First off is the Night Brite Bike Parade, Wednesday, December 21. It starts at 7:00 PM on M Street between 40th and 41st, but a few SBK volunteers will be ganging up at Luigi’s Slice at J and 20th at 4:00 for some pre-ride carb loading.  For more information, check out the Facebook event.

Second is the Capitol Cargo Cruise, a benefit for the River City Food Bank. Bring your most cargo-y bike — even if it’s just your polo bike and your back pockets — and help schlep a bunch of canned goods from Edible Pedal at 1712 Liestal Row (the alley behind Old Soul on L) down to the River City Food Bank. There’ll be a first ride around 9:00 AM to collect food from local collection bins and a second ride at 2:00 PM to take the collection down to the food bank. A full itinerary and food bank wish list is up at the ride’s Facebook event.

And of course, if you’d like to lend a hand painting or scrubbing or reorganizing our shop, fire off an e-mail to i...@sacbikekitchen.org and we’ll put your idle hands to good use!

SBK Events

First, the cooler weather is inspiring even those of us who bike through fog and flood to take a break and spend some time indoors.  This means SBK’s public classes are rolling right along.  If you’re a prospective rider looking for tips on how to find a good bike on the Internet, a cyclist looking to start fixing your own flats, or an experienced roadie looking to repack your hub bearings, we’ve got the classes for you!  We’ve covered them here before, so check http://sacbikekitchen.org/2011/10/upcoming-classes/ for dates, details, and registration instructions.

Our monthly Shift Rides are chugging along, too.  This month, one of our Thursday shifts goes on the chopping block.  So Thursday, November 17th, come join us on a fun little ride from our shop.  The ride leaves at 6:00 PM, and like a true collective, we’ll hammer out the destination when we all assemble.  Bring a working bike (’cause we ain’t doin’ no wrenching), lights, and a fun attitude.

Other Events

Looking beyond our ivy-covered walls, the do-goodniks at the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates are hosting VeloBall, their 20th anniversary party, on Saturday, November 19th, featuring a live auction, silent auction, bar, music, dancing, dinner, and a raging good time.  Check SABA’s web page at http://sacbike.org/veloball/ for tickets.  Word on the street is that they need volunteers to help with the event, too; if you’ve got a hand to lend, volunteer coordinator Larry Robinson will put it to use.

And of course, cooler weather means we can finally start digging that moth-eaten wool out of our closets and start getting ready for the Sacramento Tweed Ride, on Sunday, November 13. Rick Houston’s providing pretty frequent updates over at http://sactotweed.blogspot.com/, including the just-posted ride route, a slick poster, and a tie-in with next year’s NAHBS.

More SBK Events

If you still want your SBK fix, your favorites are still around.  We’re happily hosting our third Bicyclette! on Monday, November 21 at 6:00 PM.  This is a special shop shift open to all women, transgender, queer, femmes, and anyone else who has had gender bias, homophobia, or transphobia impede them from participating in bicycle mechanics.

And, of course, SBK Second Saturday this year is bringing in the big guns; we haven’t had some heavy rock ‘n’ roll in a while, so on November 12th, we’re bringing in 50 Watt Heavy to shake our walls and frighten our neighbors, after an acoustic set from Sherman Baker and an acoustic/rock ‘n’ roll set from Blame the Bishop. All with the same delicious beer you’ve come to expect from us for the last three years.

We’ll also be closed for Thanksgiving, but chances are you’ll see most of the usual suspects out at the Appetite Enhancement Ride.

Finally, a special congratulations to Core volunteers Doug and Emjay.  After years of helping us keep our shop going, we’re pleased as punch to be able to host their wedding this November, as well.  All of us around here wish you two all the best.  Now, we just need to find them a nice tandem…

So, in the next few months, you can look forward to a few changes:

More frequent classes

Teaching bike maintenance is a big part of our mission.  Though we haven’t been as up on that as we’d like, we’ll be ending 2011 with a wealth of classes.  We’re offering our basic maintenance class once a month starting on November 20.  Before that, we’ll have  a few other classes on winterizing your bike (October 30), what to look for when buying a bike on Craigslist (November 6), and overhauling your hubs (no date set).  We’ll have more details very soon.

Monthly SBK rides

For the first time in what seems like forever, we put down our wrenches for a day last September and took off to ride those two-wheeled contraptions we love so much.  We had such a great time, we’ve decided to make that an ongoing thing.  So look forward to more SBK rides as we shut down a different shift each month to get a little quality time in the saddle and out with friends.  If you show up this  Wednesday, October 19, bring a bike that’s ready to ride, cause we ain’t gonna be wrenching!

More volunteer hours and training opportunities

Just like our public classes have tapered off, so did our volunteer time, but that’s all changing.  We’re planning on opening our shop more often to our underpaid and overworked volunteer staff, to give them more chances to work on their own projects, get more experience wrenching on different bikes, and to help beef up the camaraderie that makes our shop so much fun already.

Special events

Last month’s inaugural Bicyclette! — shop time exclusively for our female and LGBT patrons — humbled us with the turnout and energy, and we’re happy to see it take off on the third Monday of each month, including tomorrow, October 17, from 6PM to 9PM.

And like last year, we’ll be closing down again this Christmas and New Years weeks to work on the shop itself.  This year, we’re looking for a few artists to help us use up a few gallons of paint we’ve had donated.  If you’d like to help out but you’re handier with a hammer than a brush, give us a buzz; we’ll have plenty of projects to work on.

Music by Red Rover, Mathletes, TBA.

And now we’re at it again.

In honor of SBK’s five-year anniversary, we’re moving Hunt the Grid back to Second Saturday, June 11, 2011 and expanding it — more teams, more prizes, more clues — and finishing it up with a party like no other.  We’ve brought back New Belgium with plenty ( and I do mean plenty) of their top notch suds.  We’ve got the Alkali Flats and Cooper McBean rocking our shop down to its foundation!  We’ll even be showing off some art by Duder Manor! Prizes for first, second and third place teams donated by local businesses and DowntownGrid.com!

So round up your three smartest, swiftest friends and get ready to hustle around midtown and downtown, teasing out clues and tracking down one-of-a-kind items to win our wonderful prizes and bragging rights.  And after the hunt (or if you want to avoid the mad rush of hunters entirely), stick around for our greatest party ever!

Here’s the boring stuff:

All participants must be 18 years or older to participate.

Teams can have up to four participants.

Registration fee is $10 per team due on the day of the Hunt.

Registration and sign-in starts at 1:00 PM; the Hunt runs from 2:00 PM to 5:00(ish) PM, with the party following right after.

Space is limited, so pre-register your team today by e-mailing register@sacbikekitchen.org.

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Second Saturday, April 9, the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen is proud to show off three volunteers’ bands: Sureshot, Flounder, and the Secret Lives of Squirrels.

With the city’s new Second Saturday rules, the party will be starting a bit early, but it’ll still be the same great party!

Live Music: Sureshot, Flounder, and the Secret Lives of Squirrels

Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen, 1915 I Street, Sacramento, CA

Second Saturday, April 9, 5:00 PM

Back by popular demand, this year’s event looks to be even bigger.  Here’s your chance to get a great deal on used bikes, parts and clothing from other bike riders and enthusiasts.  If you’ve been waiting to sell something — old, new, vintage, or perhaps something that’s been sitting in your garage, this is a great opportunity to finally get it done.  Proceeds will go to benefit both non-profit organizations: The Sac Bike Kitchen and The Friends of Fremont Park.

There are only so many spots available and are reserved on a first-come, first serve basis.

WHEN: Sunday, May 22nd, 9-2PM (rain date Sunday, June 5th)
WHERE: Fremont Park in Midtown Sacramento, 1 square block, between P&Q and 15th &16th Streets.  It’s the green space located in front of the the restaurant Hot Italian.

ADMISSION: FREE!
RESERVE A SPACE:  register at:  www.fremontpark.net
• 10′ x 10′ space – $10.00
• Each additional space 10′ x 10′ is $10.00
Check-in starts at 8 AM.  All reserved spots must be claimed and paid for by 8:30 or will be forfeited.  NO EXCEPTIONS.

FAQs:
No cars are allowed in the park.  Items must be carried or rolled in.
Since this is Sunday, most parking in the area is free!
Set up can start as early as 8:00 AM
For information, contact:  fremontpark@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you at the Park!

We have our patrons, our volunteers, and the bicycling community of Sacramento to thank for this.  So we’ve decided to throw a party to celebrate our five year anniversary and kick the whole day off with our third annual Hunt the Grid bicycling scavenger hunt!

True to form, we’re still working out the details, but we can tell you this: it’s going to be on Second Saturday, June 11, and it’s going to blow the pants off of our last two hunts and any of our Second Saturday parties.  So clear your calendar and start paying a little more attention the next time you’re cruising through midtown — you never know what you’re going to have to find.

Happy wrenching and we’ll see you at the California Automobile Museum: