The October shop schedule is as follows:
Sundays – October 6, 13, and 27 – Shop Open Noon to 4 PM (closed October 20 unless the volunteers choose to open for us)
Tuesdays – October 1, 8, 22, and 29 – Shop Open 7 PM to 9 PM (closed October 15)
Thursdays – October 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 – Shop Open 7 PM to 9 PM (yes, we will be open on Halloween, come in to get your treat)
September has been a busy month for us. We did two recycling events plus a pickup at Coon Rapids and processed about 150 bicycles! Remodeling of the main shop space is almost complete. We still need an electrician (licensed in St. Paul) to run conduit to the ceiling so we can hook up the new lights. We also still need to fix up the display case and then remove the desk. I am trying to figure out how I will arrange things in the new checkout area. We also managed to find time to give away a number of bicycles, as well as have a class for DCEH. The overall bicycle count is just a few shy of 350 for the year. It looks like we won’t hit that target of giving away 1000 bicycles in 2013, but we still should end up over 600 by year’s end. We still have our Free Bikes For Kidz giveaway, Holiday Wishes, plus there are over 40 names on our wait list. For a little shop, we get a lot done.
Looking ahead to October, we have one recycling event at Fridley, most likely another pickup from Coon Rapids, and the completion of the main shop space remodeling. We also have scheduled our BLITZ! event for Holiday Wishes on Saturday, November 30. Here is a chance to help us fix a whole bunch of bicycles in a few hours. This is one of our most fun events of the year – we serve Mike’s famous home made apple pie, pumpkin pie, and lunch for all the volunteers. If you have any bicycle mechanic skills, we can use you that day, or, for that matter, any day when our store is open. All you need to do is stop by and ask if you can fix some bicycles. We will put you to work. Even if you are not a mechanic, please come by and say hello when you are in our neighborhood.