be. My job is to teach and not to discipline so when there's a problem I send the student to the teacher. But my challenge then becomes to engage the students well enough so they are more interested in the lesson than in causing disruption. I'm working from a local coffee shop now where they've been feeding me custom salads and green smoothies along with the internet access. I'll be leaving tonite for Connecticut to judge the College HPV design/race competition. As I type this I'm thinking about all the friends I've made in this brief time - My homestay host Tim Hott, Brian from the bike shop, the teachers, students and baristas. I probably won't see most of them again, but it's good to know that if I do it will be meeting with happy memories. I'm tearing up a little now as I'm listening to "Who says you can't go home" on the radio. Will see you Monday when I get home. 'Til then I'll post as internet access permits. Have a great day, and a great ride to go with it.
Nick

May 4 - Safe Routes: Day 2

2010-05-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days. Shelley (the PE teacher) and I finally have the course curriculum down pretty well so that it works with well-behaved students. Not surprisingly the biggest behavior problems were with a group of students that don't ride or walk. Still trying to find the right memory card to upload pictures with. Maybe tomorrow. Weather was beautiful today, but only saw 2 bikes in the rack. One belongs to a young man named Kirk who rides every day on a too-small BMX bike. Haven't met the other student yet, the bike's a bit rusty so it may not be in regular use. Hard to believe that out of 600 students only 2 are biking, only a few more are walking. From informal surveys it appears that about half of the students live within a mile of the school but parents are afraid to let kids walk or bike because of fears of stranger danger and traffic. Hopefully when they see how many kids want to do it, they'll make the changes to get kids going to school under their own power.
Going for a ride from the local shop tonite with my host and the local shop owner. More tomorrow.
Nick

3 May - Teaching Middle School in Martinsburg, WV

2010-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Just a few words before I nip off for a well-deserved good nite's sleep. Completed the first day of classes at North Middle School in Martinsburg. This was my first middle school experience, and it went well overall. Taught 2 kids who have never been able to ride before. The rest had varying levels of interest, I've been told that this is a difficult age to engage - but that's my challenge. I'll let you know how it goes. I continue to be amazed by how sparse the knowledge is about the basics of biking and walking safely. After kids learn to balance a bike their education seems to end - until now. So it looks like we'll have plenty of work for a while.
Special thanks to Shelly Ostrowski who invited us here, and Tim Hott who is putting me up while I work (so called). Also thanks to Brian Weber at Eastern Panhandle Bikes who has donated a beach cruiser for us to test market on the kids. Pictures tomorrow after we get things sorted out a little better.
My expenses and charges are being paid by a $75,000 Safe Routes to Schools grant that also constructed new sidewalks in front of the school - in an area that is otherwise almost devoid of bike/pedestrian amenities. This could be the start of something big. There is a large residential area around the school and nearly all of the kids have learned to ride bikes. Hopefully this will be the catalyst that gets them doing it daily. So far only 1-2 students ride (out of a population of 600).

