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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.