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Newsletter - May 2009 Dear supporters of Yellow Bike, It's bike month. BIKE MONTH. If you don't know what that entails, read on. If you do know, read on: BUT FIRST: Local elections are this Saturday, May 6. This is a big one for Austin cyclists, so get out there and do your thing! Be a good citizen; encourage your friends, relatives, and acquaintances to cast a ballot as well.SHOP CONSTRUCTION NEWS - Yellow Bike Headquarters Update - We are coming closer and closer to actually breaking ground at the new headquarters site. The site plan and architectural drawings are complete and under city review, and we are now taking bids for construction of the new building (let us know if you have any good leads for general contractors)! With lots of luck, we still hope to hold a groundbreaking ceremony sometime in the next two months, so stay tuned for updates. Please visit our Webberville headquarters page for more information, or to donate to the fund.
The 21st Street Coop Bike Project has completed the main structure of its new shop. Thanks to volunteer help and some excellent leadership, the shop's opening party has been pushed forward into the month of Hypothetical June. In the fast-paced world of Project Mastermind Will Wolfe, that could mean late May, so stay tuned and be ready to put your party pants on. Of course there won't be any celebrating until the shop's truly ready for use, so if you want to share some skills, learn some skills, and/or jump aboard an already fast-sailing ship, contact Will at coopbikeshop@yahoo.com. Go here for more information, or to donate to the building fund. FUNDRAISING UPDATE - COOKIES - Throughout Bike Month, Quack's Bakery is selling YBP shortbread cookies! $0.75 from each cookie goes into our new building fund, and the other 100% goes into your belly. Thanks, Quack's! Bicycle Film Festival - The BFF will be in Austin this year from August 5-9. Friday the 7th's screening is likely to be a YBP benefit at Creekside Lounge. In the meantime, visit the BFF site , and enjoy some related viewing. REI Bike Drive - May 3rd's bike drive at REI was a huge success. Big thanks to REI and to everyone who came out and donated, or even just stopped by to chat. Remember: there's no(t too much) shame in leaving a bike unridden, just so long as you own up and donate it to YBP before the rust takes hold. UPCOMING EVENTS - BIKE MONTH - It's on. May is packed with Austin bike stuff. If you ride a bike and you're bored enough to be reading this, that's probably because you haven't yet snagged a copy of the Bike Month Guide. Don't worry, they're easy to find. Check the local bike shop or cafe, open up a Chronicle, or just cruise out the front door and jump in that group ride that's ring-dinging past your crib. For e-info on bike month happenings, visit http://www.austincycling.org/bikemonth. There's far too much going on to list it all here, but if you do nothing else this month, please roll out for the following three top-priority events:
BIKE TO WORK DAY - Whether it's the first or the millionth time, be sure and ride to work on Friday, May 15, National Bike To Work Day. There are free breakfasts all over town for those who do. Look here for breakfast stations on your route. YBP 12th BIRTHDAY PARTY - Can you believe it's already upon us? Time goes so fast as you get older. We'll be throwing our 12th birthday bash at Red 7 (611 E. 7th St.) on Thursday, May 21st with Austin's own Shearwater headlining. The Theater Fire (DFW), The Yellow Bike Gospel Choir, and Buttercup (SA) will be filling out the bill, so mark your calendars now and make sure to ask off work Friday so you can stay late and enjoy the fun. The revelry begins at 9 pm. Before the party, please show up to the... AUSTIN BICYCLE MASTER PLAN CITY COUNCIL VOTE - At City Hall (301 W. 2nd Street) on Thursday, May 21, at 6:00 PM, City Council will vote on the 2009 update to Austin's Bicycle Master Plan. If you love Austin and you love cycling, please come out to support the plan, and encourage others to do the same - just like you did when you voted on Saturday May 9th, right?. There will be at least three group rides to City Hall, all of which will merge afterwards into a very huge, very short ride to the YBP birthday bash. For updates, see Jason at www.atxbs.com. If you can't make it for the actual Council vote, visit City Hall within 72 hours prior and sign up to "speak on" the plan. You don't actually have to speak, it's just a show of support. Go through security and then look for a computer kiosk in the lobby. You'll need the plan's item number, which we'll have on our site as soon as it's available. Flyers for the ride are here in .pdf and here in .jpg. Feel free to print and distribute. For more on the plan, visit http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/bicycle/update2008.htm. LADY BIKE - The first meeting of Ladybike was a success. Billie Latzer from Bicycle Sport Shop volunteered to help out YB's own Savanna, Meg, and Stacia for a Saturday morning of bicycle basics. Ladybike is an all-women mechanics series that will run every Saturday morning through bike month. The goal is to empower ladies with mechanical knowledge and to build community among women cyclists. May 2nd was "getting to know your bike." If you missed it, though, don't be shy. There's still plenty to learn, and introductions are better late than never: 5/9 - Making adjustments with few or no tools--brakes and derailleurs.
