All, Feast or famine over here last week. Beginning of the week we were slammed but slow n’ steady by Friday. TBP held their Members’ Meeting last Monday and I attended. Got a unicycle donated as well as a handful of bikes, including some kids bikes.

Spent 15 minutes on the phone with a gentleman from a rural town outside Bloomington, IL looking for a bike. Really speaks to the need that we’re getting interest from an hour plus drive away. Or maybe my hyper-local bike-only travel mindset makes that distance seem more unreasonable than it is…

I was a bit more diligent this past week about tracking non-university visits to better reflect how many folks we’re helping.

The numbers:

Visitors: 33
Sales: $1,285.17
Bikes: 3 for $540
Membership: 7 for $210
Tires/tubes: 16 for $166.00

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Last week we started our Summer Hours of M/W/F 2 – 6p. No complaints so far and if visit numbers are any indication, it’s the correct move. A lot fewer folks through the doors this time of year.

On Wednesday, with the help of a TBP volunteer we moved 10 or so bikes over to the Urbana space. A good small step, but still more bikes to clear. That’ll continue this week as well.

We’ve been selling bikes at a marginal clip but can’t have enough bikes ready come August so we’ll wrench on a few more this week during the down times.

The numbers:

Visitors: 22
Sales: $834.25
Bikes (refurb): 4 for $672
Memberships: 3 for $90
Tires/tubes: 1 for $8

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, The past work week was full of last shifts for a lot of the student staff, as well as a lot of talk of finals schedules. Ended on a bright note as a couple rented a tandem from us as practice as they didn’t want their “Just Married” post-nuptial ride on a tandem to be their absolute first one. Fun!

This is our last week of being open M – F. Next Monday we start M/W/F hours.

This week I’ve got a meeting to hash out some Tue/Thurs appointment hours to still help folks in need of bike repair.  I’ll also move some bikes out of the warehouse with the help of TBP folk.

The lobby is currently packed full with sale bikes, so we’ll have to rearrange in the back to accommodate moving some sale stock back there. A good problem to have.

The numbers:

Visitors: 33
Sales: $233*
Memberships: 3 for $90*
Tires/tubes: 8 for $73*

Thanks!

*Due to technical difficulties, these numbers may not be 100% accurate.

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, On the whole, an uneventful week. We tabled at Green Quad Day last Friday, but other than that it was business as usual. A local bike shop is scaling back their operations, and we got a lot of donations as a result, including NOS handlebars, fenders, and tires. Always welcome! There is, too, the potential for more demand with one less option locally for folks to fix their bike. We’ll see how that plays out over time.

Tonight is the Bike Project Member Meeting, which I’ll attend.

The numbers:

Visitors: 42
Sales: $362
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $170
Memberships: 1 for $30
Tires/Tubes:  9 for $72

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Happy Earth Month! Weather is picking up in the next week or two, so we’ll see how that impacts visit numbers. Still working our way through the warehouse bikes and our for sale bikes are hovering around 20. Other than that, business as usual.

The numbers:

Visitors: 36

Sales: $612.75
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $360
Membership: 3 for $90

Tires/tubes: 6 for $35.75

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Bike Center is closed this week for Spring Break and I’ll be working an abbreviated week myself. We’ve got a dozen plus bikes for sale and I’ll safety check a few more before I bow out for the week.

On Friday, we got maybe the oddest donation yet: an iPod mini, complete with charging cord…

We reorganized and moved one of our storage racks from the backside of the space up front to the lobby so we can hold more bikes for sale up there. In the storage area, we’re pulling pedals/turning handlebars and so can fit more bikes without the rack.

In more sobering news, a patron who’d finished a Build-a-Bike a couple weeks ago was hit while riding the bike he’d fixed here and ended up in the ER needing stitches. He is fine, otherwise, and told me the news in person, so he is ok. The number of people I know who’ve been hit by a car is quickly approaching double digits.

The numbers:

Visitors: 37

Sales: $1,234.50

Bikes (refurb): 3 for $825
Membership: 2 for $60
Tires/tubes: 7 for $115

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Another abbreviated week for me, but the staff held down the fort. We’re working up bikes and our staff is peer-to-peer training during slow times to get the new folks up to speed.

This week I’ll schedule some off-hours staff trainings and a staff meeting to help bring folks along. We’re close to being able to open back up M – F, still have a few more things to iron out. I even found the same open hours poster we used to have for our M-F hours, so we don’t have to order a new sign. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

The numbers:

Visitors: 17
Sales: $299.30
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $160
Memberships: 1 for $30
Tires/tubes: 3 for $45

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Steady week. Had a few new staffers start, held a staff meeting—some good ideas batted around!—and got a couple bikes safety inspected and ready for the sales floor. Still about a dozen bikes that are student-level “finished”.

This week is another round of interviews as we bolster our team for expanding hours and programming this spring/summer. I’ll also move a few forgotten steeds over here from the land of the abandoned bikes.

The numbers:

Visitors: 24
Sales: $151
Memberships: 1 for $30

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Surprisingly busy start to the semester! On Friday afternoon we even had a wait on stand time, which is unheard of for January. Unfortunately, that was partially due to allowing First Visit Free repairs, which left a couple due-paying members waiting. They didn’t mind but still. For how busy we’ve been I’m already wondering if we should be open 5 days a week. However, it has been a mild winter thus far; the real test will be how many folks show up after the projected snow on Wednesday. We also had one person select and start a B-a-B.

This week I’ll schedule our staff meeting, some interviews, as well as receive a “vanload” of bikes from Champaign Cycle. They generally give us good quality stuff that we can put to use quickly, so fingers crossed. Additionally, we still have 100+ bikes to move out of the warehouse.

The numbers:

Visitors: 37
Sales: $961
Bikes (refurb): 3 for $565
Memberships: 7 or $210
Tires/tubes: 7 for $39

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator