All, I was out Mon - Thurs last week sick. My staff covered admirably but, invariably, there are things they were uncomfortable taking on. Just an opportunity for further training! We had one Build-a-Bike be completed and another almost made it out the door at the last minute on Friday.

On Friday we had a visitor from Danville who is working on an Eagle Scout program rehabbing old bikes and donating them to local charities. We were able to donate 3 bikes and a handful of parts.

We also had a new hire start on Friday, received a handful of nice bike donations earlier in the week, and will process those donations this week. We’ll also work on getting a few more bikes on the sales floor as we approach August. Or maybe more accurately: AUGUST. It’ll be a doozy of a month.

On Sunday, July 31st, The Bike Project is hosting a community bike ride, so we’ll let folks know about that.

The numbers:

Visitors: 18*
Sales: $499
Bikes: 1 for $200
Build-a-Bike: 1 for $50
Memberships: 1 for $30

*Likely higher actual #; technical difficulties in my absence.

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! We got a load of wheels/tires donated last week that we’ll be working to process this week. We’re up to 5 bikes for sale right now and should have a couple more done by the time we open tomorrow. Had one completed Build-a-Bike, which is always nice. Another person started their own B-a-B project and seems to be enjoying the process.

This week I’ll make a run to the Urbana Bike Project for some parts/supplies for various bike builds here and hopefully get a few more bikes on the sales floor.

The numbers:

Sales: $729.25
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $300
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50

Memberships: 3 for $90
Tires/tubes: 7 for $82

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Short week with the observed Juneteenth holiday on Friday. We’ve steadily been receiving donations but most of them are doomed for the scrap pile. But at least we’ll get some decent parts off them.

Got a few bikes in the queue that should make the sales floor by end of week.

The numbers:

Visitors: 22
Sales: $568.19
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $215
Memberships: 7 for $210

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, We were closed Monday for Memorial Day and so were only open W/F last week.

Thanks to the generosity of a local bike shop, we were absolutely inundated with donations—something to the tune of 15-20 bikes. Then two community folks dropped off even more donations. Needless to say, I’ll be processing these all week.

I dropped off flyers with WRC last week, too, in the hopes of expanding our reach to folks that haven’t already come into CBC.

The numbers:

Visitors: 15
Sales: $557.95
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
Build-a-bike: 1 for $30

Memberships: 4 for $120
Tires/tubes (new/used): 12 for $76

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, The semester is over, and the students have left. For summer we’re down to just a couple of folks. And of course, Friday was super busy all day but we were lucky to be well-staff for the last day of the semester as staff report that it remained ASF (All Stands Full) until after close. We’ll see how busy we are this week.

We’ve reduced hours to M/W/F in accordance with projected diminished demand and staff availability. As we get more staff hired/onboarded and demand is there, we’ll bump hours back up.

We received 10 direct donations last week with I’d guess about half being students.

The numbers:

Visitors: 38

Sales: $854.60
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $370
Memberships: 3 for $90
Tire/tubes: 7 for $61

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Friday—warm weather and a Friday—meant a busy day. Rest of the week was slower. A new staffer started last week, which was a great help.

This week looks warmer so we’ll be busier, likely. Will get some bikes finished and do some more onboarding with new staff. We have a weather radio and a regular radio here now to communicate with DCR staff as needed.

Our Friday Ride events concluded last Friday with a decent showing and a ride to Meadowbrook and back. I’ll gauge staff interest in keeping them going this summer and we’ll definitely look to restart them in Aug/Sept when students are back full-time.

The numbers:

Visitors: 53
Sales: $866
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $340
Memberships: 7 for $210
Tubes/tires: 23 for $141

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Had some intense weather mid-week that kept folks away from visiting us. A new student staffer started this week and hit the ground running. We got two quality bikes donated last week that are in-progress and one very nice near-new bike that is already on the sales floor.

TBP prices bumped up slightly last week to no Ill effect here at CBC. In fact, the first mention of the higher prices was met with “A used tire for $8? That’s a great deal!”

On Thursday, I consulted with a student from University of Connecticut about starting a bicycle cooperative space at his school. He’d heard good things about our operations from a former TBP member. Small world, too, since I grew up 20 minutes from UConn.

This week is the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee meeting and the last week for one of my student staffers.

The numbers:
Visitors: 26
Sales: $912.50
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
Tires/tubes: 2 for $21

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Apologies for the late Digest. Last Thursday we had our Gender Aware Shop Hours. It was not well attended but the weather always plays a factor. There is staff interest in making it a recurring event which could help boost attendance. We also collaborated with Urbana Parks District at a pop-up DIY maintenance event at the Phillips Recreation Center in Urbana on Saturday. Twelve or so folks signed up and I think we saw 8 or so people over the two hours. People seemed to enjoy it and we’ll look to do it again next year.

This week is almost over but we did start our first week of M – F. Our Tues/Th shifts were less busy than M/W/F but as the weather warms and the word gets out, we’ll undoubtedly get busy on those days as well. The slow start is welcomed as we’re not fully staffed yet.

Next week projects to be more in the 50s than the 40s so we’re getting towards some warmer weather.

The numbers:

Sales: $974.50
Bikes (refurb): 4 for $660
Bikes (B-a-B): 2 for $60
Memberships: 8 for $240
Tires/tubes (used/new): 15 for $73

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Visitor numbers ticking upward in line with the thermometer—Friday’s snowfall notwithstanding.  

We’re closed this week for Spring Break and hitting the ground running when we return. We’ve got Gender Aware Shop Hours on Thursday and our Urbana Parks District event on Saturday. From there it’s back open M-F. 

I’ll only be working today and tomorrow before taking a few days for myself. I’ll finish up a few more shop builds during my abbreviated week in advance of warmer weather post-spring break.

The numbers:

Visitors: 23
Sales: $358.55

Bike (refurb): 2 for $280
Tire/tubes: 5 for $16

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator