You Came. You Ate. They Gave!

burger

Thanks for supporting us at Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Monday night. We loved seeing our friends rally for P2P, and it was great to have dinner with a nice bunch of people.  Thanks to Five Guys management for partnering with us and Five Guys staff for welcoming us! They were kind enough to give us 15% of the proceeds, so we raised $125 with everyone’s help. Kids, grandparents, neighbors, fellow cyclists–thanks for pitching in–it means a lot to us!

Dinner and a Fundraiser Tonight

Remember, Pedals2People has a date with our members, friends, and supporters at Five Guys Burgers and Fries tonight.

We wish we had this bike bell.

 

Fifteen percent of dinner’s proceeds will benefit our shop, goals for the year, and tools to empower future bikers in Spokane!

Please join us from 5-7 p.m. at 2525 E. 29th Avenue.

Not a meat eater? Five Guys has more than burgers and fries.

Kosher style hot dogs, veggie sandwiches, and grilled cheese sandwiches are among the menu options.

March 10th: A Night of Burgers and Bikes

Welcome to March! Snow is still falling, ice is still melting, but bright days are ahead for Pedals2People! In ten days, the gracious folks at Five Guys Burger and Fries will contribute 15% of the proceeds from its dinner rush. Spring, and more fun bike activities, are just around the corner.

When was the last time you donated (in the form of burgers and fries)? 😉

It’ll be a blast! We can’t wait to see you and your friends there.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Monday, March 10th from 5-7 pm
2525 E 29th Ave Spokane

Five Guys flier

For our next burgers and bikes event…

Many Thanks to our Supporters

You may have received a call or an email from us this month during our Winter Fund Drive. Donations of bikes/parts and cash have been low this winter. That reality, combined with slow winter traffic at our community bike shop and rising costs, inspired us to call on you–our long-time supporters: friends, family, P2P members, local clubs and business owners. And support us you did! You mailed checks, passed the hat, and went to our website to give online. Donations came in from western Washington, Minnesota and Pennsylvania as well as locally. Thanks guys!

We are more than half-way to our $3,000 goal, so we’ll continue to work on raising money this winter. Since our work isn’t done (is it ever??) you can continue to make online donations through our website.

We appreciate all that you’ve given to help Pedals. Your support goes a long way to keeping P2P’s doors open, free tune-up events happening, and cyclists with limited funds cycling. Many thanks to these supporters!

Mountain Gear
Microsoft (through matching funds)
Spokane Bike Club
Jon Snyder
Betsy Speare
Michael Zyskowski
Stine Hansen
Erik Erikson
Satish Shrestha
Wes & Carol Sanborn
Kelly Masjoan
Jamie Zyskowski
Paul Turner
Ken Paulman
Liza Mattana
Justin Becker
Hank Greer
Duane Nelson
Satish Shrestha
Travis Nichols
Marty Zyskowski
Brian Joyce
Andrew Sheridan
Gage Stromberg
Alex Wetmore
Cyrus McLean
John Griffith
Curt Bortel

Help us help Spokane!

For seven years, Pedals2People has been a resource created by and for the Spokane bicycle community.  The P2P model allows us to empower those in the community who have no where else to turn when it comes to transportation.  In the last 12 months we have:

  • Given 50 bicycle helmets away to families, thanks to a grant from SpokeFest.
  • Tuned kids bicycles at the West Central Community Center and Perry Street Fair.
  • Taught a bicycle safety and maintenance class to 20 students in the FAME program at the Martin Luther King, Jr Family Resource Center.
  • Helped Santa deliver bicycles to children amidst the year’s first snowstorm.

All this on top of operating Spokane’s only DIY, non-profit bicycle shop, where a shop manager and dedicated group of volunteers offer their expertise, knowledge, and skills to help anyone in our community ride a safe, well-maintained bicycle.  P2P is a unique place where answering someone’s need comes before the cost of a repair or part.

And so we are asking the same from you, Spokane.  The last year was a tough year for Pedals2People.  Bicycle, part, and cash donations were all down, but operations costs increased.  Visitors to the shop have remained constant, showing that a place like Pedals2People is still in need, but winter is always a bit tricky for us.

Places like Pedals2People exist only in a solid symbiosis with their larger community, and we want to be able to continue to provide bicycle safety, education, and maintenance services to Spokane.

We are always accepting donations and we even have cut out some of the leg-work for donations.

Please click here to help us out!

Donating is super easy and you will be helping to maintain a valuable community asset!

Welcome our newest board member: Annie!

We welcome Annie Szotkowski as Secretary of the Pedals2People board with happy hearts. Annie first came to P2P three years ago when we were located at the east Sprague shop. Annie was prepping to do a bike tour at the time. She had questions. She came. She learned some things about her bike and P2P. Seems like things have come full circle, cycling back to our roots of education and outreach–passions for both Pedals and Annie.

Annie is a GU grad, bike lover, and enthusiastic community supporter. She’ll be working with Jayce Robertson, our shop manager, at Spokane Homeless Connect, Tuesday, Jan 28th at the Salvation Army. You’ll also be seeing her at our other outreach events this year.

 

Pedals2People’s first annual “Santa Helps Bring Bikes on a Bike to Kids for Christmas”

Winter at the shop can be surprising (apparently the arctic temperatures brings riders to the shop!), recharging, inspiring, and sometimes cold.  Winter usually brings about a bit of a lull, and after a few weeks of organizing parts, cleaning the shop, and missing some familiar and not-yet-familiar faces, we get antsy.

