Transfer Station:
The tool library has entered an agreement with the Shoreline Transfer Station to start collecting bikes from them! We are still getting data, but from early numbers, it is looking like roughly 20-30 bikes get tossed in the metal recycling at the transfer station every week. That's more than one bike EVERY DAY! Unacceptable, if you ask me.
The staff at the Shoreline Transfer Station are now going to be redirecting people to put bikes in a special corner for us to pick up, rather than throwing them directly in metal recycling. We are going to be doing our best to save as many bikes as we possibly can.
You may have noticed that, technically, we aren't saving these bikes from the landfill. But while metal recycling is better than the landfill, it is a bit more nuanced than that. When a bike goes to metal recycling, only the metal parts are recycled. That means the tires, the saddle, the grips, the shifters, and anything else not made of metal is simply waste. Refurbishing a bike saves all these parts. Furthermore, bikes are made of special, high-grade, and lightweight metal alloys. While you can recycle this metal, it is extremely energy-intensive and needs to go back into the global supply chain to work at scale. That’s a lot of carbon that we don’t need to burn if the bike doesn’t need to be melted down in the first place!
This is just one of the reasons we’ve made it our goal to save as many bikes as we can. We are EXTREMELY thankful to the Shoreline Transfer Station for helping us further this goal!
Bike Sale at the new Lake City Reuse Center:
We are going to be having a BIG bike sale at the new Lake City Reuse Center on July 18th! We have been getting a lot of donations (especially from the transfer station, as mentioned above), and this should lead to our largest sale we’ve ever had. Except this time: we actually have the space this time! We are having work parties every Wednesday leading up to the sale, which has been a huge benefit. If you are going to miss the grand opening on July 14th, this will also be a great chance to come see the new space!
Below is a picture of all 19 bikes we fixed up for the sale last Wednesday. We are having work parties every Wednesday until the sale. Huge thanks to all the volunteers helping keep these bikes out of the landfill!
Bike Lane Sweeper:
Due to a lot of work done by Urbanist Shoreline (thanks guys!), we are now the proud ambassadors of a bike lane sweeper. It (she?) has been dubbed “Meryl Sweep”, which is adorable. Meryl Sweep hitches to the rear axle of your bike and cleans the road as you ride! And that’s where you come in. If you are interested in cleaning up Shoreline bike lanes with us, you can sign up for an intro class here! The next one is almost booked, but Urbanist Shoreline might be holding an extra class soon to meet demand.
Check out Meryl Sweep in all her glory:
Recaps:
The Bike Shack has been up to a LOT this year, so I thought I would give some recaps of what we've been up to this spring and how it went.
Cascade Bike Swap (2/7):
This year, the Bike Shack had a booth at the Cascade Bike Swap. We saw this as a good way to get the word out about our bike refurb community (and to clear out some space in the Bike Shacks…).
It went very well, largely thanks to Russ (as usual). We got to talk to 61 people, sold roughly 12 bikes, and also got some people to take a look at more of our used parts. We have parts bins, people! I get it, they are pretty hard to reach right now. But still, they are ridiculously cheap!
I would also like to shout out Dei Caudle, who showed up and (I’m told) was instrumental in being outgoing and engaging with people. Thanks, Dei!
Bike Everywhere Day Results (5/13):
Every year, on Bike Everywhere Day, we put out a pop-up stand on the interurban trail section in the backyard of the Shoreline Tool Library and sit out there all day. We have tools to work on bikes, stuff to hand out, and cold, grumpy bike mechanics to talk to. It's a lot of fun.
As always, the weather was randomly terrible exactly on Bike Everywhere Day. Oh well. We met a lot of people out on the trail. This was the second year in a row that we met a rider who was on a bike trip all the way across Washington State that just so happened to coincide with the event, which is very strange. Huge thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hi! Here’s a breakdown of the stats from this year and some action shots:
- Bike Ride Bys: 67
- People Talked To: 21
- Bikes Serviced: 4
- Compared to last year: About a 50% drop. Weather was NOT great.
Bikes and Brews (5/23):
This year, we were able to set up an off-site bike Fix-It event at Growler Guys. At some point, one of us started calling the event “Bikes and Brews” and the name was too good to give up. We are hoping to do a lot more stuff like this in the future. Engaging with the local bike community is what we are all about (and beer, we are also about beer).
All in all, we tuned up 25 bikes. A surprising number of people showed up with bikes they had recently bought off Facebook Marketplace and weren’t sure if they were safe to ride.
Bike Bus Repair (6/12):
As some of you might be aware, Ridgecrest has a “Bike Bus” they do where parents and kids bike around the neighborhood, pick up more kids on bikes along the way, and move like a big “bus” all the way to school. Very cool! Check out Oliver Moffat of “Interurban Canopy” fame, who has a fun video about it!
This June, we staffed a big fixing event for Ridgecrest to get those bikes summer-ready! In total, we fixed up 26 bikes, and had a lot of fun!
Bike of the Brief:
I thought it might be fun to have a section at the end of each of these where I gush about a cool or interesting bike that has come through the Tool Library recently. I love gushing about cool bikes, and we get a LOT of them.
So, the first ever bike of the brief goes to: This sick 1986 Trek Cirrus! That's right, this bike is 40 years old but has a paint job so clean it looks like it rolled off the factory floor yesterday. And the matching red cables and grips?? What a nice touch. And the lugwork? And the pump peg?? Mwah, chef’s kiss. This frame has truly stood the test of time and is fully capable of being everything from a do-it-all commuter bike with a rear rack and fenders, or just being a fast, light, and comfortable bike to show off around town. Based on the component color choices, I am going to assume it was the latter!
But if the looks weren’t enough, it also came with something I had never seen in my life:
That’s right. A top tube-mounted friction shifter. I can totally understand not wanting normal downtube shifters paired with these upright city bars, but most people would have simply mounted it on the handlebar (like the other shifter is). Mounting the shifter here is certainly a choice. After I tuned this guy up a bike, I gave it a test ride, and I can confirm that this shifter position is usable. I’ve been saying for a while now that touring bikes need top tube shifter mounts so they are more accessible to upright riding positions, and I finally got to try one out! (Russ thinks I’ve lost it)
All in all, a 10/10 for me. To whoever donated it, a huge thanks, and to whoever buys it, make sure to show it off! (And please put a better seat on it)
Here are some more glamour shots:
