All, last week was a little hectic. The keyboard broke for the sign-in computer, leaving us with only pen and paper to track visitors. It was fixed by the end of the week, which was good. They also replaced my damaged monitor, keyboard, and mouse. (Thanks, IT!) It was also so hot on Friday that I experimented with keeping the garage doors closed, and while that sounds worse, it was in reality a better experience: less sun reflecting off the driveway, and we cranked the fans to simulate the air movement. It got to 91° inside but everyone seemed okay with it. I filled the water cooler with ice water, too, and that helped.

Our visitor numbers, including the paper sheets: 100 for the week. Sales: $1,110.60 total in sales; 5 refurbished bikes for $745; zero B-a-Bs; 3 memberships for $90; 13 tires/tubes (used and new) for $56.  
Late last week Scott, from Parking, stopped by to discuss the bicycle warehouse situation: he’s got 540 or so bikes in the warehouse. He tagged 1,300 for removal. So almost 800 bikes were removed from the tagging period to the confiscation period. That’s pretty good! And it made me feel a little better about the abandoned bike problem on campus. I will be in touch with him this week to go cherry-pick the good bikes out of the warehouse and get a better idea of what’s in there.

I replaced the Altgeld fix-it pump hose again, which is at least the second or third time I’ve had to do this since we’ve upgraded. It is unfortunately the kind of damage, I think, that could easily be avoided with a little more care by users. But short of a some kind of massive public awareness campaign, there’s no changing people’s attitudes towards simple, free, outdoor machines like that.

This week I will coordinate with Scott from parking for a warehouse visit, direct Kameron (the H.S. student) on morning volunteer tasks, build bikes, and continue to work on student scheduling for the impending Fall semester.

Sincerely,

• Jake Benjamin
  Campus Bike Center Manager