Volunteer Highlight - Abby Mars
How did you get involved with the collective?
My first experience with the Collective was several years ago when I bought an older bike off Craigslist and wanted to swap out some parts. I had no idea what I was doing with riding or working on that thing and I don't think I ended up riding it much, but the tinkering bit was the fun part anyway. Shortly after that I moved to Colorado for a little while before turning around and coming back to Salt Lake a year and a half later. Last fall, I was on sabbatical from work and looking for volunteer opportunities to help me keep busy and engage with the community now that I'm back for good, so I wandered into the Bicycle Collective during Friday morning volunteer hours. I was pretty much hooked right away because you get to work on so many different types of bikes over the course of one volunteer session, which scratches my urge to tinker without having to dismantle my own bike every week!
What do you enjoy most about the collective?
Working on Goodwill bikes has been a really fun way to become a little less clueless about riding and fixing up my own bikes, for one thing. There's nothing like dismantling an old bike to re-use the parts to help you understand how everything fits together. It's also been a great group of people to hang around with and get to know. (And the snacks during volunteer night certainly don't hurt either.)
Tell us more about how cycling has impacted your life.
I work remotely from my home, so I'm always on the lookout for excuses to get out of the house during the week, and cycling around town is a great one. Often I'll ride down to the coffee shop for a change of scenery while I work, or do a few laps around town when I'm done for the day. I had a bike as a kid that I loved to ride around the neighborhood, but I didn't ride much after I started high school. It wasn't until these last few years that I rediscovered how much I love poking around on a bicycle with no particular destination in mind. It's such a fun way to explore, especially in a city like Salt Lake where not much of town is very pedestrian-friendly.
What are some of your other hobbies?
On the same sabbatical when I started coming to the Collective, I also signed up for a piano class up at the U! Playing piano is another thing I did as a kid and lost sight of until recently, so it's been fun to flex those muscles again. Also, my wife and I have two pets (a cat and a rabbit), and taking photos of those two to put on the internet takes up a fair amount of my time!
-----
Abby is one of our core volunteers. It's people like her who volunteer their time and talents that keep our shop running. Thanks for all that you do, Abby!
Interested in volunteering with the Bicycle Collective? Learn more here!
Join us for our first ever Parking Lot Sale and Bike Swap!
This is the only time of year where we will sell your bike on consignment. If you have a bike you'd like to sell with us, fill out the Google Form at the link below:
https://goo.gl/forms/IbVTO394PgJQEDL82
We'll have refurbished bikes, new and used components, accessories, and more! Come by for some great deals and to support a great cause. All proceeds help support our bike giveaway and education programs.
It's that time of the year -- spring is coming and we need help!!
The St. George Bicycle Collective is hiring Mechanics. If you love bikes and what we do, this could be the job for you!
This position is much more than just an opportunity to wrench on bikes and grow your abilities as a bike mechanic. All of our mechanics work together with our volunteers and have the opportunity to move into leadership positions in education and youth programming, operations, and mechanics.
We are a growing community organization with a strong passion for promoting bicycling for transportation as a cornerstone for sustainable growth in this region.
For the right candidate, this position can develop into year-round, full-time, multi-faceted employment with increasing pay and responsibility.
The Highlights:
- hourly pay DOE
- Opportunity to grow the job and the organization
- Get paid to do makes a significant difference in our community
Click the link below to find out more about the job and learn how to apply.
Come celebrate 10 years of the Ogden Bicycle Collective with us!
We'll start the day with a community poker bike ride at 4:00 PM at the shop. The route is a secret, but we promise it will be an easy to moderate 7 or so miles that you can take your time on.
It's not about who finishes first, but who has the best poker hand at the end of the ride!
We'll meet back at the shop at 6:00 PM for a night of food, music, prizes AND a wacky mechanic's challenge!
Join us for this family friendly party and fundraiser to celebrate our 10th birthday!
We're asking for a $5 donation to enter the ride and party!
Head over to our Facebook Event Page to get updates.
Thanks to our sponsors for helping us make this happen:
Brewvies Ogden
ENVE Composites
Beehive Cheese
KUHL
SaltyCreative
Lavender Kitchen
Lavender Vinyl
Ogdens Own Distillery
GEAR:30
Pepsi
Home Grown Print
Ikaika Cox, Provo Director
A Utah County native, I began volunteering at the Provo Bicycle Collective in 2012. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Literature and Philosophy in 2015, I moved to Boise and began working with the Boise Bicycle Project where I honed my skills as a mechanic and educator. In 2016 I returned to Provo, committed to growing the operation here. I love bicycles because I see them as a vehicle that challenges riders to push themselves and engage their community in a different way. I see the Collective growing and becoming more effective in fostering community impact and growth, and serving as a space in which community members can grow and develop themselves.
St. George Collective Closing at 5 PM today (Friday, 2/1)
Written by Judith Rognli
Welcome to our newest line of products!
We are now offering "Ride-able" bikes for those who are looking for a bargain.
Unlike other bikes in our store, these bikes are not refurbished (prices vary between $40 - $150). Every "Ride-able" bike comes with one hour of free bench coaching. We will help you diagnose any existing issues and show you how to fix them. "Ride-able" bikes are sold "as-is" and are not refundable.
Every purchase at the Bicycle Collective helps us to provide bicycles, repair help, and educational programs to adults and children in need.
We are very happy to share our 2018 numbers with you. Here's what we accomplished together. Thank you!
Find out how to get involved HERE
Goodwill Bikes
Our Goodwill Bikes program provides free bicycles to anyone who can’t afford to purchase one. Goodwill Bikes may be earned through 6 hours of volunteer service. Find out how to volunteer here.
If you are in need of a bike for transportation, are currently NOT able to volunteer with us, and if you are receiving help from an organization such as Switchpoint CRC, the Court Support Services, and others, ask your caseworker to contact us.
Find out more about our Monthly Bike Kitchen at Switchpoint CRC HERE.
Sign up to volunteer for Trail Prom HERE (or contact ) and get a free VIP-ticket!
Let's celebrate bikes, our trails, and our community!
We’ll start with a free, easy, no-drop community bike ride where everyone of all abilities will be welcome.
What follows is a formal dance party held at the very Snake Hollow Bike Park.
Dress in your best formal attire!
4 PM: Start gathering at the Pavillion at Snake Hollow Bike Park
5 PM: Roll out for no-drop, social bike ride. Ride is FREE of charge.
6:30 - 8:30 PM: Dance!
Get your ticket now! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/st-george-trail-prom-tickets-57815244954
Ticket sales for the dance and other income generated will go back to the community programs the St. George Bicycle Collective offers. They will help the Bicycle Collective to remain a self-sustaining community bike shop. Income generated will help us create new programs and support our existing programs in the community that:
- Provide free bikes and education to children and youth through our Youth Open Shop and Ride Ready! Programs
- Provide free bikes and repair help to adults in need of transportation through our Goodwill Program and the Bike Kitchen at Switchpoint CRC
- Offer a community space and a low- to no-cost resource for everyone in our community - newbies and long-time enthusiasts alike
- Promote bicycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation, recreation, and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society.
Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/st-george-trail-prom-tickets-57815244954
More...
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Lexus Pursuit of Potential for the matching grant of $5000 that will fund our Youth Open Shop for the next 6 months!!
Thank you so much to allow these kids to learn about bikes, develop leadership skills, and create life-long friendships and memories!
In order to reach more individuals in need who might not be able to travel to the Bicycle Collective, we are starting to offer a monthly ‘Bike Kitchen’ at Switchpoint on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019, 2 - 4:30 PM.
The Bike Kitchen is taking us back to our roots - this is how the St. George Bicycle Collective started in 2015, when Dannielle Larkin first gathered a group of volunteers and solicited bicycle donations to help the homeless in St. George.
The Bike Kitchen will take place monthly. Switchpoint residents are notified in advance, our volunteers help with immediate repair needs and give out invitations to the Bicycle Collective to those who need more in-depth help or who would like to earn a bike through our Earn-A-Bike program.
If you are currently in need of repair help or of a bike for transportation, or if you would like to help at the Bike Kitchen as a volunteer mechanic, please contact . Find out more about how to volunteer with us and about our Goodwill Earn-A-Bike Program HERE.
2018 was a record setting year for us! We saw an 8% increase in the number of individual volunteers who helped us out, and who put in 14% more hours compared to last year. Those may seem like boring numbers, but they directly translate to us being able to give out over twice as many kids bikes, three times as many adult bikes, and teach three times as many kids how to work on bikes during Youth Open Shop Night! Not to mention help us keep the shop running and all of our programs afloat.
We could not do what we do without support from the people like you! Whether you bought something from us, donated to us, volunteered with us, or just told someone about us, it's because of you that we were able to set new records in 2018.
And like anyone who is reflecting on the past year and looking into the next, we are excited to keep growing and improving to do even more in 2019!
Thank you all and Happy New Year
Dear SLCBC Volunteers,
Whether you volunteered one hour, 25 hours, or over 100 hours in our shop in 2018, your hard work and service did not go unnoticed. Last year alone, we had a total of 1,738 volunteers who served a total of 4,533 hours in our shop. These numbers translate to volunteers fixing and repairing 386 kids bikes and 261 adult bikes that were then given away to folks in our community who needed them most.
In addition to these bikes being repaired and given away, we can't even begin to count the number of parts that were salvaged and organized, the number of nuts, bolts, and dust bunnies that were swept up, and the number of tubes repaired and sorted in our shop - all by the hands of our volunteers. Our shop's success is very much dependent on our volunteers, we can't do this work alone! Thank you for your service and for the care you have given by serving in our shop to support members of our community. We're excited to see you and new volunteers in our shop soon!
Sincerely,
Amy Wiscombe
Volunteer and Program Coordinator
Click here to learn more about volunteering with the SLCBC.
