26 Jan - City Council Meeting 6:30 tonite to discuss Pedestrian Plan

Good morning,
If you haven't already made your plans for this evening please consider coming out to the city council meeting at City Hall where the budget for the next year will be discussed.  A major sustainable transportation initiative to be discussed will be the Pedestrian Plan and fee proposed by the Pedestrian Safety Board.  The board is asking your support, here's Christiaan Abildso's email describing what you can do.

1) Tues, Jan 26 6:30 - City Council meeting to develop budget priorities (Don Spencer will propose the fee as a priority)

---I will attend to encourage ped plan/fee prioritization; not many others need attend

2) Thurs, Jan 28 6:30 - Public Forum hosted by the DP re: plan/fee - South Middle School auditorium

---Bill & I will present the plan

***!!!we need as many as can be there to be there!!!***

 

In other news, we are continuing to write grant applications to help get funding to cover our operating costs now that we've gone beyond just bike recycling.  Eventually we expect to get sustaining income from memberships, consulting, education programs, etc - but we are now in the organizational phase known as "capacity building".  For this funding we are looking to city, county and foundation grants.  Naturally the easiest programs to get funded are the ones that we are already doing, so our focus is on bike riding/repair skills and trip planning.  If you'd like to help draft these proposals, which are due in the next few weeks, we could really use your help.

Additionally we are receiving a large amount of student volunteer help from the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) Multi-Disciplinary Studies (MDS) teams and individuals.   We can also use help supervising these volunteers.  Call the shop for details.

Special thanks to Jessica Weber, a new WVU grad student in Public Administration who has volunteered her time and energy.  Jessica spent the past year as an intern for the Alliance for Biking and Walking in Washington DC.  Although her time is limited, her energy doesn't seem to be and we look forward to working with her.

Let's make the 2010 the year we "Bike and Walk to Break Gridlock"!

20 Jan - Good reading

A couple of new book have arrived at the Positive Spin Sustainable Transportion library and are available for viewing or checkout:
"How to Live Well Without Owning a Car" by Chris Balish
"Bicycle Design" by Mike Burroughs

These are in addition to some other titles that may interest you:
"Effective Cycling" by John Forrester
"Human Powered Homes"
"Pedaling Revolution"
"Bicycling and the Law"
"Traffic Skills 101/102" from the League of American Bicyclists

There are some childrens' books for the younger crowd:
"Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen"
"Mike and the Bike"
"Michael Recycle"
"Gracie Goat's Big Bike Race"

And we have various videos on bicycling, bike repair and bike safety.
Come in and check them out, and volunteer while you're here.
Nick

19 Jan - Update

There's too much new stuff going on to just talk about one topic.  So here's the rundown.
- This morning we helped out in a workshop at MTEC teach bike mechanic skills to students in Scheryll Richard's class.  Special thanks to Rob Voorhees, the local Cannondale rep who donated his time/tools/skills to organize and conduct the session.  From now on we'll be showing up regularly on Thursdays to cover a new subject and work with the students rehabbing bikes for the shop.  We are in need of donations of money, a workstand and wheel truing stand to equip the shop.  If you have any of these items sitting around unused please consider donating them.  Contact Positive Spin.
- Preparations are well underway for the Bike Skills classes to be taught at Apex, NC next month.  Last Friday I travelled to DC to assist with a class there that will be similar to the classes I'll give.  Special thanks to the Washington Area Bike Coallition for giving us this great experience.  We are now looking for volunteers to help with planning and organizing for the event.  If you can help out please contact the shop.
- We've received calls from our first "Community Service" volunteers of the semester.  In addition to working in the shop they'll be helping in the office - setting up our member database, email contact list and other tasks as needed.  Some of these students are doing the work for classes, others as atonement for various infractions - we're OK with that.  We'll make this the kind of punishment that keeps them coming back for more.

If you haven't been to the shop in a while, or you've never been, don't wait until you need a bike.  Come in for the tour and stay to help out.  If you want to come in outside posted hours just call and make an appointment.  And just as a reminder that we're about more than just bikes, check out this article showing the savings for riding a bus.

13 Jan - Alliance grant is complete, Next task....

I've just sent in the application for the Alliance's Advocacy Advance Grants.  This is the preliminary round, if we're selected at this stage then we'll have to turn in a final application in March.  Thanks to those of you who helped with this round.  However, the work isn't done yet.  We've just received applications from the city and county where money is available.  These deadlines are coming up quick, if you can help out with the applications please don't hesitate to call.

Today is another great day for riding while the temps are still below freezing.  By tomorrow it will warm up and the melting will leave a salty, mushy mess in its path but it will be the first time we've gotten above freezing in a few weeks.  Hope you're all enjoying it where ever you are.  This weekend I will be travelling to Washington DC to get a taste of what it's like to try and teach bike/pedestrian skills to unruly mobs of K-5 schoolkids.  This is in preparation for the classes we'll be teaching in Apex (Raleigh) NC next month.  This is another task I can use help with.  This would be a particularly good job for any physiology or phys. ed. students who want to see what a gym class setting will be like to deal with.  Again, if you can help please call the shop.

Just for fun, if you want to see some outrageous bowling check out this video. 

12 Jan - It's Grantwriting Season

It was a beautiful day for biking in the snow, well for some of us anyway.  For the rest of you, if you've got some time for sitting around and are looking for something really helpful and rewarding to do, how about helping us write grant applications for the following funding sources:

Morgantown Community Block Development Grants (Due Feb 8)Mon County Grants (Due Early March)
Alliance for Biking and Walking:  Advocacy Advance Grants (Final App due Mar 3)

We've applied for grants in the past, but so have lots of other people and we need your help to make a compelling case for why we're the best investment for these limited funds.  If you have time and, particularly if you have experience, please call the shop and find out what you can do.  Also, feel free to make comments on this post if you can suggest people or other resources that might be helpful.  Chances are that the changes you make possible will stay in the community for a long time to come - better health, safer streets, cleaner air and a nicer place to live, work and get around.

Thank you,
Nick

11 Jan - Pedestrian News

This past weekend I travelled to Charleston, WV to offer assistance to a group who are starting a community bike shop there in the Habitat for Humanity - Restore.  They have a great looking facility, even includes heat and decent lighting.  If anyone reading this list is in that area please consider volunteering to help them out.  I'll have contact details soon.  Otherwise lookup Zoe Beavers, the force behind the organization.

Tonite after returning the rental car I walked downtown on Willey St from the Mileground and started thinking about how much room has been left for improvement in this corridor.  There is NO sidewalk for most of the way, and the road is so narrow that you are left no choice but to stop traffic until you can get to a safe place to pull aside.  The sidewalks that there are haven't been shoveled (in violation of unenforced city ordinance) so it's still a sub-optimal experience at best.  Since the Pedestrian Safety Board meeting was planned for 4pm today I made that my destination.  The discussion at the meeting was mostly focused on the new pedestrian plan for Morgantown and how to present the $1/ft assessment as an investment that will end up raising housing values and saving costs that more than offset it.  I promised to supply a link to the PLAN and to the PETITION if support you can sign.  Next month the city council votes on putting it in the budget (Jan 26 at 7pm in the council chambers) - your presence at the meeting would help let the city know that this is a priority.  Find more information at our website link.

Jan 6 - Welcome to the New Year

Positive Spin re-opens its doors today after the holiday, we hope you'll be dug out of the snow and can come by to help out with the new projects we have going on for the Winter season and prepare for biking in the Spring.  There are lots of exciting new opportunities to increase biking/walking and reduce traffic congestion.  In the next few days we plan to have a newsletter out describing some of them, but don't wait.  If you want to help make big changes in Morgantown transportation call anytime.

Note:  Our regular shop cellphone has gone missing (I lost it).  Until it turns up you can contact the shop on my personal cellphone at 304-685-8954.

Dec 22 - Happy Holidays

Yesterday's Dominion Post had this editorial from a beleagered Morgantown pedestrian.  If you can relate, consider volunteering with us to help raise pedestrian awarenes.  If you drive, observe the posted speed limits and give all your attention to driving and watching out for others - even if they're not in a car.

With the Christmas Bikes behind us and the holiday break ahead, it's time to reflect on the year past and plan for the year ahead.  I am in the process of drafting our 2010 event/milestone calendar (thanks to WVU student volunteer Harry Shaffer for putting it on the web).  If you have an event you'd like us to participate in please send me an email with information (date, time, description) and we'll add it to the list.
We are still looking for qualified and committed boardmember volunteers who are passionate about transforming Morgantown transportation in ways that make our city more liveable, sustainable and inclusive of all citizens.  Contact me if you share our passion and can contribute your time and resources.
I'll be on vacation and the shop will be closed from Dec 24 to Jan 6 (resuming normal Winter hours Jan 7), but I'll have the phone with me in case you need to reach me.  I'll be travelling (in a rented car) to see family in Wisconsin and plan to post updates as time permits.  I wish the best to you, your family and all your loved ones.  I look forward to working with you in the new year in positive and joyful ways that improve our city with the best and most sustainable mobility.
We've got a couple of great new volunteers joining us in the New Year.  Duncan, an experienced shop mechanic and mountain biker will be helping supervise shop hours.  Jessica, a WVU Masters' student in Public Administration will be helping us out.  She's particularly welcome after her previous experience as an intern at the Alliance for Biking and Walking.  We're grateful to them for sharing their passion for sustainable transportation and making Morgantown a better place to live and get around.

Dec 17 Christmas Bikes Distributed

Our 5th annual bike giveaway is now complete.  Due to your efforts we donated 70 bikes to Christian Help for the toy drive.  An additional 5 new bikes were dropped off by other donors for a total of 75.  At the end of the day we only had to bring back 15 of them, meaning that 60 were given away, about the same as last year.  However, most of the leftovers were in sizes we had too many of.  Next year we need more 24 and 26" mountain bikes. The surplus bikes (mostly 16 and 20") are available to other charity programs.  If you know a family that needs a bike for a small child please stop in.  We can help you out.

Thanks to volunteers from: WVU Tau Beta Pi, WVU Mortar Board, WVU Industrial Engineering students, Our regular volunteers, People who heard about what we're doing and just pitched in and anyone I may have missed.

Thanks also to Christian Help for getting us involved (our 5th year!) and particularly to Cheryl Stout whose divine efforts make it possible for families in need to have their needs met with joy and dignity.
Nick 

16 Dec - It's finally here. The Christian Help Toy Drive

Good evening,
We've just finished taking all our bikes to the armory for the Christian Help Toy Drive at the Morgantown Armory.  The total is somewhere around 75, although in the mayhem of transporting them I wasn't able to get a final count.  Tomorrow I will, I'll be up there early and staying through the day.  If anyone would like to come and help out with inspections, minor repairs and fittings give me a call at the shop number.  I'll have photos up tomorrow.  Thanks to all our incredible volunteers who made this the biggest and best bunch of bikes we've ever delivered.  Particular thanks to Duncan Oliver (and his very patient and helpful girlfriend), Will Ravenscroft, a slew of CCE volunteers too numerous to mention and to Pathfinder who gave us generous discounts on last-minute part purchases.  Thanks also to George Lasnier who picked up and transported bikes throughout the drive and to Bill Jones who helped tonite getting bikes to the armory. 
Nick

12 Dec - Copenhagen conference

Good evening,
On Saturday we were invited to a candle light vigil at the Courthouse to help campaign for a <350ppm treaty at the Copenhagen World Climate conference.  It only seemed sensible to us (myself and Duncan Oliver, our new shop mechanic) that we bike to the event and bring along our pedal generator to shine a (LED) spotlight on the event banner.  However, we made the news in today's Dominion Post.  You can read the article here.

When it was our turn to talk we also encouraged everyone to do their part for carbon dioxide reduction by driving less and using sustainable transportation (walking, biking, transit and carpool) to get where you need to go.  Thanks to all of you who are already doing this.  If you must drive, you can still make the roads more fun for others by driving at or below the speed limit and paying attention to others who are sharing the road.  Even if they aren't in cars.

