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Projects Updates for Campus Bike Center

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  1. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Earth Week
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, this past week was very busy.  We had a good number come in, but events were the big thing.  We sold 2 bikes for $280, 1 build-a-bike for $50, 11 student memberships for $275, 2 community membership for $80, and grossed $978.  I participated in the Bike Census.  It was very well organized by Lily, and went well.  The BikeFace organized Ride with the Chancellor was a success.  I hosted an open house at the center before the ride.  The Chancellor seemed to enjoy the ride.  She mentioned not knowing the Bike Center existed until I explained what this strange garage filled with bicycles was.  I'm thinking about sending her a post card inviting her back.  I did a deep clean of the shop in anticipation of the visit and it keeps getting cleaner and better.  I made a informational document about cargo bikes for FAA.  Lily helped with some great improvements to the document that made it more friendly to non-cycling readers.

    This week I am going to work on classes, building bikes, and find out our commitment to Bike To Work Day.  It's been hard getting everything out of the warehouse, but I'm hoping to get this done this week. 

    From the Campus Bike Center,
    James Roedl

  2. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    Hello all, This past week was good.  We saw better weather and as a result a huge bump in attendance.  The newly reorganized space has gotten lots of compliments.  We'll see if it works in the long run.  We sold 6 bikes for $740, 1 build-a-bike for $30, 5 memberships for $140, and grossed $1490.80.  Lots of cool things going on.  I took a bunch more bikes out of the warehouse, and am building them to sell/make space.  I setup the wheel building class for May.  Lily and I presented the cargo bike to FAA, and agreed to work on sustainable transportation solutions with them.  I got a lot of work done on the annual reports in anticipation of the end of the fiscal year.

    This week I will be making a short report of sustainable transportation options for FAA, cleaning up the shop, helping with the Bike Census, participating in Ride with the Chancellor, and continuing to work on the annual reports.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  3. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, this past week we ramped up visitors slightly.  The weather really hurt attendance, which would have been much higher.  We still had people coming in and good attitudes abounded.  We sold 2 bikes for $300, 1 build-a-bike for $30, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $1353.50.  We have been storing a lot of things we dont' need, and have lost a lot of space to idle items.  This week I realized how limiting this has been and how we need to change our work flow.  Also at the member meeting we discussed a front desk area with a host  and how many workspaces benefit from this.  Since we have a membership database promised to be coming soon I built a front desk area to capitalize on this. I reorganized the back and threw out a lot of useless junk.  The space is much more open now and we have more room to work and store useful items like tools and bikes.  We held a 3 speed hub class which was requested by at least 10 separate individuals, but no one attended.  I will be looking into a remedy.  I was able to update a good portion of the shops reports thanks to all the time freed up by Lily's hard work.  Lily and I continued our work on getting a sponsored donation site for the residents halls so normally abandoned bikes can be directly donated saving us all a lot of work and headaches.  We got a few bikes built, but were slow because of large donations and other projects. 

    This week I plan on continuing to update the shop's reports.  I will be working with Lily on presenting the cargo bike to FAA.  They had a change in leadership and some other set backs so we are restarting the relationship with a cool bike demo and presentation.  Lily's heading this up so I will be supporting her.  I will be trying to get some more bikes out of the warehouse and processed in anticipation of the spring cutting.  Lily is working with the residence halls on the donation event, and doing most of the planning work, but I may go to some of the meetings since I will be in charge of the implementation of the event.  I'm going to seek the assistance of Lily in ways to promote the Thursday afternoon classes.  I will also be sending out information on the wheel building class this week.

    From the Campus Bike Center,
    James Roedl

  4. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    Hello all, This past week was busy.  We lots of folks coming in to fix their bikes, but the weather made it weird some days we were empty others we had a 15 minute wait for repair stands.  We saw a lot of new faces, and made some new friends.  The shop sold 4 bikes for $630, 1 build-a-bike for $35, 5 student memberships for $125, 1 community membership for $40, and grossed $1517.  I talked to some of the people involved in the cargo bike loans, but was unable to get any progress yet.  I was unable to build a new desk welcome area, but did acquire a commercial hook wall for free!

    This week I will be working on meeting with people for the cargo bike program, and getting things ready for the residents hall donation program.  I will also build more bikes to sell.

    From the Campus Bike Center,
    James Roedl

  5. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, This past week was super chill.  We had a steady trickle of people come in and it was a good mood.  I was able to build some bikes and the stable is bust'n with rad steeds.  I was able to clean and organize the shop to an even greater level.  I am trying to make it more accessible to new comers.  I was able to catch up on some work which was nice.

    This week I plan on setting up some new fixtures in the shop and maybe building a sign in/register desk area so we can have a host greet people, sign them in, check them out, and register their bikes. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  6. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Education

    Hello all, This past week was good.  We saw steady increases in attendance with relation to the weather.  The weather even allowed us to open the doors which is a great improvement to visibility and atmosphere.  We sold 7 bikes for $750, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $1470.  I was able to build bikes, and organize the shop a bit with the help of volunteers.  We've been able to integrate mobile time cards into shop staff procedure which has already shown dividends in saved time and complication.  I hired Lucas Hsu, an Urbana volunteer, on to the staff to replace Mike who took a degree related internship with the city.  I was able to get some bikes from the warehouse and assess the remaining handful.

    This coming week I will be having America table at the EcoFeminism sustainability event on campus.  I will building bikes for the spring rush.  I will work on removing the rest of the warehouse bikes, and cleaning up the warehouse. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  7. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Departmental Bike Sharing
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all, This past week was great.  We weren't too busy, and we got some cool stuff done.  We sold 5 bikes for $640, 1 build-a-bike for $60, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $1161.10.  We had a lot of volunteers come in and we were able to clean up the shop.  It looks great and is more functional.  I was also able to sort and organize a lot of the parts and we are much better for it.  We scrapped a lot of damaged frames, and low quality parts.  I added a couple of new tools to make things go faster and easier.  I worked on the cargo bike demo program, and am lining up a new department to lend the bike to.  We built several bikes and have about 40 for sale.  I was able to start ordering from the new supplier accounts I setup it was cool and we got some deals on parts.  We scrapped a lot of damaged frames, and low quality parts making some space.  We started using the new registration database.  The database is fully functional and awesome.  I meet with Stacey and Lily we did some pre Bike To Work Day planning.  I had a volunteer get all the advocacy materials organized and setup to be handed over to Lily. 

    This coming week I plan on getting more bikes from the parking warehouse, building more bikes for the spring rush, and continuing to clean and organize.  I'm going to work on setting up more classes for the spring.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  8. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, Last week was a little weird, but great.  We had some strange fluctuations in attendance that went against normal attendance/weather patterns.  We sold 1 bike for $140, 1 build-a-bike for $45, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $768.80.  I ran out of room upfront so I started putting for sale bikes in the back of the shop.  My goal is to have half of the storage area be refurbished bikes by spring so we are ready for the rush.  The hydraulic disc brake class went very well.  Matt Crosby from Neutral came early and helped setup as well as publicized the event.  We have 5 people in attendance and everyone learned a lot.  We may have a second class to go deeper into bleeding and lever modulation adjustment. 

    This week I plan on helping to get Lily up to speed as Stacy sees fit, building bikes, and working on upcoming advocacy events.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  9. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, This past week went well.  We sold 2 bikes for $230, one membership for $25, and grossed $475.  We were able to represent the center at the ISSS open house.  The bike registration database is completed and we are seeking approval from all parties to launch!  We built more bikes.  We are at about 40.  I was able to make some head way in organizing the shop.  There are so many built bikes now that they are becoming a nuisance.  I did more work on the blasting cabinet.  It has already proved useful, but the air filter unit that came with it is not working well and we may have to purchase new filters. 

    This week I will be holding a class on disc brakes due to requests by students.  I will send an e-mail about it to membership.  I will work on the air filter unit for the blasting cabinet.  I will also be building more bikes for the spring rush.  There is an international student safety day on the 24th that we will be participating in.  I will be preparing materials for that as well as seeing if we can do some mechanical demos.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  10. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all,  This past week was way busy.  We got a lot of stuff done.  We sold one build-a-bike for $50, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $523.20.  I brought a couple of new staff members online, and sorted out some payroll issues.  I worked with IT and we are now in the testing phase of the registration database.  If all goes well it will be online this week.  I worked on some details for upcoming advocacy events.  I built a second trailer bike as we have need/requests for a smaller frame bike.  I got the abrasive booth up and running.  It has already proven useful.

