Friday, October 30, 2009

UPCOMING WORKSHOP

We have a REMINDER for YOU...

What? FREE workshop on Bike Basics that will teach you how to fix a flat, set brakes, and more!


When? Monday November 2nd from 6:30-8:30

Where? The Bike Centre, at the corner of South Ring Rd. and Gordon St. (under the CSA Food Bank)

e-mail csabike@uoguelph.ca for more info.

WOMEN & TRANS NIGHT is awesome

The CSA Bike Centre's Women & Trans Night is on the 3rd Wednesday of every month from 5 to 9 pm. It's an evening where women and trans-identified folks can get together and work on bikes in a safe, comfortable and friendly environment. It's unfacilitated, so we combine our knowledge to figure out how to fix our bikes. You can drop in anytime, hang out with other bike-minded people, have tea and cookies, and learn a whole bunch. Everybody knows something, nobody knows everything!

We think that Women & Trans Night is an important night at the Bike Centre to:
  • work towards making bike shops less male-dominated
  • make a space for women and trans folks to take control over our ability to fix bikes
  • look critically at how the way gender affects who has access to tools and knowledge, and
  • make bike skills more accessible to more people
We choose to have this night based on our own experiences trying to get involved in bike culture. If you have any questions, or want to talk about Women & Trans Night in more depth, we (Sarah or Cecilia) would be glad to take the time to do that. Would you like to add on to why Women & Trans Night is important or powerful? We are constantly revising because we are always learning/unlearning! Contact us by e-mail at csabike@uoguelph.ca.

We will also be having a Women & Trans Night workshop in the near future- keep checking back here for details.

Hope to see you there!

-Cecilia and Sarah

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Hello Bike Centre friends! Welcome to our BLOG.

I just wanted to let you know about some cool things happening at the Bike Centre in the next little while. Mark your calendars...

Monday October 19 @ 2:30-5:30: Drop in anytime to hang out and make posters for Critical Mass! Supplies and information will be out, and photocopies of the poster you make will be made during the week- come back on Thursday (or whenever after that) to pick them up, and hang them everywhere! Campus, downtown, your neighbourhood, bike racks, all over! This month it's on October 30th... the day before Halloween... hint hint.

Wednesday October 21 @ 5:00-9:00: Women and Trans Night at the Bike Centre! This happens the 3rd Wednesday of every month, where the Bike Centre is reserved for women and trans folk to get together and work on bikes in a comfortable atmosphere because we feel that a lot of bike-focused spaces are male-dominated. It's unfacilitated so people can hang out, work on bikes, and learn and share knowledge and skills together in a safe space. The next Women & Trans Nights for the Winter 09 semester are November 18 and December 16.

Wednesday October 28 @ 11:00-1:00, at the Cannon: Mini bike shop demo! We'll be setting up some bike stands and some tools to do bike repairs and tune ups with passerbys outside. Keep an eye out!

Friday October 30 @ 6:30: Critical Mass! Come on out and celebrate alternative, sustainable, and self-reliant transportation by taking over the streets with yr wheels and lots of cool people. Meet outside of City Hall, 1 Carden St., at 6:30. Dressing up Halloween-style might be a good idea- just sayin'!

Monday November 2 @ 6:30-8:30: Bike Basics Workshop! Come learn about all those parts on your bike, how to do a basic tune up, and some commonly needed repairs. No experience required! This would be a great introductory workshop for folks new to bikes, and if you have some experience you're sure to learn lots of new tips, too.


We are still (and always) looking for volunteers... No experience required! Think you might be interested in holding some hours at the space every week, want to help out with events, or have any bike-centric intitiatives you are thinking about? Get in touch with us to set up a meeting or "shadow shift". The Bike Centre is all about facilitating a constructive space for people to learn to fix their own bikes- learning together is key!


Thanks for reading! Hope to see you at the Bike Centre!