The Hub of Detroit » jasonx

Safe Streets Youth Ride Thank Yous!

jasonx — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:21:05 +0000

Hello everyone,
There hasn’t been an update here on the Hub of Detroit blog in some time. I’m changing that right this instance. In the posts before this one we shared the sad information of our good friend Woody Miller passing away. I wanted to brighten things up with some good news from the fruits of all of our collective labor.
Last week we had our Second Annual Safe Streets Youth Ride. Thanks first should go to everyone to helped us out by registering and donating money online, our volunteers who helped make the event happen and to all of our riders from the community including those students from our Youth Earn-a-Bike classes. We had a good time riding through a wedding at the Heidelberg Project, getting a group picture taken at the river front and then ending at the “Brainard Hills” park right here in the Cass Corridor.
We should also thank our neighborhood partners Avalon Bakery for donating some goodies for all of our riders after the ride. If you don’t know about Avalon, they are a spectacular neighbor for the shop to have and I hope I can speak for the whole staff by saying we all eat there on a regular basis.
Another notable Detroit partner that helped us out is our City Council President Charles Pugh. Mr. Pugh helped us get the word out before the ride and then sent an assistant on the day of the ride to provide support. And yes, his assistant did show up on a bike!

I don’t have the final tallies from the day as to how many riders we had or how much money we made, but hopefully another collective member can update us all on that soon. Until then, I wanted to send out a thanks to everyone that was part of the ride!

- jason x

Bike Give-a-Way the final tally

jasonx — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:54:10 +0000

Hey everyone,
This will be the last post I make on our “Freedom Bike Give-a-Way.” Our last pick up day was yesterday where we gave away the rest of the bikes we had built up. We do have some 20″ and smaller bikes in our warehouse that would take some considerable mechanic time, so look for another bike give-a-way in the future.

Last night after we gave the last bike away, Jack did a count from the whole week. We gave away 123 bikes! So that is 123 more kids learning to ride in the Detroit area. There were plenty of families that said their children would be sharing bikes, so the number of kids riding now is probably even higher! Hopefully many of them will come back participate in the Youth Earn-a-Bike or Mechanics in Training program when they get older.

I’d like to thank all the organizations and individuals that got vouchers out to those that needed them as well so those that came to assist with the bike pick up days. Also, there were many hours of hard work in extreme heat with no air conditioning for our families, volunteers, allies and mechanics in training who did an amazing job.
When a group of committed people get together, good things can happen. Remember this is just one of hundreds of positive stories about Detroit that the national news will never tell. Thank you everyone.

Also, if you have a youth bike in your basement that isn’t being used anymore – bring it to us so we can help it find a good home. The best times to drop off donations are during our volunteer nights (Wednesdays and Thursday 6pm-8pm). Bring them to our Back Alley Bikes entrance (first alley West of Cass on MLK).

- Mx. Jason

Bike Give-a-Way update!

jasonx — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:42:10 +0000

Hello Everyone,
I apologize for not being more clear in my previous messages out to the community about where to get vouchers and how to redeem them. We also had our first Give-a-Way pick up time today, so let me recap how that went and what the next steps are:
Today, we gave away 85 bikes to kids that needed them! We had a lot of volunteers to help get that done, as well as a bunch of families who toughed it out waiting in a long line in the summer sun. Thank you to everyone that made today work so well! These 85 bikes were most of the fleet that we had completed for the give-a-way. However, this doesn’t mean we are out of bikes yet!
The next pick up date is Thursday July 8th from 4pm-7pm. We already have about 20 bikes ready for kids and in between now and then we will be building up more. So if you are still holding a voucher that means a few things:
- We still have bikes to give out, so don’t be discouraged from coming on Thursday to find a bike for you child.
- We cannot guarantee a bike for your child just because you have a voucher – we only have a limited number of sizes and if we don’t have the right size for your child, then there isn’t anything we can do. Also, when we are out of bikes, we are out.
- We need you to bring your child along with the voucher to receive a bike. We do this so we can size the bike to fit your child. This will increase the chances of them riding the bike once you take it home.
- We have a small amount of vouchers left that can be picked up at The Hub Bike Shop, 3611 Cass Avenue, Detroit. You can pick them up on Tuesday or Wednesday from 10am-6pm. When we are out of vouchers we are out, we can’t give out more than we’ve printed. We will not be giving out vouchers after this Wednesday. There are already more vouchers out there than bikes to give out.
- To redeem the voucher you need to pick up on Thurs from 4-7pm or Fri from 4-7pm. The pick up is in our Back Alley Bikes Space. The entrance is located behind our shop; go to the first alley West of Cass on MLK Blvd and you should see a sign saying “Back Alley Bikes”
- This is a first come first serve program. We had to turn some people away today who will return on Thursday and get first priority. After that we will assist families in the order they arrive. Again, when we are out of bikes, we are out of bikes.
- If your child is too tall or too old for the give-a-way and they want a bike, they should register for our Youth Earn-a-Bike program. To register, you should email jack@thehubofdetroit.org. Just like the give-a-way having a great response, so has the Youth Earn-a-Bike program. Please give Jack some time to respond.
- This is an all volunteer effort to get donated bikes, fix them up, organize them, and get them out to the kids that need them. It takes a lot, it is really hot out and we’re all tired. So thank you for your patience with this program. The response has been overwhelming, amazing and awesome.

Thanks everyone,
Jason

Bike Give-a-Way update for voucher holders and bike builders

jasonx — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:48:48 +0000

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster of rad people really wanting to get kids on bikes! The response to get vouchers has been overwhelming which is great! But because of this we need some help and understanding:
For those of you with vouchers or are trying to get vouchers for a bike: There are already more vouchers passed out than there are bikes. This is a great problem to have because it helps us get more kids on bikes. In the past we have had vouchers not be used because sometimes we run out of very small bikes for 5 year olds or the 8 years that show up are really tall so we don’t have bikes big enough for them. It simply is the nature of giving away used bikes to a wide range of rapidly growing children that some vouchers aren’t used.
With that all in mind, if you have a voucher please come to find a bike for your child, nephew, neighbor, or friend. I just want it to be clear that this Give-a-Way is on a first come first serve basis. If you don’t have a voucher and a child with you, a bike will not be given to you. Also, if we are out of bikes, there is nothing we can do.
For those of you looking to help us build bikes (or donate them): As I said above, we have a lot of vouchers out there, so we would like to build up as many kids bikes as we are able to. Today (June 24th) we are having a long build day going on from Noon-8pm. Next week we will be meeting on Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm-8pm to work on building more bikes. If you have any mechanical skills, please come help us fix up these bikes and get them back into the hands of kids looking to get moving!
If you don’t have the mechanical knowledge but have a bike in the basement that someone in your family has long outgrown, consider bringing it by the shop – we’ll find it a good home!

Big thanks to The Hub collective, staff and volunteers who have already made a good number of bikes ready to go! Keep on ~~truck’n~~ bike’n!

NEWS UPDATE part 2: Now Hiring – Youth Educator

jasonx — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:21:55 +0000

This summer is already here at the HUB. We are BUSY! This week is the last week for kids in Detroit Public Schools which means we are going to get even more kids around the shop than we already have. This is great! Also, we have news of a shop in Southwest that some kids are starting up and getting underway along with some schools on the north side that want to start bike clubs. With this much going on we need to hire a youth educator.

This job will include working with youth off site at their schools to help start up shops and educating kids on how to fix up their bikes, working with our Mechanics in Training at our shop and being around on Saturdays for our Youth Earn-a-Bike sessions.

So if you have bike mechanical knowledge, experience with youth and like doing both together then send a resume as quick as you can to jack(at)thehubofdetroit.org
This is a very last minute posting that we need help getting the word out about since we would like to start interviewing at the end of the week!

NEWS UPDATE part 1: Youth Bike Give-a-Way July 3rd!

jasonx — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:13:21 +0000

Hey everyone, I could write about the upcoming youth bike give-a-way, but I already did, here is the press release:

Free Children’s Bikes Given Away on July 3rd: Built by the Whole World.