Clinics will be from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m at our Treasure City shop (1720 E. 12th St), and are sponsored by Lunabar, who donates breakfast treats for us to wake up with. Bicycle Sport Shop provides coffee. Participants are encouraged to stay through the open shop held afterward and practice their new skills. 5/23 - Brakes and shifting in-depth. Cable routing and set-up. 5/30 - Cups and bearings. Headsets, bottom brackets, hubs. Wheel truing for anyone who wants to know. Community Arts and Bike Carnival - Don't miss the fun at the 3rd annual Bike Rodeo and Carnival at Zaragoza Rec Center from 2pm - 5pm on May 16. Austin Cycling Association will again provide free helmets for the kiddies, YBP will bring free kids' bikes for the neighborhood, and the Theatre Action Project and the Austin Bike Zoo will supply bike puppets and entertainment for all. More Fun With Austin Bike Zoo - Wheels of Wonderland, A theatrical spectacle celebrating human-powered magic of all shapes and sizes based on works by Lewis Carroll and featuring the Austin Bike Zoo, the Texas Juggling Society, members of the 999 Eyes, the Minor Mishap Marching Band, a variety of other performers and many creative cycling characters, directed by Rudy Ramirez. These events are created to celebrate human power and Austin parks. Shows are free and open to the public. For more information contact Sachi.
Flat-Fix Fiesta - The Colorado Apartments (2501 Lake Austin Blvd) are home to literally zillions of flat-tired kids' bikes and, even worse, kids with flat-tired bikes. Resident and YBP friend Ana González has put her foot down, organizing a Flat-Fix Fiesta for Saturday, May 23rd, from 11 am to 1 pm. YBP and Orange Bike will be there, helping out with patches and bodies, and you're all welcome to join us. We won't be teaching flat repair to the kids; we're just out to get as many bikes rolling as we possibly can. Send us an email or just show up. It's sure to be a great time - and if you're worried about the heat, have another look at the address and consider where you might go afterward! Urban Assault Ride - New Belgium beer is putting together a city-wide bicycle scavenger hunt/race for June 28. To make it all work, they're asking for volunteers from local bike-related organizations (like us). Volunteers will get a free T-shirt, free food, and free beer. New Belgium will also make a donation to each participating organization, based on how many volunteers it supplies. To recap: free food, clothing, and shelter...er, beer, and a fat donation to YBP's new building fund, all for a half-day's fun. If you'd like to volunteer on YBP's behalf, contact coordinator Russell Pickavance. OTHER NEWS AND INFORMATION -
Legislative Update - Texas SB 488, the Safe Passing Bill , has passed the full Senate and is now its companion bill, HB 827, is chugging along in the House. SB 2041 , requiring that motorists' responsibilities in relation to cyclists be covered on driver's license tests, has also passed into the House. APD Bike Training - Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo is following through on his promise to make APD more bike-conscious. This coming Monday, May 11, he and other APD personnel will attend a special session of Traffic Skills 101 sponsored by the City's Bike and Pedestrian Program . Another session will be held for City Council members, Directors, and Council staff later in the month. SHOP NEWS -
The days are warming up, and shops are busier than ever at the Yellow Bike Transition shop in the Treasure City parking lot East (1720 E. 12th). We're open again five days a week this month, unless we are receiving some more much-needed rain (these shops are held outside, with no protection from any inclement weather.) Come on out and see how well a bunch of dedicated bicyclists can make a tiny space into a thriving community bike shop. The Orange Bike Project has a fresh batch of repair-ready bikes in, and will stay busy this summer elbow-greasing them into bona fide freedom machines for the students of UT. To get involved, or for more info, contact Tom Wald at orangebike@UTenvironment.org. You can also check out the OBP website . In the dust of the Rhizome Collective's HQ shake-up, Bikes Accross Borders shops have made a comeback. They are now held at Rhizome's Brownfield site, in the Montopolis neighborhood, and for now they are volunteer-only. As of press time, we do not have an address for the site, but it will be updated on our online schedule ASAP. Meanwhile, YBP is still representing at the Downtown Farmer's Market every Saturday from 9am - 1pm. Les and his rotating cast of co-coordinators will present a different hands-on workshop every Saturday at 11am, if ya'll show up for it. (Please do. Our workshops give you the opportunity to learn maintenance topics in full depth). If not, we're still there to sell T-shirts, shoot the breeze, or help out with the odd mechanical oddity. Here are the planned workshops for May: May 9: not at the Farmer's Market. May 16: Pannier-building May 23: General Bike Maintenance May 30: Fixing Flats SCHEDULE - Subject to change after the first Tuesday of the month - Check the website before coming by . . .
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