    This week I hope to finish the registration database.  I will be attending an advocacy event to table (the ISSS resource fair), and will work on a class I am planning for next week.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James

  11. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all, This past week was busy.  We had a lot of people come in and want help fixing their bikes.  We sold 2 build-a-bikes for $180, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $532.  We have 35 bikes for sale at the shop and are working on more.  I was able to purchase a lot of higher grade tires for a good price and have started to stock these into the inventory. 

    This week I will be working on the registration database a bit more as well as getting ready for upcoming advocacy events.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  12. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Education
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    Hello all,  This past week was good.  We got a lot done and helped a lot of folks.  The Center sold 3 bikes for $400, and grossed $908.50.  I agreed to provide materials and do some education at a international student bike safety event in February.  I was able to clean the shop up a considerable amount. I built a few bikes and we now have 32 bikes that are for sale or need to be logged and priced.  Rick got his bike share up and running and I was very appreciative for the help.

    This coming week I plan on building bikes and cleaning out the back of the shop.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl
     

  13. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bike Sharing
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    Hello all, This past week was very busy.  We had a lot of people come in and either volunteer to fix their bikes.  The shop grossed $70.  I got a lot done with cleaning the space out.  We had far too many bikes donated that were directed to this shop.  I am not going to be able to accept any more bikes for a while.  I scrapped upwards of 30 bikes sawing them into pieces and putting them in boxes.  It was so bad the boxes themselves made the whole back of the shop inaccessible.  They got removed Friday by Todd so we wont have to deal with that issue any more.  The shop is very well stocked with used parts right now.  I went over to the warehouse and pulled some bikes and cleaned up a bit.  There is more work to be done and 30 or so bikes to dispose of.  I got an account setup with shimano so we can order shifters and bbs.  I helped Rick Langlois haul, build, and accessorize the bike share bikes for his department.  He was very happy, and now we have a 6 bike bike share on campus.  Silver BFU status here we come.  I worked on reinstating Shiqi.  She is returning for spring semester which will help me a lot.  I will have a labor shortage when it gets a little warmer.

    This coming week I plan on getting the shop back into shape after spending the last two weeks not being able to access half of it.  I will also try to get more work done at the warehouse. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  14. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all, A lot has happened since the last update.  We sold 2 bikes for $270, 1 build-a-bike for $80, 4 student memberships for $100, 1 community memberships for $40, and grossed $788.50.  We received a truck load of bikes from Neutral, we received a truck and trailer load of bikes from a land lord,  winter break happened, and I applied and got a Shimano account.  We also had a lot of individual donations of bikes.  There was even a very heavily loaded bike trailer of nice parts donated.  We have had a few people in the shop fixing bikes about 5 a day.  I have been able to build some bikes, and do maintenance.  I did some work on the public repair pumps as they have been breaking a lot lately.  I am currently setting up the cargo bike to lend to the library.  I have scrapped about 50 bikes, 20 were sent to the recycling facility, about 30 have been cut up for space saving until they are hauled off.  I did some reworking of the bike center's page on TBP's site.  It now has lots of pictures as was suggested, and goes into more depth about what we do.  I found some language on another co-ops site that I think will help set expectations.  I worked on the registration data base and gave the University IT folks approval to start making the basic site.

    This coming week I plan on dealing with the huge amount of donations.  I will work on getting the cargo bike lent out and everything squared away on this.  I will continue to work with IT to make the database and integrate current data.  Since we got a new supplier, and the current supplier merged with another I will take some time to familiarize myself with the new catalogs and sites.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  15. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, This past week was mellow.  We were able to get a lot of things done.  We sold 1 build-a-bike, and grossed $349.14  We helped a lot of people do some cool repairs, and work on presents for loved ones.  There will be a lot of shiny bikes under trees very soon.  We built some bikes as there were less people coming in than normal.  There are currently 22 bikes for sale.  I hope to increase this to 60 by spring.  Todd and I picked up a trailer load of bikes from a property owner.  I would guess 35 bikes mostly english 3spds with a few Murry road bikes.  I processed all of them and will be building a fleet of practical commuters for the spring sales rush.  I continued my work with the search committee.  The cargo bike was returned. 

    This coming week we will close on the 23rd for Christmas break.  I will be building bikes, cleaning the shop, and getting the cargo bike lent to FAA.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  16. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, This past week was good.  The shop was chill, and a lot of people came into volunteer and we built several bikes.  Everyone is really happy with how clean and organized the shop is now that we got ride of 70 or so bikes.  We sold 2 build-a-bikes for $105, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $858.56.  I ordered some hard to find parts.  We now have 122, 124, and 127 bbs, an array of cotter pins to last for years, and new sturmey cables!!!  I did some work for the ATC search committee.  I went to the CCB meeting.  It was good. 