In June 2010, the Second United States Social Forum is taking place in Detroit with the motto, “Another World is Possible, Another US is necessary.” People from all over the world are descending on Detroit to work on projects and unlike other conferences, leave a lasting impact.

The HUB of Detroit is partnering with folks visiting the city to fix up their backlog of used children’s bikes (20” and smaller) for a Bike Give-A-Way event. The children’s bike will be given away on:

Saturday, July 3rd from Noon-4pm

Thursday, July 8th from 4pm-7pm

Friday, July 9th from 4pm-7pm

At these times, families with vouchers can bring their child (9 years old and younger) to come pick out a bike and get it sized up to take home.

The 4th of July weekend is a celebration of independence in our country and the bicycle is often a sign of freedom. When they first came out, bicycles were freedom of independent travel for women who would otherwise have to travel by foot or with a male companion by horse and buggy. Other people use bicycles to declare their freedom from petroleum independence. Many children find their bikes to be their first exploring partner into the freedom of being outside and being active! For these reasons, Saturday, July 3rd, is a great day for a child to take home a free bike.

If you know of any families who cannot afford a bike for their young one or work for an organization that helps out families, please contact the HUB to get vouchers to pass out. The child receiving a bicycle must be present with the voucher to receive a bike.

If you would like to help build up bikes for the Give-A-Way event, please come to any the HUB’s volunteer nights in June. Volunteer nights are every Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm-8pm in our Back Alley Bikes Space. During the Social Forum on the 23rd and 24th the HUB will extend “volunteer nights” to be noon-8pm. If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact, Jason(at)thehubofdetroit.org.

If you have a child ages 10-16 years old, they may be eligible to get a free bike through the HUB’s Earn-A-Bike program. For more information about that program, please contact jack(at)thehubofdetroit.org.

Adult Mechanic Class, Next Session Starts June 13th!

jasonx — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:09:56 +0000

Hello Everyone,
Real quick since this news is coming in late:
Our next session of the Adult Mechanics Class is starting on Sunday, June 13th. The class is for folks 18 years old and older. There are eight session that take place every Sunday from 2pm-4pm in our Back Alley Bikes Space. This session of classes will run every Sunday starting on the 13th and going to August 5th (with a break on July 4th).
The cost of the class is whatever donation you want to give. We just ask that you attend as many classes as possible and register first.
How do you register for a class? Simple, just email me (jason[at]thehubofdetroit.org) while raising your right hand and promising you won’t miss any classes.

- jason

Class Schedule:
June 13th: Fixing Flats
June 20th: Brakes
June 27th: Drivetrain I
July 11th: Drivetrain II
July 18th: Bearings: Hubs
July 25th: Bearings: Bottom Brackets
August 1st: Bearings: Headsets
August 8th: Wheel Truing

New news about volunteering!

jasonx — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:04:21 +0000

Hello everyone,
This is Jason, your favorite local bicycle shop/education/volunteer/community/culture center coordinator. I really appreciate everyone’s patience with me as I try to make the huge amount of things we do more organized and understandable. As a collectively run space that is put together through volunteer efforts (I proudly don’t get a pay check here), sometimes change takes time.
Anyway, with that disclaimer and thanks out of the way, I would like to present a change to our “volunteer meeting” schedule. Before, we were having volunteer meetings on the first Wednesday and Thursdays of the month at 5pm. These weren’t working for most volunteers and these weren’t working for us. Most of all, they weren’t working for new volunteers that often walked into them without any sort of context of what volunteer nights are all about.
To fix all of these problems we will now have separate volunteer meetings and new volunteer orientations. So the first Wednesday of the month we will not be having “regular” volunteer time. Instead:
- From 6pm-7pm we will be having a new volunteer orientation. This is an hour for people who haven’t volunteered with us before to see the shop, ask questions, sign up for the allyship program and to find out where they can best fit into our organization.
- From 7pm-8pm we will be having our volunteer meeting. At a later time we hope more people can show up. Also, at these meetings we will set priorities for the whole month that will help dictate what goes on during volunteer times.

I’m really hoping these changes will create an environment that gives volunteers more of a voice. This will make volunteer nights a place that works for volunteers by volunteers. Also, these will only be the first Wednesday of the month. The first Thursday of the month will be “normal” volunteer nights.

