Pedals2People Blog

Paint-A-Helmet, April 17th

Liza — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:56:00 GMT

Paint-A-Helmet is a Spokane-wide Kiwanis service project that donates properly-fitted bicycle helmets to children and gives them the opportunity to decorate their helmets to encourage wearing them.

Start Time: 8:00 AM End Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Fair Grounds

A great family event.

Ladies Mechanics Classes Offered Again This May

Liza — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:12:00 GMT

Back by popular demand, our ladies classes will be offered again this May:

Tuesdays, May 4, 11, 18, 25

6:30--8:30 pm

Introductory, Mtn Brakes, Road Brakes, and Shifting/Derailleur classes

Each class will include discussion and a hands-on lab--a perfect opportunity to ask questions and cover mechanics in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Register online here! $10 discount if you register for the 4-class series.

Donate Your Old Bike

Liza — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:00:00 GMT

If you have a bike hanging around that is not in use, that clutters up your life, please consider donating it to us. It's basically spring, and our refurbished bikes are selling like hotcakes, and we would really appreciate some more bicycles.

Bike donations are the foundation for teaching our volunteers by giving them something to overhaul and fine tune, and by allowing them to familiarize themselves with bicycles through stripping them down and organizing the parts into our used parts buckets.

Please, we could use a few good bikes. Read this list first, as we have very limited space and can't accept all bike donations. Thanks!

Tall Bike

Liza — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:23:00 GMT

Well, it's a tall-person bike: 68 cm Schwinn World for sale at the P2P shop. Come check it out if you are tall and are looking for a cool, retro road bike.

Thursday and Fridays 2-6, Saturday 11-6--1802 E Sprague

Google Maps Adds New Biking Layer

Liza — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:20:00 GMT

So awesome! Check it out and let Google know how to improve it and add things that are still missing. Luckily, they will listen, as evidenced by the addition of this feature ito Googlemaps in the first place, due to the feedback from 50,000 cyclists. Here's some info from the Business and Tech section of the Seattle times:

The "Bicycling" layer coming to Google Maps isn't a technological tour de force, but it looks like a fun and useful feature for cyclists, especially those visiting a new area and looking for places to ride. It's also been the most requested addition to Google Maps, with an online petition calling for bike routes drawing more than 50,000 signatures.

Google worked with the national Rails to Trails Conservancy to add the group's trail maps, combining them with publicly available bike-route information.

But the maps are still incomplete. Google hopes users will help fill in the gaps, suggest routes and make corrections using the "report a problem" feature.

"We really are thinking of all this data as a starter set," said Shannon Guymon, project manager for driving directions and lead on the bike routes.

Maps display three tiers of bike routes — bike trails such as the Burke Gilman, dedicated bike lanes on streets and roads, and roads without bike lanes that are appropriate for biking.

Ladies Night--Tuesday March 9

Liza — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:54:00 GMT

Come work on your bike with us. I'm bringing my old Rockhopper to lube the chain and maybe overhaul the rear hub.

You have the time and interest; we'll help you out. Tuesday 7-9pm, 1802 E Sprague

Bidding Starts Today

Liza — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:44:00 GMT

Start your bidding!

Today is the first day of the silent auction for the New Belgium cruiser. A unique bike that's perfect for the Centennial trail, FBC rides, or cruising around campus or your neighborhood. Bidding starts at $250. Come in to our shop and sign up on the silent auction sheet. The auction will end on April 9th. 1802 E Sprague--open Thu/Fri 2-6pm and Saturday 11-6.

New Belgium Bike and P2P Fundraiser

Liza — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:44:00 GMT

New Belgium donated one of their cool cruisers to P2P for our fundraising event coming up in April. Sweet!

I am told that the bikes are never sold. NB commisions a small number of them each year and they are given to employees after thier fiirst year of service or donated to charitable causes. It's hard to find any pictures of the 2010 bike online, as they are sort of special. So if you want this bike, stay tuned. We'll be auctioning it off soon.