This idea is the result of this antsy-ness.

Vision: Pedals volunteers hauling a huge trailer of kid’s bikes throughout Spokane.  One volunteer, dressed as Santa, knocks on door, a kid opens it, Santa gives him/her a bicycle and rides off to deliver another.

Things we have at this point:

Santa suit

A 7-foot bicycle trailer

Pedals volunteers

A few kid bicycles

A date and time: December 21, delivery time between 10am and 2pm.

What we need to make this a reality:

Maybe a few more kid bikes? (Especially smaller ones).  If you have a bike to donate, please drop it off at the shop this weekend so we can get it tuned up to make a kid’s Winter Solstice!  Shop hours are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 1pm-6pm.

Help tuning up kid bikes this weekend.

KIDS TO GIVE THESE BIKES TO!

We’re going to do our best to get everyone we can a bike.  There are a few caveats though.

Caveats:

1. We have a limited number of bikes in a limited number of sizes.

2. We’re going to be delivering bicycles on bicycles in mid-December in Spokane, so safety and distance are both on our minds.  We’re not setting definite boundaries for where we’ll deliver, but central-ish areas with less-severe topography will be our preference.

IF YOU KNOW A KID WHO WANTS/NEEDS A BICYCLE:

Please email Erik at erik.41@gmail.com with the following information as soon as possible:

1. Kid’s name

2. Boy or girl bike

3. Age and height (or a rough estimate so we can size close-ish)

4. Address

5. Contact phone number (so we can arrange a drop-off time for December 21

RELATED HOLIDAY SHOP INFO

Pedals2People will be open regular hours on Friday, December 20 (1pm-6pm), but will be closed the 21st for bicycle delivery.  The shop will also be closed the 22nd and 27-29th so we can all enjoy the late December weather.

 

 

What Goes Around Comes Around

DSC00406

 

Terri and Wayne, pic by Liza Mattana

Unity Center on 29th Ave and Bernard St. sent their youth group on a scavenger hunt last year. Groups started with small insignificant objects like pencils and were sent out into the neighborhood. Groups were told to bring these items with them and ask people if they had something bigger or better they could trade up for. They knocked on doors. They shared that the group who returned with the best item would win a small prize.

Two scavenger groups returned to Unity with the bikes pictured above. Plans were made but never materialized, so the bikes sat, unused.

Today, they were brought up from the basement. The 20″ girl and boy bikes are in good condition. They just need air in the tires, so Unity is now going to donate the bikes to P2P. We will fix them, making them safe and ride-able. They’ll be available for free, as all kid bikes are at the P2P shop, to anyone needing wheels.

Thank you Unity and the two anonymous families who donated these bikes. The cycle of giving and receiving keeps going.

South Perry St Fair 2013

helmet s perry

This was our first helmet recipient at the South Perry St Fair on July 20th. Thanks to a grant from the SpokeFest Association. We were able to purchase 50 helmets and distribute most of them to people in the community. Our shop manager Jayce did a nice job of selecting a variety of nice-looking helmets and people seemed happy to receive them (see pic!). We have a few helmets left at the shop if you still need one.

We also purchased lights with the SF grant monies. Planet Bike front and rear light sets are still available at no-cost. We just ask that you bring your bike to shop to receive a set. These are great lights, and our grant stipulates that we install the lights for you. So bring your bike; get free lights. Hard to believe but soon it will be fall and winter. Days will be shorter, and you’ll be able to ride longer and be seen better with some lights.

Spokane to the rescue!

Pedals2People exists for everyone. Most of us who are heavily involved began volunteering because we liked bicycles, but most of us really stick around Pedals (as opposed to something else “bike-related”) because of the people who show up.
Children who have been riding on rims and are stoked to get some tires.
Adults who want a bicycle to keep up with their kids or change their lifestyle.
Old friends who have been coming for years.

But there’s always been a special place in my P2P heart for the travelers that come by the shop. We are a community space, and I usually think that means the Spokane community (because that’s usually who is using it), but the community model expands far beyond P2P, Spokane, and bicycles.
Andrew and Erica are friends from Eugene. They began their first BIG bicycle tour at the end of May in Winnemucca, NV and have since gone through Utah, along the continental divide, through most of Montana, and had plans to dip south of Spokane and head home through Eastern Oregon.

Until the weekend, when a motorcyclist driving too fast clipped one (or both? Like accident memories usually are, their details are a little hazy) of them and everyone landed in a heap (with 3 bikes — one motorized, two loaded with panniers — on top of Erica) in the middle of nowhere, Idaho.

Luckily, after a quick check at the local hospital, everyone is doing well. Andrew and Erica got a ride to Spokane to stay with family and recuperate, and asked if I knew a bike shop in town they could get their bikes checked up on.

A quick check revealed only an out-of-true disc brake rotor and a couple handlebar adjustments.

Erica and Andrew left today for Oregon, but were so impressed with the niche P2P has carved out of the Spokane community and were so grateful for an option that allowed themselves to be in control of their bicycles that had gotten them this far.

We really do have a lot to be proud of, Spokane.

Save travels!

Save travels!

Rubber side down,
Erik