Dec 9 More Christmas Bike

Dec. 5

It was snowing this morning when I woke up, but I had something to deliver to a friend in Osage so I took our best-equipped all-weather bike to make the trip.  Turns out that it was no match for wet slush-slop snow.  In the short space of the 12 mile ride the bike gained about 50 lb of water weight, eventually the drivetrain became so clogged with snow that the chain couldn't engage.  This meant I had to walk the last 2 blocks to the shop.  It gave me pause to think about how ill-adapted conventional bikes are to adverse weather.  Otherwise it was a beautiful day to be out.  The traffic was light due to slippery conditions and it was blissfully quiet on the roads.

     Later in the day we opened the shop with about 10 volunteers from the Center for Civic Engagement.   These are students with a service-learning obligation - either for a class assignment or as the result of an infraction. They were an excellent bunch of students and helped us finally get to our goal of 70 bikes rehabbed for the Christian Help toy drive next week.

Nov 30 - Meeting a good friend

Today I was walking along the trail by the riverfront and bumped in to Bill Metzger, an old friend from Confluence, PA.  I first met Bill during the 2004 Mayors' Ride Relay from Washington DC to Pittsburgh.  The ride organizer, Troy Bogdan, had told Bill we'd be coming through and staying the nite.  Bill is a map maker, photographer and magazine illustrator and historian.  His day job is writing for "Railroad' Magazine, but he's also the author of all the Pennsylvania lettered routes for bicycling.  He was out for a ride with his wife Pam, also an avid biker.  Bill has progressive muscle degeneration in his legs, which has meant he has slowly had to go from a bike to a recumbent trike to a hand-trike.  But it hasn't slowed him down any.  He showed me the mileage on his odometer - 12500 miles in the past year or so.  We talked for quite some time about all our various interests and enjoyed the peace and sun by the river.  They get to travel extensively with his job, researching various historic train routes.  A train went by on the other shore while we were talking and he told me what every horn blast signal meant.

Nov 29 - Thanks for everything

Good evening,
I didn't think it would be fair to let Thanksgiving go by without giving thanks to these people and organizations who have been an immeasurable help throughout the year - contributing time, talent, money, passion and inspiration toward making Morgantown's transportation more sustainable.  Please forgive me if I left you out, and don't be too shy to let me know if I forgot to list you.

Businesses
Pathfinder Cycles - James, Gabe, Andy, Andrew, Shane, Steve
Wamsley Cycles - Chip, Colin, Jeremy, Steve, Matt, John
Adventures' Edge - Jan Kieger
These businesses provide us with parts and service throughout the year.  They also offer a 10% discount to our members on regularly-priced merchandise.

Organizations
Morgantown Municipal Bike Board - Frank, Derek, Marilyn, Don and others
Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board - Christian, Jonathan and others
Mountain Line Bus Service - Dave Bruffy and his staff
WVU Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
WVU Transportation Dept - Hugh Kierig
WVU Office of Sustainability - Clement Solomon
WVU Office of Recycling - Barbara
WVU Center for Civic Engagement - Kristi Wood-Turner and staff
BOPARC - Marc Wise and a merry band of office and field staff
Morgantown City Traffic Commission
Morgantown County Commission
Mon County Schools
These organizations are doing the planning, designing, construction and refining of government and institutional facilities to make Morgantown transportation more sustainable.

Individuals
Will Ravenscroft, John Lozier, Chase Hixson, Nancy Scheuerman, Bill Reger-Nash, Councilmembers Don Spencer and Jenny Seline, Mayor Bill, Former Mayor Ron Justice and many more
These individuals have helped in the shop, at events and advocating for transportation that creates better mobility and living quality.  A special thanks to all our members, your dues help provide us with a steady base of funding that supports our activities and advocacy.  Thank you again - and again, and again....

Nov 24 Items for Sale

Good morning,
Throughout the year we tend to accumulate excess items, either from donations or items that are ordered and not needed.  This is the time of year we like to clean house, it has the added benefit of providing us funds to help fix Christmas bikes and support our operating costs at a time of the year when donations are down.  If any of these items are something you need please call 304-276-0213. We also appreciate your donations (bikes, parts, volunteer time or cash) at this busy time of year.  Cash donations can be made through our PayPal link at the website (positivespin.org)
(See updated list at this link)

Nov 22 - Update on Christmas Bike Drive

Thanks to everyone who has donated bikes for the Fall drive to support the Christian Help Toy Drive coming up in December.  We've collected over 200 bikes, 44 of which came in on one day.  We now have about 50 of them ready to send out but hope to rehab at least 20 more to beat last year's contribution of 70 bikes.  If you or your group would like to do a service project please contact us at 304-276-0213 and schedule a time to come in.  This week would be a great time to do it, since it's pretty quiet with students gone home for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Most of the work doesn't require bike skills.  It's mostly cleaning and primping the bikes to make them look like something a kid will be excited to find under their Christmas tree. The final days before Dec 17 will be extremely busy as we give bikes their final check and transport them to the Armory for the event and vehicles will be greatly needed and appreciated.
Also, if you know someone who needs a bike and wouldn't be able to get one otherwise you can contact us also since we have extras.  Thanks again to the entire community for the tremendous support we've received every year - and thanks for relieving traffic in Morgantown by using sustainable transportation.
Nick

Nov 21 - A new appreciation for biking

I've been working with Otho for the past few weeks to help him re-learn how to ride a bike in the face of MS that has been progressing over the past 5 years.  Today we had our third session - in the first he learned to ride and made a few short runs.  Yesterday he got on the bike himself and showed that he could start/stop by himself and turn around in the width of the trail.  Today it was time to really go somewhere.  He rode from the Seneca Center to Star City and back nearly unaided.  I did give him a little push at the end as he got tired toward the end.  However, that doesn't diminish the fact that when he rides he looks as able-bodied as anyone else.  He was jubilant after the ride, talking about the feel of the wind in his face and the sounds around him - all under his own power.  I can't take much credit for his success, he did all the hard work while I just gave a little guidance and encouragement.  I think with more riding he'll get stronger and be able to ride further without help, although he's considering a trike for times when he doesn't have the strength or control to power a bike.  Congratulations Otho!

 

 

Nov 11 - Happy Veterans' Day

It's been a few weeks since the last post. Here's what's happening.
Fall Bike Drive: Anne Mallow and Tau Beta Pi have been doing a great job on publicity and George Lasner and Will Ravenscroft have been picking up bikes as the calls come in. We've collected over 100 bikes so far and are still getting about 15/day. Already 30 bikes are ready to go, but we'd like to beat last year's number of 70. If you or someone you know has bikes to donate please mention us. If you have an organization that needs a service project, contact us and we'll get you in here to clean and repair the donated bikes.

Board Development: Chase Hixson has taken over this activity. We've had 3 meetings to try and elect officers but there haven't been enough attendees to fill the vacancies, leave alone vote. If you or someone you know wants to see less gridlock on Morgantown streets and is willing to serve on the board to make that happen, contact me or Chase via the info@positivespin.org email address.

WVU Multi-modal Center: While I was in the neighborhood this morning I looked in on the bike room to see if it's getting used. There's one bike in there, I addded mine and took the picture that you see above. Security cameras are still awaiting installation, but otherwise everything is ready to use. Try it out!
Nick

Oct 29 - Planning for the city, Working in the country

Good morning,
I'm taking an unofficial retreat for a few days to work from Wadestown so the shop will be closed today and tomorrow (Thursday, Friday). We'll have regular hours on Saturday (1-5pm) and next Monday, Tuesday (1-5) and Wednesday (1-7). Our Fall/Christmas bike drive begins on Sunday in cooperation with Tau Beta Pi. Please consider coming in to help out during our regular hours. If you have a group that wants to help out and you need a different time, contact me by email (info@positivespin.org) and we'll set it up. Currently we have about 15 bikes, and would like to beat last year's number of 70, but we need to start getting bikes quick to get everything done in the next 6 weeks. We've looked into purchasing new bikes - using our regular supplier it would cost $3100 for 20 bikes. If you know of a more affordable source of new bikes please let us know. Even new bikes will require volunteers (to assemble) so the thing we need most it YOU.
Thanks