NEWS

Thanks to Sharif Morad, our very own Charlottesville Community Bike Shop was included in filming for a national commercial that should be playing on MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Spike TV, and Teen Nick by the end of April. Sharif is leading a team across the country for Bike and Build this year. Last year he was a participant. He recently won a $5,000 grant from the Pepsi Fresh Project, which was the impetus for the commercial. Ghost Robot, a production company from New York, came down to shoot the footage. Ghost Robot also generously donated $250 to the shop, so a big thanks to them for helping to support us!

Sharif has been coming to Community Bikes for a couple of years now, and when they wanted to include a bike shop in the shoot, he wanted it to be us. Thanks Sharif! You can learn more about him and this project at his blog: http://www.steelcalvesharif.blogspot.com/

Wow! What a weekend. Last Sunday afternoon saw the end of a successful League Certified Instructor Seminar here at our Charlottesville Community Bike Shop. Charlottesville now has 5 new League Certified Instructors who are capable of teaching bicycle education to diverse groups of people. I have the highest accolades for Preston Tyree, our seminar coach for the weekend. He is the Bike Education Director with the League of American Bicyclists, and has put together much of the curriculum himself. His expertise and professionalism is out of this world. We all could tell how fortunate we were to have him as our coach. Thank you Preston!

This seminar seemed meant to be. First of all, the weather was perfect and provided much comfort for all of our activities indoor and out. We had people from Northern VA, Richmond, Roanoke, Warrenton, Fredricksburg, and a large group even came all the way from Morgantown, WV! In a whirlwind of intense presentations, study, and on-bike drills, everyone moved quickly from complete strangers to dear acquaintances in just a few hours.

What is a League Certified Instructor Seminar? It is a weekend long session that certifies experienced cyclists to become educators of the League of American Bicyclists education curriculum. This material can be taught to virtually anybody. Educating our children and general public about cycling is one of the best forms of advocacy we can do in our country. You can learn more about it at www.bikeleague.org.

Yesterday's open house was great. We had about 40 guests stop by in 3 hours, many of whom had never seen the shop. We still need a lot of help with some important projects, so if you couldn't make it, stop by during open hours to check us out! We are open from 2-5 every Friday and Saturday.

At the open house we were also proud to display Jennifer's Community Bikes mural. This mural is at least 4 years old, and had been sitting in the old shop since its creation. Luckily it has no water damage from the old shop. Jennifer made this mural with kids, highlighting the awesome essence of Community Bikes. It also includes a timeline of bicycle inventions at the bottom. Thanks for your contribution, Jennifer! (Personally, I like the flying cyclists!)

Yup, you heard right. Community Bikes has officially moved. We have better lighting, a water-tight roof, a secure location, a bathroom, and heating! However, with the improvements comes a need for more financial support from our patrons. Unlike in our old location, we are paying rent of $750 a month including utilities. We now ask that every time you visit us for parts or help on your bicycle that you contribute at least a $5 donation at the door. It really is a small price to pay for our volunteers' time, and will keep us open to the public. We can accept check or cash at the shop. You can also send us a payment online via credit card.

Additionally, we are now charging for all non-trivial parts, complete bicycles, and our Build-A-Bike program. Parts such as tubes, tires, frames, cranks, chains, etc, will be labeled with prices.

Anyway, our new address is 612C Preston Avenue. The shop is located near the Old King Lumber Mill, to the right of Reid's Market. For now we are only open Fridays and Saturdays, 2-5pm.

Thanks to Bruce, Stephen, and Matteo - we have found photos from the early Yellow Bike Program! We have 15 photos from the days before Community Bikes... a yellow bike program was set up in Charlottesville by local cycling activists, coordinated with the city, and launched. Though the program didn't last very long, it eventually evolved into what we know as Community Bikes today! Definitely take a gander at the photos.

EVENTS

MANAGER SCHEDULE

If there is no manager indicated on the schedule there is a good chance the shop will not be open. If there is a manager that person should be there to open/close the shop.