Our first attempt at this new format with be June 2nd. If you haven’t volunteered at the HUB before and are thinking about coming for the first time, we won’t stop you from showing up on a Wednesday or Thursday night, but it is highly recommended that you show up on the 2nd at 6pm if you can because this will give you a better foot in the door. Also, if you have volunteered with us before but you still have questions or think you could benefit from this orientation. Please come!
If you have any questions, let me know. (jason[at]thehubofdetroit[dot]org)

See you soon!
- Mx. Jason

May Volunteering

jasonx — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:11:52 +0000

Hello everyone!
Spring is so beyond here and I’m really excited about not freezing to death everytime I work upstairs in Back Alley Bikes. I think you all feel the same. So now that we are in full bloom, here are a few things I want to put out there for our volunteers to know about.

New Publications
If you haven’t seen it already, we have the New “Volunteer Booklet” for 2010. I (Jason) am trying to get more organized as a volunteer coordinator and make sure everyone is informed on all the opportunities they have besides hanging out with me on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is a work in progress and I appreciate all the feedback I’ve been getting from people on how to make this work better.
Anyway, back to the volunteer booklet. If you still don’t get volunteering at the HUB (because there is a lot of things we do) feel free to pick up a copy. Or, grab one for your friend that isn’t sure what we are all about before they come out to volunteer!

The other publication fresh off the press is the “HUB of Detroit Ally Program”. This little booklet tells you how to become an “ally” of the shop, how to maintain your ally status and what perks you get by becoming an ally. If that sentence made no sense to you, then this booklet may be the one you need to read.

Both publications are available upstairs in the literature rack in Back Alley Bikes. Hopefully I can make it available electronically but I don’t have that much control and know how over our website.

Trailer Building Opportunity
At the collective meeting on 4/26 Joey brought up that he was going to be building a few bike trailers. He blocked off some time on Saturday May 15th to do this. If you are interested in cleaning up the space, collecting materials and assisting Joey build these trailers – give him an email at joey(at)thehubofdetroit(dot)org.

Volunteer Meetings
Next week (May 5th & 6th) will be the first Wednesday and Thursdays of the month. From 5pm-6pm come by volunteer night early for the monthly volunteer meetings! Unless people would like to discuss other issues, we could talk about the upcoming US Social Forum and how to take part through the shop. Another good subject is how to keep our workspace more organized (as in, being able to find tools when you look for them!). We recently did a tool inventory of both our retail shop space and Back Alley Bikes. So now would be the time to let us know what tools you’ve been missing out on upstairs.

I hope you start the new month this Saturday celebrating workers’ rights on May Day!
See ya’ll around the shop soon!
- Jason

Registration Open for Mechanic Class Starting 4/11!

jasonx — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:37:34 +0000

Hey everyone,
Our first Adult Mechanic Class ended on March 21st! We are taking a break in between sessions but while we rest for a minute we are also getting ready for the next eight week session beginning on Sunday, April 11th!

Here is how it works. The class is for “adults” (18 years old and up) and is completely donation based. You can pay a huge donation or nothing at all – either way we are still going to teach you about bikes. If you donate at least $40 you’ll get a sweet multi-tool at the end of the session. However, even if you pay zero dollars we ask that you register in advance and come to as many of the eight week sessions as possible so we have enough work stands and supplies each week. The session is made up of 8 classes all on Sundays from 2-4pm upstairs in our Back Alley Bikes space.

Here is a run down of the schedule:
April 11th – Fixing Flats and picking out bikes to work on
April 18th – Brake systems
April 25th – Drivetrain I
May 2nd – Drivetrain II
May 9th – Bearing Systems (Hubs)
May 16th – Bearing Systems (Bottom Brackets)
May 23rd – Bearing Systems (Headsets)
May 30th – Wheel Truing and catch up

To register for the class feel free to email jason(at)thehubofdetroit(dot)org or angie(at)thehubofdetroit(dot)org with your contact information or any questions you have. Or you can come into the shop during business hours and sign up.

See ya’ll soon,
Jason X