    This week I plan on wrapping up my responsibilities for the ATC search committee.  We will get all the pay roll and other paperwork items cleared up for the students who are going away for the break and those who are graduating.  I am going to hire some replacements for those graduating this semester and those graduating spring semester. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  17. weekly digest

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all,

    This past week was extremely productive.  We saw the culmination of months of hard work in the successful shipment of 402 bikes to Ghana.  There were a lot of obstacles, but we over came them and were able to sustainability turn waste into ecologically friendly transportation for those who do not have any.  We cleaned the Center out and have added a lot of organization.  I spent time working on the ATC search committee items.  Stacey and I met with F&S computer folks who are going to make us an awesome computer registration system.  I have started to look into learning the new software.  I created and sent a mass mail to all registered bike users on campus about safety issues regarding construction by Noyes Lab.  We did a lot of in depth repairs, and looked into holiday closings.  I was added as an admin on some of TBP list serves.  While it adds the responsibility of deleting some spam it will speed up release of important volunteering e-mails and notifications about meetings.

    This week I plan on doing more work on the ATC search committee, sorting small parts, building bikes, and catching up on tasks.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  18. bike shipment for recycling bicycles

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all,

    The 2015 bike shipment happened yesterday.  Thanks to Working Bikes, parking, and volunteers from TBP/Bike Center we were able to load the container with bikes. 

    The semi got stuck.  Thankfully the farm manager pulled it out. 

    We shipped all but 20 bikes from the warehouse.  All of the bikes at TBP were shipped and I have 15 left on campus. 

    There is still work to do, cleaning up and removing the rest of the bikes from the warehouse, but I will look into that next week.

    Thanks to all those who helped especially Waymond, Lee, Julia, and Marie.
    James

  19. weekly digest

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all,

    Last week was productive.  The shop sold 3 memberships for $75, and grossed $225.  We got lots of bikes prepared and loading details sorted.  I was able to get 400 of 417 bikes pedals taken off and handle bars turned.  I clean and organized the shop as well as did some ordering.  I added a lot of hanging storage.  The shop was slow so we did a lot of in depth education with the, staff, volunteers, and members.

    This week I will continue to work on getting all of the bikes prepared and finalize other details for the shipment.  I will make a sign up sheet and enlist other groups to help us load.  I will also spend some time working on search committee duties. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  20. weekly digest

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all,

    This past week was productive.  I set up the bike shipment, and got a lot of the bikes ready for shipment.  There are maybe about 180 prepared already.  I got a lot of cleaning done at the shop and have a decent work space with both our stock bikes as well as 70 to be shipped.  I was able to clear out a lot of accumulated junk, and hang a huge amount of stuff from the ceiling.  I got a bunch of tools and supplies this week that we needed.  Some of the stuff was normal like drill bits and hangers.  Other things were more exciting.  I got some socket pieces and spent most of Thursday welding.  I made adapters for both shops so we can put ANY attachment on the impact screwdriver.  Normal screws bits, sockets, allen keys.  I did this now because with the shipment we have several bikes with stuck bolts that need unstuck and we don't have a lot of time to wait for oil to work.  I also welded real handles on some BB tools.  A student's hand slipped last week and they almost got hurt.  These handles will help.  I also repaired a few of our tools that had broken.  I painted all of the wrenches and carts because the electrical tape isn't working.  People seem to like it.  I finished putting stickers on the cargo bike and sent it out into the world with Rick.  He is going to do a test run of 2 weeks with the cargo bike.  He is also doing a bike share for his department so it works well that he has some infrastructure set up.  He is going to give me feed back so the first real demo works better.  I ordered some accessories for Rick's bike share.  He's waiting on his dept to get the money, but if it doesn't pan out they are items we normally stock.  We had a lot of volunteers.  Students have been getting in trouble at the book store and we are now the hot place to do community service.  It has worked well with the amount of bikes we have stripped or prepared for shipment.  The students are also starting to come after their service hours are done and hang out.  We are starting to build community with folks who aren't bike nuts.

    This week.  I will be preparing bikes for shipment and working on taking care of all the details to make the shipment happen.  I will also be working on class schedules once we remove the 70 bikes from the back we will have space to run classes while we are open.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl
     

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