Category: Shop News

June Hours will be as follows:

Sundays: June 3, 10, and 17 – Noon to 4 PM (closed June 24)

Tuesdays: June 5, 12, 19, and 26 – 7 PM to 9 PM

Thursdays: June 7, 14, and 28 (closed June 21)

July Hours will be as follows:

Sundays: July 1, 5, and 29 – Noon to 4 PM (closed July 15 and 22)

Tuesdays: July 3, 10, 24, and 31 (closed July 17)

Thursdays: July 5, 12, and 26 (closed July 19)

The bicycle giveaway count is now 219.  We reopen our list June 1 and will take requests until the list reaches 60 names.  At that time we close the list while we work down the backlog.  Benita is training hard for the US National Speed Skating Championships, and Mike and Benita are back racing the tandem at the Farm Dog Time Trials.  MMRB will again sponsor the most improved male and female rider awards, as well as the Spirit of the Dog award.  MMRB is also sponsoring the women’s prize list at Farm Dog.  Women’s fields will pay the same as the men’s.  Our volunteers are really doing a fantastic job and enjoy picking on each other.  Infractions such as tool dropping and double butting are called to attention, as well as whether we squandered or merely wasted an hour listening to “Car Talk.”  So much fun at the shop – if you haven’t been there lately, don’t be a stranger.  Stop by to say hi.

Here is the May shop schedule:

Tuesdays – May 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 – Shop Open 7 PM to 9 PM

Thursdays – May 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 – Shop Open 7 PM to 9 PM

Sundays – May 6, 13, and 27 – Shop Open Noon to 4 PM.   Closed on May 20.

We just completed our first 2012 class for Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness.  Four people received bicycles at the class.  Our 2012 count is up to 129 bicycles given away!  That is more than one a day.  We are launching a new partnership with an organization that collects bicycles, fixes them, and gives them away on Indian reservations.  They will be joining us at some of the recycling events where they will take all the kid size bicycles.

We will take off the third weekend in May to ride the English 3-Speed Tour of Lake Pepin.  This is one of the most fun bicycle tours ever.  If you Google “English 3 Speed Tour of Lake Pepin” you will get to their web site, which beautifully describes this tour.  In preparation for the Tour, we held English Day at the shop on April 15.  We had 10 English bicycles for sale, and enjoyed tea and biscuits.  Afterward we rode our English steeds over to Merlin’s Rest Pub in Minneapolis for some fish and chips, washed down with some fine English beer.  Weight training.

Before closing, we give a huge shout-out to our “regular” volunteers – Marie, Bill, Kendra, Tom L, Tom Y, Anne, Zach, Gary, and Bob.  You all make the store a fun place to be and we could not do the work without you.  There is always room for more volunteers, so stop by the store and see how you can join the fun.  Till next time, Cheerio.

Due to overwhelming demand we have had to close the waiting list for bicycles.  We have received about 70 requests since April 2.  Based on our experience, it is very difficult to manage the waiting list when it grows to over 60 people.  We are instructing potential recipients to check back around June 1 to see if we have reopened the list.  Our plan is to reopen it when the wait list drops below 25 people.  We don’t like to turn people away, but when people wait longer than 90 days, many of them change their phone numbers and we are unable to locate them to tell them that their bicycles are ready.   Capping the list at 60 people seems the most reasonable way to deal with this issue.

We will not have Wednesday Work Night on April 18.  The next Wednesday Work Night will be on April 25.  Please note the start time will be 7 PM, not 6.  We are giving a class for Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness from 5 PM to 7 PM on the 25th.  We can use a volunteer mechanic to assist Mr. Michael with the hands-on portion of the class, which consists of each student removing the rear wheel of his/her bicycle, removing the tire and tube, then putting it all back together again.  Let me know if you are interested – call 651-641-1037.  Thanks.

MMRB will host English Day at the Shop on Sunday, April 15 between Noon and 4 PM.  We will make available our stash of English bicycles and parts for sale, and will serve tea and biscuits.  After the store closes, join us for a leisurely bicycle ride ending up with dinner at Merlin’s Rest English Pub on Lake Street in Minneapolis.  Tweed attire is encouraged but not required.  However, English steeds are a must.

The April schedule is as follows:

Sundays – April 1, 15, 22, and 29 – Noon to 4 PM (closed April 8 for Easter)

Tuesdays – April 3, 10, 17, and 24 – 7 PM to 9 PM

Thursdays – April 5, 12, 19, and 26 – 7 PM to 9 PM

We have not yet finalized the Wednesday Work Night schedule for April.

Other events are as follows:

Stockholm Blue Bike repair trip – April 6 and 7

Coon Rapids Green Expo – Saturday, April 14

Fridley Recycling Event – Saturday, April 21

Bike Drive at St. Peter School in North St. Paul – Friday, April 27

Andover Recycling Event – Saturday, April 28

We also will be scheduling the first class for Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness on April 25 at 5 PM, followed by a Wednesday Work Night.

The bicycle give away count is up to 93 for the year.  We are working on the last wait list bicycle.  However, the wait list reopens on Monday, April 2, so we expect a lot of requests to pour in all at once.  April will be a very busy month for us.

