27 Aug - The Move is on, Starting Tonite

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.