Shifting Systems! On July 18th we’ll be teaching a class on shifting systems. Email classes to RSVP.

Basic Bicycle Maintenance! Mel, the Saturday Superstar, will be leading a class on basic bicycle maintenance. This class is currently scheduled for July 25th. Email classes to RSVP.

Ya, ya, I know. Not enough details. We’ll fill in the blanks when we get back from our ride.

And now a break from the endless stream of sponsor announcements…

Clan Dyken is bringing their bicycle powered music straight from the Whole Earth festival to our humble shop this Second Saturday (right after our scavenger hunt).  Along with Sizzle and Thomas Spellman, this should be one heck of a show, whether you’re here for the music or just want to kick back and cool your heels with a brewski after a couple hours of riding around midtown like lunatics.  Either way, you’ll be in for a treat.

Show starts at 6 PM, at the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen, 1915 I Street, next to the railroad tracks.

“Hunt the Grid II” is a repeat of last year’s wildly popular scavenger hunt that sent teams of four riders racing across the central city in a friendly competition of pedals and wits to seek out trinkets, images, and Sacramento landmarks both popular and obscure. Over one hundred participants signed up for the nonprofit bicycle maintenance co-operative’s first fundraising event, and registration will be expanded this year.

We’re still lining up the final list of prizes, but in addition to SBK swag, we’ve got prizes lined up from some Sacramento staples already:

• OneSpeed Pizza
• Big Brother Comics
• Old Soul Company
• City Bicycle Works
• Butch and Nellie’s Coffee Company
• Sugar Plum Vegan Cafe

This won’t be the final list; so check back in for more details later on!

Registration will begin at 1:00 PM on the day of the event. Since our volunteers can only handle a limited number of participants, we want to encourage you to preregister your team by e-mailing hunt@sacbikekitchen.org. A $10 registration fee per person will be due at registration time. Teams are limited to a maximum of four members. Participants must be over 18.

We also need some motivated volunteers to help us staff the event; e-mail hunt@sacbikekitchen.org if you’d like to help.

—

After the scavenger hunt, the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen will open its doors for its monthly Second Saturday party, featuring bicycle-powered live music from Clan Dyken and Smooot Valley High, beer from local breweries, and art by the Kitchen’s own Gina Disney.

–
How the Voler order works:
For any type of gear (short-sleeved shirts, shorts, long-sleeved shirts, etc.), we need to order at least 15 items for our order to go through. If we don’t make it to 15 items (we’re at 4 just after last week’s short order window), the order won’t go through and you’ll get a refund, but if our order gets large enough, we might even qualify for price breaks.
To place an order, create an account using your e-mail address and password at Voler’s online ordering site. Browse around for the equipment you’d like and put it in your cart. Your cart will be saved when you log out, so you can browse to your heart’s content. Your order will start counting against the Voler minimum as soon as you check your cart out, and you can even go back and change your order before the deadline, if you decide you want a different shirt style or short options.

For more information, consult Voler’s help page.

First, we know how difficult it is for our volunteers to get any work done on their own bikes, so we’re opening the shop to volunteers only from 6:00 to 9:00 pm every Monday.

Second, volunteer Mondays are going to include a brief one-hour orientation for prospective volunteers starting at 8:00 pm.

Third, those volunteer-only hours are going to start a bit later on October 26 to accommodate SABA‘s member meeting, which should run from 5:30 to 6:30 in our humble little shop.

We’re working on keeping our events calendar up to date, including non-SBK events, so if you have a bicycle-related hootenanny you want posted, shoot an e-mail off to i...@sacbikekitchen.org and we’ll add it to the list.

-sbk

So, rather than ask our volunteers to break up their three-day weekends by working at the Kitchen, we’re just going to keep the big door shut on Saturday, July 4.  If you can’t do without your Saturday fix of Scott, Mel, and all of our other wonderful volunteers, they’ll be back as usual on the 11th, and if your bottom bracket’s coming loose or your wheels are wobbling out of true, we’ll still keep our other shop hours this week.

In the meantime, take Saturday off to reflect on independence and freedom, particularly the independence and freedom you get from two wheels and a chain!

What kind of volunteers are we looking for? As far as the shop operations go, we have three types of positions: Clerk, Mechanic, and Shift Manager.

• Clerk: The clerk is responsible for greeting new patrons, introducing them to the shop, explaining the rules and about our organization, signing people into the computer, and accepting money. This position typically needs zero bike wrenching knowledge.
• Mechanic: The mechanics (we try to have a few for each shift) are the talent. They help us fix our bikes. They might be asked for price checks from the clerk or Manager. They help keep the shop tidy and make sure the tools are used properly. Mechanics typically need quite a bit of bike maintenance knowledge but even if you just know the basics you can be helpful.
• Shift Manager: The shift manager is responsible for opening and closing the shop, maintaining order and respect, also filling in where needed. Typically these folks are “core” volunteers and have committed to a shift per week. The shift manager needs to be able to teach a basic maintenance course.

For all of these positions we encourage anyone that is interested to just show up during our regular hours and tell the Shift Manager that you’d like to volunteer for the shift. If you dont like it, you don’t have to come back. If you do like it, just drop in again. If you absolutely love it you can commit to a regular shift.

Besides the positions listed above, there are many other positions that we need filled. Here are a few other key areas that we need help with right now.

• Rosie’s Personal Assistant: Rose is our current financial guru and she is looking for a helper. This person would help Rose with some of the non-profit compliance and financials of the SBK. If you only knew how much Rose has done for us would you understand why she needs an assistant. If you would like to try-out for this position just send Rose an email. Beware: there is an obstacle course involved.
• SBK Videographer/Photographer: Although we’ve been getting all kinds of press lately, we’d like to do something a bit more in-depth about what is happening at the shop. We are looking for someone that can take and edit decent video and photos during our events, rides, classes, and regular shop hours. We’d like to do short how-to videos also. You need you have your own equipment and editing system. Also, a way to digitize the results. We use flickr and if you have a pro account that would be perfect. Send Scott an email if you can help.

What perks do volunteers get? As if respect and admiration from your peers isn’t enough you get complimentary food and drinks during your shifts!* I also hear you get free bowling.+

* Subject to the generosity of grateful patrons (Oranges!) and local businesses (Thanks Pieces).
+ Capitol Bowl 4 evah

Read the announcement posted to their facebook page:

The Davis Bike Collective announces its grand opening Saturday, April 24th at its new location, Bike Forth, near the intersection of 4th and L in Davis, California. All are invited to come by on Saturday between the hours of 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. to fix bikes, learn how to volunteer, make donations, or just check out the new space. The Davis Bike Collective, formerly known as the Davis Bike Church located on UC Davis campus in the Sustainable Research Area, is a all-volunteer organization dedicated to teaching people to fix their own bikes, promoting reuse of bicycle parts, and growing bike culture locally and beyond.

The Davis Bike Collective promises to continue to provide a vital service to those bicycling in Davis, one of the most bike-friendly cities in the nation. The bike tool-share and expertise available at the Bike Fourth will add to the excitement of recent enhancements to bicycling in Davis. At the new location, anyone is welcome to come by to learn about bikes or fix a bike and our volunteers can teach you a range of skills–from changing a flat to rebuilding a wheel. We will be offering memberships for those frequenting Bike Fourth, available for a day, year, month or lifetime. Along with services at Bike Forth, the Davis Bike Collective participates in numerous outreach programs in collaboration with local schools, non-profits, religious organizations and community events.

At the new location we are seeking donations of bike parts and monetary contributions to help our fledgling nonprofit grow. Bike Forth is a community-sponsored endeavor, relying on local support for its success. Those interested in helping the Davis Bike Collective through donations of funds, bicycles, or their volunteer time should come by the Bike Forth location or email bikeministry@gmail.com for more information. Our regular hours will be announced at the grand opening on Saturday. While we welcome donations of bicycles in any condition, due to space limitations we prefer durable and/or quality bicycles and parts.