If you're a woman and you haven't been in to see our new self-service bike shop and community resource center, please come and visit! This Tuesday the 9th from 7-9pm would be a great time to stop by. In fact, bring your bike too if you want to make some adjustments to it, lube your chain, and in general give your wheels some TLC.

 John Gaz and I will be there to help out where needed. Even if you consider yourself bike illiterate, don't let that stop you. Pedals2People is a resource center, and we're here to help!

If you've ever wanted to build a set of bicycle wheels or to aquaint yourself with the craft (art?) of wheelbuilding, here is your chance. The P2P Wheelbuilding classes will cover lacing, tensioning and truing. Building wheels can be challenging, but I think you are up for it! We hope that these classes de-mystify wheelbuilding and allow you to tackle a new skill, maybe one that has elluded you before.

Bike advocate, John Speare, and local framebuilder, Glen Copus, will be teaching this three-part series on Feb 23-25 at our shop from 6:30-8:30pm. See our website to register online or call with questions, 842-6597

Please see John's blog for more details about the class.

Pedals2People is offering a Basic Bike Mechanics class on Wednesday, February 17. This is a great class for beginner mechanics or folks just interested in maintaining their bikes. The pace is relaxed. Instuction is hands-on, and there is time to answer your questions. We will cover a few things:

• Tires--looking at different types and flat repair
• Chains--cleaning and lubing
• Roadside repair--what to carry with you

You can register online. Just check our calendar first to make sure that room is available! Class is limited to 6 people.

We had great luck when we posted looking for a web developer. Now we're hoping a PR person can help our little org.
 
We have a lot going on and the only place we tell anyone about our events and classes is through this blog and web site.
 
We're looking for a person that can help us get the word on the street about what P2P does. The dream person would waltz in and take over our our entire PR story. They would create a monthly events poster and organize distribution with our volunteers. They would make sure our various events are showing up in the different published event calendars in the region, and they would create a monthly email notification to our email list. It's not a lot of work, and for a pro, it's trivial stuff, but we're tapped keeping everything going, so having a single, autonmous, smart owner for all this will really make a huge impact in our organization.

please email or call if you're interested: 842-6597 or pedals2people@gmail.com

Thanks to our friends for giving us a monitor and CPU--we love you!

The ladies classes are proving to be popular and filling fast. We have just one more opening. If you'd like to sign up for either bearings on Feb 10, brakes on March 3, or derailleurs and shifting on April 14th then call 842-6597 or email us at pedals2people@gmail.com. 

Classes are limited to 6 people, include info and a hands-on lab. 

Last night's class was awesome. John started off with some terminology, identifying wheels and components. Then the class moved right into removing rear wheels, tires, tubes, chains, disengaging brakes and putting everything back together. We also had comfort, road, and mountain bikes represented--great to see the different types of bikes and talk about the distinctions and merits of each.

A great start to our ladies class series. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Pics are here.

Think of P2P as part bike shop/part resource center. Will we fix your bike for you? No. Will we help you work on your bike? Yes! The first-ever ladies night at our shop on east Sprague was great Our friend and volunteer John Gaz gave a little 101 on patching flats and was around to answer questions. He guided only when needed--a nice balance of helping without doing; answering without telling :)

Please join us next month with your bike on February 9th. We can help you work on your bike and make adjustments, maybe provide that nudge to get you tackling new problems. Check out the pics.

Ladies night is tonight from 7-9. This open-shop event is free and is only open to women. There's is no instruction, but there will be a mechanic available to answer questions and to point you in the right direction. You will you make your own bike repairs and adjustments, and we'll be there to help.

Maybe you want to switch your clipless pedals to flat pedals, and you just need a wrench and a quick demo. Come on by! Do you need to adjust your seat and raise your handle bars for a more comfortable ride? Please stop by. Is your bike grimy from fall and winter riding, and you haven't gotten around to cleaning and lubing your chain lately? You guessed it--come to the shop tonight. This is a great opportunity if you don't want to commit to class and you just want to work on your own bike.

Bring your bike to the shop: 1802 E Sprague.

This event repeats every second Tuesday of the month.

We had a cancellation for this week's Ladies Bike Mechanics class, so we actually have room for one more student this Wednesday. Give me call if you'd like to participate in this class. Please DO NOT register online without contacting us first since our paypal button doesn't know when the class is full :)

Just email us at pedals2people@gmailcom or call 842-6597 to register-thanks!

We need shop rags! Do you have some old worn out tshirts? If you do, please bring them to our shop and we will cut them into shop rags. 

1802 E Sprague: open Th 2-6, Fri 2-6, Sat 11-6

Here are the latest of pictures of the shop, which is coming along nicely :)

Thanks to all who registered! If you're bummed you missed this month's class, we still have openings in the next 3 classes. We're also offering a ladies night on January 12th. Ladies Nights happen on the second Tuesday of each month. They are free and there's not maximum number, so show up if you are able.

Pedals2People, Union Gospel Mission, and local bike shop Two Wheel Transit are working together to put unused bicycles back to work for the good of the community with a Bike Cash for Clunkers program. Though specific to bicycles, the program is similar to the recent federally sponsored automotive cash-for-clunkers, with three important differences: It only pertains to bicycles, it is not funded by the government, and bikes that are mechanically sound will not be destroyed but reused.  

When you bring your used bike to Two Wheel Transit, they will assess each bike for safety and serviceability and issue an in-store credit varying from $25 - $100 toward the purchase price of any 2010 Trek or Gary Fisher bicycle at the store or in stock at Trek Bicycles.  The Spokane bicycle shop will then service and transport suitable bikes to the UGM or P2P based on our preferences and needs.   

While Union Gospel Mission and P2P have different missions, we're both dedicated to helping people. Getting affordable transportation is just one way that we help. Bikes increase people's freedom and mobility and can open the door to healthier lifestyle options. "A good bicycle can help meet the transportation and recreational needs of people...When you don't have a car and need to travel several miles, a bicycle is golden.”  says Dave Wall, Development Director of Union Gospel Missions. 

The Bike Cash for Clunkers program runs through February 15^th.  It is only available at Two Wheel Transit. A huge thanks to Two Wheel Transit for including us this great program! We can't wait to see some dusty old bikes become much needed transportation, transporting people from stuck to somewhere!

We're open this Thursday--come and visit us at our new location at 1802 E Sprague! Check out our used parts, refurbished bikes, or rent a workstand and tools to work your bike.

Here are our new hours:

Thursday 2 - 6

Friday 2 - 6

Saturday 11 - 6

P2P is set to open our new shop, but we still need a computer for our database and record keeping. Can you help us out? We're looking for a PC with XP operating system or newer. Monitor too please :)

Email and let us know if you have a one you'd like to donate--thanks! pedals2people@gmail.com