Community Cycles Volunteer and Earn-A-Bike opportunities for 10/15/09

[Josh Brown]

Hey Everyone.

Thanks for your help this week. Please note Community Cycles will be closed all day on Friday, October 22nd, and Saturday, October 23rd while we prepare for and staff Veloswap. For more information about Veloswap, including how you can help us, see below.

As we head into our winter season, we'll be changing our open hours in the shop. Our new hours will be starting on November 1st, and are as follows:

DAY LIGHT SAVING CHANGES, Taking effect November 1.

Mondays, CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, Women and Trans Night, 6 - 8:30 PM
Tuesdays, CLOSED TO PUBLIC,  YEAB 5:30-7:30 PM
Wednesdays, CLOSED TO PUBLIC,  Mechanics 101 5:30-7:30 PM, North Storage 4-8 PM
Thursdays, 3 - 8p.m. Members only
Fridays, 3 - 8p.m.
Saturdays, 11a.m. - 5p.m.
Sundays, 11a.m. - 5p.m. and North Storage Noon - 4p.m.

And then on January 1, another slight change:

JAN 1, 2010 CHANGES =FLIP MON, WED

Mondays, CLOSED TO PUBLIC - Mechanics 101
Tuesdays, CLOSED TO PUBLIC - YEAB
Wednesdays, Ladies Night, 6 - 8:30p.m. and North Storage 4-8p.m.
Thursdays, 3 - 8p.m. Members only
Fridays, 3 - 8p.m.
Saturdays, 11a.m. - 5p.m.
Sundays, 11a.m. - 5p.m. and North Storage Noon - 4p.m.

Following are details of events that are coming up that we need your help with. Please email me with any questions.

Please note there's one that's both a party and that's happening tonight.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Josh Brown
Development Director
Community Cycles
720-565-6019
jo...@communitycycles.org


We start out today's email with a party that happens tonight:

Venus De Miles Party - TONIGHT at the Gondolier

Please note, this is not a Community Cycles event, but we helped out with valet bike parking at the VDM ride this year.
Come and Join the Ladies of the Venus de Miles Bike Club for our year end Partay!  This is an open event to all and co-ed complete with prizes and yummy food (cash bar).  Come and learn about the club and why every lady who wants to ride with a non-competitive, fun group of gals should ride with us!  It is always FREE to ride and we have awesome clinics all year long.  We'll teach you the basics or help hone you existing skills.  PLUS - we will be presenting Greenhouse Scholars with our donation, honoring volunteers from 2009 and thank all who have donated.  6pm 10/15 at the Gondolier 16th and Pearl

Help needed tabling and doing tune ups at
Valmont Bike Park Grand Opening, THIS WEEKEND.

We'll have our information table and tuneup stands and tools at the grand opening of the Valmont Bike Park (The world's largest bike park!) There will be bike races at the recently finished park. We'll be there from 8 AM to 5 PM, providing tuneups for folks who need some bike adjustment, and information about Community Cycles to visitors to the park.
 It's a great time to come check out some amazing riding on some amazing terrain. I can't wait to see what the fine folks at the BMA have made happen at the park. Email jo...@communitycycles.org if you're interested in helping with this.

Wednesday night 4-8 PM North Storage work parties

 If you haven't been to North Storage on Wednesday nights, it's a great way to learn some bike mechanics. Each week, we focus on one or two areas of bike mechanics (one week will be brakes, the next shifters, etc.) We teach a short lesson at the beginning of the day, and then everyone works on just that one system for the day on a bunch of different bikes. You don't have to have any bike mechanic experience at all to help us at North Storage We will teach you everything you need to know.

Coming Soon: Sunday Work Parties!

Most of you know about or have been to Wednesday Work Nights. We've been getting a lot done at these, both work we need, and teaching you all.  Starting on October 25th, we''ll be there from 12 noon to 4 PM on Sunday afternoons. Everyone is welcome to come to as many North Storage work parties as they would like.

We don't publish the address of our North Storage facility, as we work out of a Boulder County space, and we can't have people showing up when we're not there wanting to work on bikes. If you're interested in helping out on a Wednesday night, or a Sunday after October 25th, please email me or call the shop (720-565-6019) prior to the day before you'd like to participate for details. I don't always get to every email the day I receive them, so if you ask for directions too late, you may not get them in time.

Volunteer orientation, Thursday, October 22, 6-7 PM

Come learn how we can use you above and beyond working in the shop and the events on this list. We're looking for folks who are interested in helping out on a level that's more than just dropping by when they're free. There are some benefits to helping out on a more regular basis, and we'll be going over those at the meeting as well. The Volunteer Orientation will be in the shop.

Boulder Racing Cyclocross Race, Beer Garden Servers needed, 
Sunday, October 25th

Ever been to a cyclocross race? Imagine a bike race that's half road race, half mountain bike trails. Ridden on a road bike with fat tires, with a bunch of "pick up the bike, throw it on your shoulder, and run through some mud and over some logs" thrown in for good measure. Seriously. Here's a youtube video from last year.

 We're hosting the beer garden at the Boulder Reservoir leg of the race, happening on October 25th, at the Boulder Reservoir. We need volunteers there from 10:30 to about 5 PM. This includes set up and take down of our booth. We need at least two people to staff the booth, but more would be better.
 It'll be a great chance for us to meet some people who ride who haven't been into the shop yet. We'll also be raising money at this event. Come check out the race, help us serve beer to racers and spectators, and check out some locally brewed beer.
 Sorry kids, this one is 21+ only.

Monthly Facilitator meeting, Tuesday, October 27th, 6-7 PM

Facilitators are the folks who have been around a while, and know the operation. If you'd like be involved with Community Cycles on a higher level, this may be the meeting for you. There is some training involved, both mechanical and organizational. Come prepared to get some work done.

Veloswap help needed, Friday, October 23rd and Saturday, October 24th
If you've never been to Veloswap, you are missing out. It's a huge swap meet/flea market type event that is absolutely huge, and all about bicycles. Every element of bicycling is represented there. According to their website, it's the largest consumer cycling show.  Last year, Community Cycles had the largest booth that wasn't a manufacturer.
 We need help packing up boxes of parts and things from the shop, and unpacking them at the National Western Complex in Denver Friday night, and then we need help staffing the booth all day on Saturday.

Winter Cycling Workshop, Monday, November 9, 5-8 PM

Due to popular demand, we're having a winter cycling workshop. This is not an opportunity at which you can earn hours, but a lot of you were interested, so we're putting it on. Space is limited, so be sure to sign up ASAP.
 We'll be going over:

How to dress to ride in the cold and/or wet conditions of a Colorado winter.
What kind of extra care your bike needs during winter road conditions.
How to change your riding habits and behaviors when riding in the rain or snow.
How to make your own studded bicycle tires for riding safely in the snow and ice.
How to report snow, ice, and other dangerous road conditions to the City Maintenance department.
Plus more.

The workshop will happen at the Community Room at the Twenty Ninth Street Mall, on Monday, November 9th from 5 PM to 8 PM. We'll be offering the class for a suggested donation of $20. Space is very limited for this class, and it is sure to fill up very quickly, so let me know ASAP if you'd like to participate.

Kids' bike giveaway team members needed.

2009 marks our 4th Holiday Kids' Bike Giveaway. What's a Holiday Kids' Bike Giveaway, you ask? We take all the kids bikes we get donated throughout the year, (this year we're looking at about 200,) tune them up, and give them away. This year, as last, we'll be having the event at Boulder Indoor Soccer. We'll have several work parties that focus on the kids bikes that still need tuning up, and we'll announce those here as we know about them. We have some other behind the scenes work that needs to happen during October and November and the day of the event, which will be on December 20th. If you're interested in helping with this, please contact jo...@communitycycles.org for more information.

Farmer's Market 2010 planning team members needed

We've had a presence at the Boulder Farmer's Market going on four years now. The Market goes through November 7th this year. We'd like to get a group of folks working during the winter on our tabling presence for the spring, so that we can really have some impact at the market. Team members will work on tabling materials, brainstorming and critiquing our current presence, and coming up with a plan for what Community Cycles will bring to the market in 2010. We're not necessarily looking for a long term commitment of people to be at the Farmer's Market next year, only to help us plan for the year ahead.