And thanks to NB for helping us out!

Wheel Class

Liza — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:39:00 GMT

This is the last night of our wheelbuilding series. Tuesday and Wednesday everyone laced, tensioned, trued their wheels. Tons of info, and it was good to practice the same set of skills on a second and consecutive day. Tonight, they'll go over repairing and diagnosing wheel. I'll try to get some pics up from tonight's class.

We'll offer the wheelbuilding class again since it was such a hit. If you have other class suggestions, send me an email,.

Cash for Clunkers--Last Week!

Liza — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:27:00 GMT

This is the last week for you to get down to Two Wheel Transit to donate your old bike. This is a sweet deal for a few reasons:

it gets that old bike out of your basement or garage. you get an early jump on spring cleaning so you can have more fun this rest of this winter and spring.
you are working for a good cause. your bike will go to one of 2 local charities and will help further their missions of helping people and working towards a healthier and happier community.
you receive a credit towards that new bike you've been thinking about but haven't committed to buying yet. so, you'll have money credited to your new purchase, plus room in your garage for your new wheels.
what you give, multiplies. it comes back to you, bringing joy, gratitude, and deep appreciation from US! we love you.

Wheelbuilding--1 Opening

Liza — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:29:00 GMT

Feb 23-25 we will be offering a wheelbuilding class at our shop on east Sprague. There is still time to register. Just email me if you're interested.

The class will be taught by local bike advocate John Speare and local framebuilder Glen Copus. If you've always wanted to figure out how wheels work, and how to build/repair them, take this class!

Car-Free Days This Summer

Liza — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:40:00 GMT

Did you hear the news or read the article in the paper today? Well, Spokane is giving bikes, pedestrains and other non-car-centered folks the right-of-way this summer. July 11 and August 22, on Howard from Riverfront Park to Corbin Park will be closed to motorized traffic. The effect will be a car-free utopia or maybe like a giant blockparty. Bring your stilts, hula hoops, bikes, rollerskates. Or walk your dogs, bring a frisbee to toss around, maybe do some tai chi in the street. What? Yes! Just come and show your support for this event this summer--Mark you calendars!

Link to a what this could look like.

Cash for Clunkers--Going Strong!

Liza — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:39:00 GMT

Cash for Clunkers is still going strong until the 15th of this month!

If you don't know about this program, here it is in a nutshell:

Bring your old bike to Two Wheel Transit downtown.
They will evaluate it and determine its worth and what organization to donate it to. Since Two Wheel doesn't sell used bikes, your old bike will either be donated to us or the the Union Gospel Mission.
Two Wheel will give you a credit towards the purchase of a new Trek or Gary Fisher bicycle

If you already know about this Cash for Clunkers, let me add that this has been a great opportunity for us to further our mission of empowering people and building healthier communities. Bicycles, which are donated to us and get refurbished, are sold at a low-cost or on a sliding-scale for folks in need. Our bikes have helped people with mobility and health concerns. One client is looking forward to intergrating her bike into her life. She says it will help her stay clean and sober, lose a few pounds, and work off some stress. Bikes can change the world, one person and one ride at a time.

P2P Memberships

Liza — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:22:00 GMT

Pedals2People is a community-supported organization, and it's through your patronage and volunteer help that our free-tune up events, classes, and self-service shop is made possible.

This year Pedals2People is offering two new ways for you to show your support: memberships and sponsorship. As a member, you can use our self-service shop with unlimited hours. It's $50 and expires in a year. As a donor/sponsor, your $200 makes you a lifetime member of P2P. Your membership and shop-time never expires, and your name or business info is listed on the friends page of the P2P website. You also get a t-shirt :)

These awesome ways to keep the bike movement happening in Spokane and to support your local self-service bike shop and resource center. Please consider becoming a member or sponsor!

Ladies Night This Tuesday

Liza — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:19:00 GMT

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!