Winter is Coming!

Hello!

As it’s getting colder outside, the end of summer biking is near. Depending on how much longer you plan to ride your bike, it might be a good idea to give it a tune up before winter storage. Something as simple as cleaning and re-lubing your chain and gears will save you a lot of work in the summer! Our hours are posted on the right, and on our Facebook Page.

If you read that top paragraph and thought to yourself: ‘there is no end to the biking season!’ then kudos to you. From what I’ve heard, we have a few winter cyclists in Guelph, which is very cool. I know from experience that winter cycling means a lot of time cleaning your bike. We have lots of cleaning solution at the Bike Center, and if things get really ugly, we can order new parts for you. So, if you’re new to biking, why not try winter biking?


While I’m posting, I’ll take a minute to introduce myself to any readers.

My name is Alex, and I am a very recent volunteer to the Bike Center. I commute, race triathlon, and winter bike. I ride a Trek 2.1, a steel frame mountain bike, and a walmart road bike for commuting. I’m not going to pretend to be an expert in bike repair (yet) but I am very knowledgeable in the art of winter commuting- even though I won’t be doing it this year. I come from Timmins, which is about 9h drive North of here. That means pretty hardcore winter cycling. The highlight of my years winter riding is commuting through -40 to find out that my school is closed.

Although I won’t be winter cycling this year, I’ll be more than happy to help anyone who is interested. As Dave has said on many occasions, we have a fleet of bikes for borrowing.

I’ll try to post regularly on this blog, so keep an eye out!

O-Week

For O-Week we have a couple events coming up:

A Bike-in Movie, details are forthcoming

and a free tune-up day on Johnston Green which is on the 6th at 2pm

k that's all today.

Rental Fleet

I've been trying to build up a rental fleet of reconditioned bikes that people can sign out for short or long term use with no required payment. This has been very well received in that as soon as a bike is ready there is someone waiting to take it away. My concern is that I cannot meet the demand; not for lack of time but for lack of available parts.

We've burned through the stock of recycle parts and have little avenue for replenishing this; if you, or someone you know, has a bike wasting away I would be very happy to pick it up, or any other random parts.

On the moving front:

It's still a little wishy about when exactly moving will take place. I can report that the new space is almost empty now on our side. The facility will continue to be cohabited by us, the CSA Food Bank, and the Stuff Swap. It will take more time to empty out the other side and then I am told renovations start Aug. 1. so hopefully they will be completed quickly.

A New Bike

In response to people asking about it: We have a special a build project going on here at the bike center. For anyone interested in fixed gear or single speed bikes, we are slowly building one up so that people can see the process and understand the mechanics. So if you want to come see how a bike is made, drop by! We are open over the holiday weekend.

The workshop looked like everyone was having fun in the sun, there were too many people to stay in the basement so David took the group outside while I and a few others worked on some stuff indoors.

One of the bikes being worked on had a sad surprise for the owner which we all can take a lesson from; his axle had snapped unknowingly and was letting the tire gently rub the side of his aluminium Gary Fisher frame. As soft as rubber is it still worked about half way through the metal leaving a scary weak spot on the seat stay. This is the third surprise broken axle this month, while on the frame they feel like loose cones. You never know what's going on inside those parts which you can't see. That is why I recommend spending a little time with your bike, get to know it aside from just riding it. Taking 25 minutes to clean and oil it lets you check it over for complications you otherwise might miss.

The big race will be coming up soon, I could still use a couple volunteers to help keep people from walking into the route. Also, hey let's get some folks out to watch. Just for funzies you know.

Basics Workshop

Friday afternoon will be a workshop, lead by David (not me, I'm Dave).

David will also be taking on Friday hours in the space after I leave at 3:30. Now the doors can stay open every day! Erika, another new person around the bike center, will be coming in early starting the following week so we can tune up after our morning ride.

Once these hours are firmed up they will be posted.

Anyway, about the workshop;

This is nothing heavy, a basic intro session for people who are new to wrenching. It will also function nicely as a refresher for those who have been out of the loop for awhile.

I strongly encourage anyone interested in volunteering to come out for sure as this will cover about 75% of the problems that bring people to our space.

It will be Friday starting at 4 pm and running until 6/6:30

There is no experience needed, and no fee to come out

It would be pretty cool if we could all bring some snacks to share

About the July race;

There is still room for more racers so come by the space and sign up, again no fee is charged to take part.

The 500 dollar cap on bikes has risen to 1500 with an honor system which deals with competitive advantages brought on by high end bikes - if you are too high tech you have to carry some books in your backpack!

July Race is Happening

Alright, the race for July is totally happening. There are a few people signed up on the Facebook group and a few people who signed up at the shop; not a whole pile of people yet but enough to ensure it goes through. I still need volunteers to help on race day if anyone is interested.

So here are the terms of the race:

No rider is barred from taking part, if Lance Armstrong shows up he's good to go. Same with Neil Armstrong I guess. The only catch is that you have to use a bike that a typical student would bring to class. No competition bikes.

I took a look around campus and found a lot of Super Cycles and a lot more old Raleighs but also a few nice fixies and one real track bike.

If your bike might be considered a competitive advantage and you can't get a hold of something more even we've been putting together some loaner rides at the Bike Center which will be available. There is also lots of time to come put something together for yourself if you are bikeless.

So we're looking at Saturday July 10th pending weather. I have a course in mind, nothing technical, but I'm not disclosing it as of yet. If you want to practice come out and bomb around campus for the day, then swing by the shop and tune up your bike.

In non-race news, A few more volunteers have signed up since my last post. Sean will be keeping the doors open a few hours longer Monday through Thursday, though this week Thursday is still closing at 3:30.

A new order will be arriving soon which contains brand new wheels and tires. And baskets! People have been asking for racks and baskets pretty regularly so now is the chance.