30 Apr - Changing Lives that change everything else

2010-04-30T03:36:00.000-07:00

Before we get into the busy-ness of the next few weeks' classes and activities I thought I'd editorialize a little bit on what we do, and the lasting effect that it has on peoples' lives. My ABSOLUTE favorite to do here at Positive Spin is teaching kids and adults to ride for the first time. When you think about it, what "learning to read" does for the mind, "learning to ride" does for the body. I can't think of anything that can affect a person's life - starting so early, lasting so long and taking them so far. The next step, teaching them to ride safely on public roads, is what our new classes are all about. It's been really exciting, yet humbling, how eager kids are to ride - even when it's just around the block. In the surveys I do before every class I ask how many kids know how to ride a bike (balancing). By 3rd grade just about every kid does, yet they are taught almost nothing about traffic law and riding skills. That means we are putting them out on the streets without knowing how to look out for themselves. As a result they crash - and 80% of all bike crashes don't involve another vehicle, it happens just because they haven't learned to handle the bike or riding conditions. Studies have shown that good quality bike classes, like the courses we offer from the League of American Bicyclists, reduce crash rates by 80%. Not coincidentally, helmets reduce head injuries by 80%. Although the connection may be coincidental, it seems intuitive that we have the choice of preventing injuries by either protection (helmets) or prevention (education) - OK, how about both?
Many parents and adults point to the high crash rates as a reason to discourage youth bicycling and walking - particularly around schools. But most of those crashes happen because the cyclists AND the motorists haven't been taught to share the road safely. Besides, this argument just reduces short-term risk while increasing long-term risks like obesity, inactivity and poor lifelong fitness habits. Kids can bike to schools and other places they want to go if we teach them how to handle their bikes - alone and in traffic. In Europe this has been done for 50 years. Every child has a full day of bike/pedestrian skills education in 4th grade (the age at which they develop adequate depth perception to judge oncoming traffic speeds). As a result every adult knows how every child will behave in most traffic situations, making the road environment much more predictable. As those students become driving adults they retain that knowledge, and the expectation that roads will be made to accommodate cyclists and as drivers they are expected to share the road safely with all other users.
In the meantime we also offer courses for adults and new drivers in bike/pedestrian awareness. Let us know if your school or community group is interested in any of our offerings.
We'll be in Mt. Morris this afternoon at Perry Elementary School to teach 2 classes. Special thanks to Ms. Ruschak for inviting us.
Tomorrow we'll be giving a clinic at the Clinton Fire District building near Ridgedale Elementary from 10am-1pm. This event is open to everyone, see the event flyer for more details.
Next week the shop will be closed EXCEPT for our Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon hours while I'm teaching in Martinsburg. Call the shop if you need to make an appointment at any other time. I'll be leaving the phone with someone here.

27 Apr - Coming Events

2010-04-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
The next 2 weeks will be the busiest we have ever had. On Friday we are giving a class at Perry Elementary School in Mt. Morris, Saturday is the bike clinic at Clinton Fire Station (Ridgedale Elementary), Sunday is the Spring Spectacular bike ride and next Mon-Thurs is our first big Safe Routes to Schools class at North Middle School in Martinsburg, WV. Most of our staffing for the events is OK (except for the SRTS classes - call me if you can help out), what we really need are volunteers in the shop to help fix up bikes. We've gotten a bunch in and even more are waiting to be repaired for customers. Please call or come in anytime during our open hours between now and Saturday evening.

We are in the process of setting up an email list server so you can get notifications like this sent to you directly. Look for details soon. The hope is that it will improve our response rate - we're not getting the help we need at events.

26 Apr - Westwood Middle School Repair Clinic

2010-04-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from Westwood Middle School where we gave a lecture to the Kaleidoscope afterschool program on bike maintenance and repair. As is common for these types of programs kids come and go throughout the lecture so it's hard to give an attendance number. There were 18 at the start and 8 at the end though, several of them were very interested. All of them calmed down and listened after they saw how useful the information could be. No pictures since I didn't get a volunteer to help me out. I got to ride my own bike there with all of the tools and presentation materials. Several of the kids brought bikes to trade so we'll be sending back 3, and 2 helmets. In case you were thinking of asking, we ARE getting paid for this - pretty reasonably in fact. Enough to cover our costs and some refueling for me. Special thanks to Sandy Cress of "Our Studio" for using her truck to bring back bikes from the school. I have no idea how I would have fit them on the bike trailer.
In other news, our latest MDS student groups have just turned in their time sheets for the last time. We'd like to recognize them for the great help they've been at repairing bikes, planning/running the tradeup day and general help around the place. Several of them are staying on til Friday in fact, to help run the bike clinic at Perry Elementary in Mt. Morris.
And this just in from the "Unexpected Good News" bureau, when I got back from Westwood there were 12 donated bikes from a shop in Ohiopyle at the door waiting for me. Kevin had actually called earlier to me to let me know he would be coming, several of them will fix up nicely. He said he's been saving these since he got our card 2 years ago and just now finally had enough to make a truckload. Thanks!

Now to finalize the details for the Perry School clinic, and next week's bike (1100 kids) clinic in Martinsburg. Do I hear any volunteer helpers who would like to get away for a few days?

25 Apr - Leadership

2010-04-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

A friend sent this YouTube video with lessons about leadership. Although it looks goofy, it has a message that applies to expanding the sustainable transportation movement in Morgantown. I hope you like it.
Yesterday we had another great day at the shop, same as just about every day - but more of you need to be the first followers - not just walking and biking, but being so joyful and excited about it that others WANT to join in because they see it as a FUN necessity. Followers won't want to be like the leader, they'll want to be like the followers.
Special thanks to Aman for volunteering the past few days as part of his course work - that guy can really make our bikes SHINE. Thanks also to Duncan for helping out in the shop, and to Will for being there at just about every Wednesday and Saturday work session since we started.

This afternoon I went on a scouting ride to check out the route to Westwood Middle School where I'll be giving a bike maint/repair workshop to afterschool students. On the way out I met Tony, a rather amazing guy. He had a stroke a few years ago and to recover he's chosen daily bike riding as his physical therapy. He started by using our electric trike, which allowed him to start building up the balance and stamina to ride under his own power. Then he purchased a recumbent trike, then traded in the electric trike for our EZ Sport recumbent bike. He put about 900 miles on it last season that way. This Spring he put on a Bionix electric assist motor and has put on 350 miles in just the past few weeks. Today he was on his way back from the recycling center where he had dropped 2 bags of stuff. As I left him he was apparently feeling cheeky and snuck up and passed me as I was going out River Road. Once I realized it was a race I passed him back and held him off until the road started to climb (past the recycling center). He caught up with me and we stopped so I could take this picture. He decided to go home then rather than embarass me on the climb, leaving my ego intact. It's great to see him having so much fun, especially since it was Positive Spin that made his recovery possible - and FUN.

I continued my ride out River Road to Westwood School, then to the Mountaineer Wellness Center (the old Waitman-Barbe school) and returned to town via Glory Barn Road, Highway 19, Dupont Rd and River Road. Then I went up the Deckers Creek trail a ways and into Sabreton to visit a friend. On the return I passed Hazel Ruby Park where a steel drum band was playing. About 30 miles of riding and an immeasurable number of smiles, on a beautiful spring day with the smell of new growth so thick you could chew it. Looking forward to this week.

23 April - More bikes

2010-04-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
Bikes are still trickling in from our Spring donation, we received about a dozen more today with promises of more to come. This is good because they are going out even faster. We have a big backlog of customer repairs and rehabs, as well as a hal-dozen bikes to put out on the showroom (if they don't disappear before then). Thought you might be interested in a few informal metrics we track for information.
- We get approximately 1000 bikes every year, a third are repaired for local use, a third shipped overseas and the rest stripped for usable parts and scrapped.
- Customers typically pay our asking price for bikes (or more).
- We've had several tinkerers come into the shop that just need our pool of parts for home projects or inventions.
- Bike recycling generally brings a gross income of $6-10,000 per year
- Other income is from editing websites, teaching bike safety to school youth and other freelancing.
- About half of our volunteers come from WVU (CCE students and students who volunteer on their own
- The rest of our volunteers are members of the community who share our passion for sustainable transportation right here.
- We give away bikes to area environmental groups as a way of getting more volunteers. They pay the recommended price for their bike by sending their volunteers to work with us for $10/hr. We get a better appreciation for their purpose, and get to know their people. They are able to raise more money.
That's all the time there is tonite. Hope to see you at the Friends of Deckers Creek "Spring Meltdown" at the Brewing Co from 7-10pm tonite.
Have a great weekend.
Nick

22 Apr - Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
It's been a busy Earth Day starting with a workshop session at MTEC this morning. The expected students didn't show up so it ended early after repairing a bike for a student.
After that it was back to the shop where the Industrial Engineering students and MDS students helped fix more kids' bikes. At 1:30 we went to the Green Fair on the Mountainlair Green - which ended up being moved indoors because of threatening weather. The turnout was huge and it sounds like we'll have a few new volunteers and customers as a result. The generator got a lot of interest and excitement from many people who passed through. We were set up next to the WVU bike racing team who all took it for a spin. Thanks to our MDS and service learning volunteers who helped hand out literature and promote our efforts. Here are a few pictures.

This last picture is the winner of the bike drawing. I promised her that within 15 minutes I'd have her all over the internet. Sorry it took a little longer. Congratulations Stacy!

Tonite is the Sierra Swing sponsored by the Student Sierra Club at WVU. We've also donated a bike to them, come out for great music and support this great environmental cause to celebrate Earth Day and enter to win a Schwinn Frontier Mountain bike. Tomorrow nite is the Friends of Decker's Creek "Spring Meltdown" where yet another Positive Spin bike will be raffled off. Help support restoration and preservation efforts, and have a good time with great people and music at the West Virginia Brewing Company.

Last item, they've been keeping a bike for us over at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. Can anyone drop by and pick it up during their business hours? Thanks.
I'm off to party.
Nick

20 Apr - More volunteer opportunities

2010-04-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is the first week for our (slightly) reduced Summer hours, we'll be closed Sun-Tues and open Wed 1-7pm, Thurs-Sat 1-5pm. It's still usually a good idea to call and let us know you're coming in case we have to run out for an errand. Volunteers should call anytime, we'll work around your schedule for you. Speaking of which, we have a large group project (6-10 volunteers) if you'd like to come in with some of your friends. There's a big pile of bikes that needs to be prepped for shipping, and parts to sort and box. Shipment goes out May 29th, but we know most of the students will be gone before then so now's the time for it.

This morning I thought I'd take advantage of my rest day for a joyride. I decided to check out totally - didn't tell anyone where I was going, left the phones behind, now water, tools or spare tube. Just the door keys. I rode up Decker's Creek to a dirt road that went uphill to a ridgetop. I parked my bike out of sight and hiked to the top where I was facing the quiet side of a valley. A 4-wheeler went by about 100 yds away as soon as I got there but it was totally quiet after that. I found a beautiful rock ledge and laid down for a quiet nap under the Spring sun with the leaves budding above me and nothing but the sound of birds singing and darting around. Aaaaahhhh.... I hated to come back but I did have some things to do. Why can't it be this peaceful everywhere?

Speaking of volunteer opportunities, we could use help handing out information and talking to people at a couple of events. Thursday from 2-6pm the Green Fair at the Mountainlair has given us a table. Please come help hand out brochures and have a good time if you can make it. Friday nite is the "Friends of Deckers Creek" Spring Meltdown. They'll be giving away one of our bikes, and letting us hand out info and recruit more members and volunteers. We'd also appreciate your help there.

We're expecting a couple of shipments this week. More bike pins are coming as well as bike locking cables, commuter tires and more helmets. Lots of bikes to fix from tradeup day still so stop in and help out when you can. I'll close with another picture from tradeup day, thanks to Tim - one our MDS students who will be finishing this week. Thanks to all of you, and all of our volunteers.

Thanks,
Nick

19 Apr - Week of Engagement

2010-04-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

In addition to being Earth week this is WVU Center for Civic Engagement's "Week of Engagement". Today we staffed an information table at the Mountain Lair from 11am to 2pm. Many people came through on their way to lunch but only a few stopped. One of them is interested and enthusiastic being a new volunteer for us. That's all it takes to make it worth the time. In addition we connected with volunteers from other organizations and got to spend some quality time with the great staff at CCE.

Just a few pictures that happened to be in my camera chip that I thought I'd include here. This picture was taken last Thursday as I was picking up helmets from Rock Forge to take to our homeschooler bike safety clinic. These madly pedaling toddlers raised $1100 for a cancer fund to help their friend. Do you suppose we could raise that kind of money by going around in circles?

And finally, over the weekend I took off after work to ride out the Mon river trail to Little Falls and this is what it looked like there, with the tree buds just starting to come out. By today I suspect the trees are all fully in leaf.

18 Apr - Happy Earth Week

2010-04-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
We had a hugely successful Tradeup Day on Saturday in terms of volunteers, customers, bikes received, bikes sent out, repair backlog and income. Thanks to all of you who worked hard to help make it a success. That includes our long-time volunteer, MDS students and 3 new volunteers who showed up by sheer grace at the right time with a great attitude ofr getting more people on the bikes they'll ride. We didn't gather numbers on anything except income for the day which was over $400.

With repairs that we'll be finishing in the coming weeks that will probably climb to $600 or more. But the real payoff was the excitement of the kids and adults who are riding for either the first time, or the first time in years.

We also exhibited our pedal generator and handed information out at the Impact EARTH fair downtown. This was also a great opportunity to let people know about us, and we got a lot of business sent to us from it.

There's not a lot of time to relish the success though. Earth Week is also very busy for us, we'll be tabling at events and donating bikes to various events and we need your help. Take a look at the calendar and call us at the shop at 304-276-0213 if you can spend some time helping out. It starts today with the Center for Civic Engagement's Partner Fair where we'll be showcased for providing students with a fun and meaningful service learning experience. This is just the kickoff for their Week of Engagement, we hope to recruit volunteers to help us fix all the bikes we received this weekend and help prepare bikes and parts for overseas shipment. You can help out too, just ask us how.

13 Apr - It's late, I'm tired so this is short

2010-04-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's been another busy day, we...
- Retrieved bikes from yesterday's successful bike clinic at Rock Forge Neighborhood house
- Took scrap to the warehouse, brought back bikes for the tradeup day
- Hosted MDS student volunteers who are now feverishly working the publicity for Tradeup Day
Thanks to Duncan Oliver for the generous use of his truck for hauling (again). I smacked the tail light backing up, but a new one is on the way and I'll install it first thing tomorrow. Sorry.

In the office I...
- Sent out proposals for classes at Westwood Middle School (bike repair), Clarksburg (SRTS) and Martinsburg (SRTS)
- Completed the final report on last week's SRTS classes in Charleston, will post as soon as I get photos.
- Started drafting a mini-report on the Rock Forge classes

Tomorrow and the rest of the week will be at least as busy with...
- Final arrangements for the Homeschool Bike Clinic in Fairmont Thursday
- Prep for the Tradeup Day Saturday
- Finalizing other class and event arrangements
- Setting up a list serve to blast email notices about shop goings-on

As you can guess we need volunteers! Call the shop or stop in from 1-5 M-Sat, Wed til 7. We need you. Nobody has answered this call yet and those of us that have been doing everything are starting get burned out.
Don't let this happen!
Thanks, Nick

10 Apr - A Busy Day

2010-04-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
I'm writing this at the end of a very eventful day. We had things going on at once:
1) Tau Beta Pi - repairing bikes for Tradeup Day, preparing bikes for overseas shipment. Shown below is the morning work crew getting bikes stripped for parts to send overseas.

2) Fun Day with MCCAC at Mountaineer Mall - Bike Clinic (assisted by TBP volunteers). There was a good turnout, shown below is the family that won a bike from Positive Spin in the grand prize drawing. This is a Latino immigrant family and I suspect this was a big deal for them. On the left are 2 of our TBP volunteers who helped with the afternoon bike clinic.

3) Usual bike repair and recycling at the shop. We had a number of people come in for bikes and repair while we were supervising engineering students who ably cleaned and repaired kids bikes for next Saturday's Bike Tradeup day. Make your plans now.

4) Supporting the Clarksburg Bike Rodeo (in conjunction with collegiate roadbike racing). Yesterday we dropped off bikes for them to use on a course they've constructed using the League-recommended layout. Early reports are that it was a big hit with large crowds of kids.

Thanks to a full complement of VERY enthusiastic volunteers we were able to get it all done with everyone enjoying it fully. If you were one of them THANK YOU and come back again soon. If you weren't one of them come in soon and find out how fun and gratifying it can be.
Nick

8 Apr - From Charleston

2010-04-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
I'm staying in Charleston, WV tonite after having finished my first Safe Routes classes at Piedmont Elementary. Taught about 100 kids today, another 67 to go tomorrow and I'm still enjoying it. I think I may be cut out for this. My hosts are the Jesse family who are keeping me at their beautiful Southern Mansion on the East end, a block from the school.

They've also been showing me the sights around town, regaling me with stories about their biking past and the local transportation scene.

While riding downtown today I bumped into my friend Dennis Strawn who I accompanied with the WV contingent at the Bike Summit last month. He passed on the photograph that was taken of us all with Congressman Rayhall on lobbying day of the summit.

Tomorrow I'll finish the classes at 1pm, then head to Clarksburg to help set up a class there to be held in conjunction with the bike races on Saturday. We've still got WAY more work on Saturday than we have volunteers, if you can help out please call me. There are also opportunities on Monday when we give our class at the Rock Forge Neighborhood house.
It's been a busy day, I'm off to bed.
Nick

Apr 6 - Last desperate call for volunteers

2010-04-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I have been unable to find anyone to cover the shop in my absence so we will be closed today through Friday (Apr 7-9), but back to regular times on Saturday Apr 10. I was able to find someone to answer the cellphone if you need to talk to someone before then. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Good evening,
Wednesday about 1pm I'll leave for Charleston to give our first "Safe Routes to Schools" bike clinic at Piedmont elementary. While I'm gone it would be great if someone could take the cellphone and be at the shop from 1-5 Wed-Friday. Aside from customers there will be volunteers who need to told what to work on. Any takers?

Also, we are doing several events on Saturday and can use volunteers - particularly for the bike skills clinic at Morgantown Mall. Call the shop phone if you can help out.
Thanks,
Nick

Apr 2 - Bike of the week

2010-04-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon,
This bike was donated yesterday. It's in pristine condition, I pumped up the tires and took it out for an errand ride. I've been riding it more today after some minor tuneup and cleanup. Although I still prefer recumbents, this really brought back some memories as it's the first time I've been on a road bike in about 20 years. If anyone is interested in this bike it is for sale. Act fast though, if no one buys it we'll ship it off to someplace where it will get used.
People are starting to bring in their bikes for tuneups and repairs and our showroom bikes are flying out the door. More people are out on the trail, many of them thanks to your volunteer efforts at Positive Spin. There is all the other wonder of Spring as well - birds singing, cherry trees blossoming, trees budding and flowers beginning to bloom.

If you're out this weekend please stop by Our Studio on East Brockway (near Marilla Park) for their big moving sale. Positive Spin has donated a bike to help them raise funds to continue their education and craft programs. You can score some good deals and learn more about what they do for recycling and the creative arts. More at www.ourstudio.org.

1 Apr - Sustainably-built sustainable transportation, car donation

2010-04-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Saw this reference to an article from 2008 about a home-built wooden velomobile. This is great news to someone like myself with woodworking skills and aversion to fiberglass.
http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/399/442/4594/3/42?dps=

Today Positive Spin received it's most unique donation yet during our Spring bike collection. A 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 was apparently dropped off at our shop anonymously during the night, and found sitting next to the ever-growing pile of derelict bicycles this morning at opening time. Like many donated bicycles we receive, this vehicle appears to have never been used. Although the stainless steel is a bit dulled the running gear is in excellent condition and the tires show absolutely no wear. Naturally we'll be stripping the guts out of it so we can put pedals in it and show it in parades. What better demonstration of appropriate use of human power! The WVU cycling team has already been contacted about providing the legpower for this unique showcar. Two riders will pedal, the rest will push from the bumper. The car may also be used for VIP transport during WVU football games from Grand Central Station to Milan Pushkar stadium. Football players themselves will be needed for the climb up the hill to University Ave.
Your Truly,
Folo Prail
Acquisitions Director
Positive Spin

Mar 31 - New Streamliner

2010-03-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

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 (). Please show up and see what they've got, you'll be glad you did.

Mar 25 - Spring Bike Collection

2010-03-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

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