On Friday August 6th, a group of local bike activists, affiliated with Troy Bike Rescue will set out on a 7-day bike ride to Toronto. The group will be attending Bike!Bike! (http://bikebike.org), an annual international gathering of non-profit community bike projects. They will be taking the Erie canal trail route, crossing the border at Niagara Falls and on to Toronto. The group intends to ride back after the conference on a northern route, circumnavigating Lake Ontario.
As if an 820 mile journey was not enough of an adventure, some of the group will be riding "mutant" bikes - double decker tall bikes, or homemade extended bikes. The "Bike To BikeBike" armada will certainly be a sight to behold and the TBR volunteers hope to set a positive example of the possibilities of long-distance bicycle travel for the end of the oil-age.
If you want to see the group off, come to the TBR workshop at 51 3rd at 8AM on Friday 8/6.
this Saturday July 17th TBR is doing two community events:
we will be downtown for the Troy Farmers Market/Pig Out, from 9am-1pm.
come find us on River St. near Monument Square, where we'll be distributing info, accepting bike (or $) donations, pumping tires + patching flats, and hopefully offering our new t-shirts!
and at 1pm we will move north to hold a mobile bike repair clinic at 101st Street & 5th/6th Avenue in north central Troy, at the empty lot across from the Missing Link Street Ministry.
we'll have a full set of tools and bike stands, ready to help realign derailleurs, tighten brakes, patch tires, replace broken parts... you name it.
For those that did not know, No Chains No Brains was a downhill gravity bike race that happened in troy on january 26th. Its true organizers are unknown, but the flyers came into the shop and it sounded like fun so we had at it. Rumor has it another one will be happening sooner than later, so keep your eyes peeled and your imagination running for your next downhill creation.
the course was from the field house at RPI on Peoples Ave., through the light at Peoples&Burdett, and finishing 75 or so feet away from the 15th&Peoples intersection. It was surprisingly NOT scary or too rough of a hill and people of all comfort levels on a bike handled it with grace and ease.
People showed up with normal commuter bikes, and others with freak weirdo bikes made in alleyways. Great bicycle love flowed from the heavens and rained down on us in droves. It was fantastic to see everyone getting off their bikes at the end of the race with huge smiles on their faces like little kids in a soap box derby race. It is important for us as bike organizers to remember that although the bicycle is a weapon of a revolution, it is also a facilitator of warm fuzzy feelings and being a kid again. Being free again.
The Troy Bike Rescue was voted to be featured in the Contemporary Art Centers bi-monthly starving artists brunch!
YOU ARE INVITED!
Brunch attendees will get to see an array of recycled bicycle mutations ranging from utilitarian cargo bike prototypes to the more freakish triple tall bike and “crotch-rocket coaster”. During brunch there will be an opportunity to check out and test ride these creations and hear TBR representatives discuss the history and future of their projects with accompanying photos.
Bring a friend AND BRING YOUR BIKE! After brunch, TBR will lead a short ride from the CAC to bomb the best hill in Troy!
Erin Colligan, a beloved member of the Troy community, avid cyclist and talented stylist at Indigo Organic Salon on River Street, was struck by a motorist on May 24 while riding her bike through the intersection of Hoosick St. and 6th Ave.
Erin suffered serious injuries including 4 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken shoulder blade, 2 fractured spinal processes and a broken clavicle which required a steel plate to surgically repair the bone, found to have snapped out her neck, protruding the skin. Thankfully, Erin was wearing her helmet - found to have cracked in half when her head hit the pavement - which saved her life.
Erin is the mother and primary caregiver of her 2 daughters, Betsey - age 3 and Riley - 8 mos. As a result of these injuries, Erin will not be able to care for her children for 8+ weeks while she recovers. She will also not be able to return to work as a stylist during her busiest season of the year given this recovery time. The financial toll on this family will be immense.
WAYS TO HELP:
- Donate Money: Tight Knit has set up a donation link for friends and fellow community members to contribute funds in support of Erin during this tremendously difficult time. Erin has a mortgage to pay and children to feed and with no income, life is truly very hard right now. Please give in any amount you can - all donations made through the link below will go directly to Erin and her children.
- Raise Awareness: A bike ride en masse is currently being organized and will take place in the streets of Troy later this summer. Please stay tuned for details on time, location and how to sign up. "Share the Road" t-shirts, designed by Don Naylor Art & Design, will be sold during our Saturday market to raise additional funds for Erin.
- Share the Road: If you are a motorist, please be conscious and respectful of cyclists on the road. The same laws that apply to drivers of motor vehicles also apply to riders of bicycles in New York State. Reduce speed when encountering cyclists. Don't tailgate, especially in bad weather. Give cyclists space and yield to them when they have the right of way. Pass with care. Have respect. BICYCLES ARE VEHICLES. SHARE THE ROAD. Had a motorist not taken the right of way from Erin, she would never have been hit.
a quick note to let internet travellers know that Learn & Earn is cancelled this evening (6/16) because we will be holding a volunteers meeting in the shop. have a good day and hope to see you soon at TBR!
May 15th, 2010 at 12pm
Meet at Troy Bike Rescue at 11:30 - 51 3rd St. in downtown
Does your bike need a quick spring tune-up?
Show up at 11 and TBR can help!
Troy Bike Rescue and Community Gardens of the Capital District are
collaborating to host a fun and educational bicycle tour of Troy's
Community Gardens. Join us as we traverse the nooks and neighborhoods
of Collar City from South to North, visiting ten gardens and the new
Produce Project, a Youth-Powered urban farm. Tour guides and guests
along the way will tell the story of community gardens in Troy and beyond.
This will be a great ride, and the weather forecast looks promising! We
will visit 12 gardens in a variety of neighborhoods. The ride will end
at The Sanctuary for Independent Media with a Q&A with CGCD and TBR
representatives as well as fresh greens and refreshments. Participants
will receive a free seed packet courtesy of Collected Seed Farm.
We hope you can make it!
It happened! 3 months of organizing paid off with a successful convergence of community cylcling activists in Troy. The growing local bike community met up with other builders of bike culture who had travelled from Ithaca, Providence, Worcester, Plattsburgh, New Haven, NYC, Montpelier, and Burlington. We shared skills, we shared food, we rodeo'd, we tall-biked, and we had a all around great time networking!(including sunday's tr-icounty ride, pictured below).
HUGE THANKS to everyone who made this a weekend to remember, and for sending me your digitized memories. KEEP SENDING STUFF IF YOU HAVEN'T YET -- chris DOT gang AT gmail DOT com!!
TBR is a collective of bicycle enthusiasts committed to removing bikes from the waste stream, and putting them back into use. Join us as we build bicycle community through hands-on education.