MMRB is participating in the first-ever Great Re-Use Race.  This event is open to just about anyone who doesn’t work for one of the participating organizations.  Registration is already open.  Racers must visit a number of businesses and/or their web sites and answer questions about them, then get their passport stamped.  The race ends on Sunday, April 22.  There will be great prizes for the winners.  We hope this event brings lots of new customers through our doors.

MMRB will have a booth again at this year’s Coon Rapids Green Expo.  This is a fun event and is open to the public.  There are lots of vendors there with freebies and money-saving offers.  Mr. Michael will do a program on bicycle safety and maintenance and be on hand all day to answer your maintenance questions.  The event is from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Coon Rapids City Office Building.

Our volunteers continue to amaze us.  Several of them opened the store for us while we were on vacation and did a great job.  Others came to the shop and worked on bicycles and also did some cleaning while we were gone.  It was a great surprise for us to come back to such a neat shop!  Thanks to all our core group – Marie, Bill, Kendra, Anne, Tom, Bob, Gary, Carl, and Tom L.  I hope I haven’t left anyone out.  You all rock.

The March shop schedule is as follows:

Sunday – March 4 – noon until 4 PM (closed March 11, 18, and 25)

Tuesdays – March 6 and 27 – 7 PM to 9 PM (closed March 13 and 20)

Thursdays – March 1, 8, and 29 – 7 PM to 9 PM (closed March 15 and 22)

 

Wednesday work nights are March 7 and 28 from 6 PM until 9 PM.  If no one shows up by 8 PM, we go home.  The store will be closed from March 11 through 25 for our vacation.

Due to our vacation and spring preparation, we will not be taking any bicycle requests during the month of March.  We will reopen our list on Monday, April 2.  This should give us time to clear all the current requests on the list and have some bicycles built in advance of the rush.  We don’t want to get so far in the hole like last year, when we had around 90 requests by mid-May.

We have given away 79 bicycles so far in 2012.  That is ahead of last year’s pace.   We have such a great new group of volunteer mechanics that we have almost kept up with the requests.  They are a huge blessing to us.

The shop made a small profit last year.  We will be reinvesting the money in the business.  We have just painted our bathroom, and will be installing our new exterior sign.  We also have been very busy cleaning the shop and organizing the parts.  We still have a way to go, but at least we no longer have boxes of unsorted stuff sitting all around my desk.  A special thanks to Michelle and her volunteer group for pairing all the pedals and grips.

In April we will be part of a couple of exciting events!  We will be a stop on the Great Re-Use Race, and also will have a booth and do a bicycle maintenance demonstration at the Coon Rapids Green Expo.  Watch this space for details so you can participate.

 

February hours are as follows:

Sundays – February 5 and 26 – noon to 4 PM (closed February 12 for Blaine Velo Swap)

Tuesdays – February 7, 21, and 28 – 7 PM to 9 PM (closed February 14 for Valentine’s Day)

Thursdays – February 2, 9, 16, and 23 – 7 PM to 9 PM

We will be closed on Sunday, February 12 for the Blaine Velo Bike Swap at the Schwann Center at the National Sports Center in Blaine.  We will have a table there with lots of cool stuff for sale.  Doors open at 9 AM and the event runs until 2 PM.  We also will have an extra table for a benefit for Jamie McDonald, who is the owner of Sunrise Cyclery.  He and his family have had a very rough year, so it is time to show some love.  A bunch of indie bike shops have kicked in some cool merchandise for the table.  Proceeds from all merch on the table will be given to Jamie.  If you want to donate anything, contact me ASAP.

We have not decided yet if we will open on Sunday, February 19.  For now, assume we will be closed.  If we decide to open we will post here and on our Facebook page.

Right now we plan to have work night every Wednesday in February beginning at 6 PM and running until around 9 PM.  The shop is not open for sales, but volunteers may come to help.  Come to the back door of the store.

The bicycle count for January so far is 51!  That is our biggest January since we opened the store and gets us off to a roaring start.  We also sold enough stuff to make January rent, which in the bicycle business is fantastic.  Thanks to all our customers, especially the regulars whose purchases help us keep the doors open.  A huge thanks to our volunteers who helped us wipe out our wait list.  However, we got a bunch of requests over this past weekend so it is back up to about 12.  We are now trying to build bicycles to get ready for the spring rush, so we still want mechanics.  We hope to see you soon at the shop.

Wednesday Work Night is canceled for January 18.  Mr. Michael is feeling a bit under the weather and it is best for him to rest.  This does not impact the rest of the January schedule.

Friday, January 13 beginning at 6 PM and running until we finish the job, we will host the ultimate tear-down party.  The location is the Free Bikes 4 Kidz Maplewood location, which is in the old Goodwill building on White Bear Avenue just south of Highway 36.  There are over 100 bicycles, plus a big pile of wheels, that need to be taken apart.  We will recover any parts we can use.  When we are done, we plan to leave one pile of metal, one pile of tires/tubes, and one pile of trash.  We will bring some beer and bottled water, and buy some pizzas.  If you are coming, bring a snack to share.  We will provide the tools.  No mechanic skills are needed, so all you non-mechanics should volunteer at this one-night event.  If you need more information, shoot us an e-mail at [email protected] and we can answer your questions.