A Moment

I would like to take a moment to address any questions or concerns regarding the involvement of Jarrod Alan Acquistapace with The Bike Cave. As some of you may know, Mr. Acquistapace was arrested last month on suspicion of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. This news came as a shock to all of us at The Bike Cave. Jarrod was also one of the founding board members of The Bike Cave.

Jarrod was involved in the initial incorporation process as well as planning phases leading up to the opening of our retail location. He attended board meetings from approximately December of 2011 to May of 2012. While he has remained Marketing Director in name, his level of involvement in The Bike Cave since May of 2012 has been effectively none. Jarrod has never worked in the shop itself and we have had little to no contact with him since May of 2012.

The court of public opinion is a harsh one. There are some who would argue names of those charged should not be made public until after conviction. Many good reputations have been ruined by false accusations. For this reason, we will not speculate on Mr. Acquistapace's guilt or innocence and encourage others to withhold judgement until a court decision is handed down. Our thoughts are with the victim, her family, Jarrod and his. We hope that justice will be quickly and fairly carried out.

I will say that a vote has been called among our remaining board members to remove Mr. Acquistapace officially from our board of directors. This is not intended to condemn or condone his actions but rather to distance ourselves from these proceedings and to publicly reflect his lack of involvement with our organization.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Michael James
President

Let the classes begin!

We are finally ready to have 6-week courses at The Bike Cave. We have worked hard to put together interesting and intelligent courses for you to learn more about bicycle repair. Classes begin the first week of April. We are offering three different maintenance and repair classes:

In this course you will learn the correct bicycle terms, knowledge of basic hand tools, how to adjust brakes and derailleurs properly, emergency repairs, and routine maintenance. This class is geared towards people with very little to no knowledge of basic bicycle maintenance. Begins April 2^nd and ends May 7^th. This class is every Tuesday 6:00pm to 7:00pm. $30 for the course plus you will get a patch kit and tire levers. Must be registered by March 21^st. This class is limited to 15 people so register early.

In this course you will learn how to remove a drive train, bearing adjustment, wheel truing, how to install cables for brakes and derailleurs. At the end of the course you will be able to give any a tune up. This class begins Wednesday April 3, 2013 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. This class is $60 for six weeks and you will be receiving a complimentary Park Tools 2^nd Edition Big Book of Bike Repair.

In this course you will learn how to remove overhaul bearing systems and index shifters. At the end of the course you will be able to overhaul a bike. This class begins Thursday April 4, 2013 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. This class is $60 for six weeks and you will be receiving a complimentary tool kit with the completion of the course. 

Also, April 1st will be the very first Wheel Building Class. This class will be offered monthly on the first Monday of every month. 

Please call or stop by for a more detailed description of each class! Space is limited, so register today (316)530-2283

Happy Holidays!

Tales From The Cave

Dear Bike Cavers,

We did it! We finally have a newsletter! We hope you enjoy!

Love,
The Bike Cave

Overhaul 2.0

This Saturday is gonna be a blast! Join us at The Anchor for lunch at 2pm, followed by a relaxed group ride, capped off with a night of great music featuring Spirit of the Stairs, White Lando and Ryan Windham! Help keep your favorite local bike co-op open through the winter and have a great time in the process.

New Merchandise: The Bike Cave T-shirts and Bandannas

The Bike Cave is excited about our new merchandise; freshly printed graphic tees and bandannas by Phil Ross of Straight Printing. Check out the company's Facebook to learn more about what Straight printing can do for you.

The T-shirts are available in Green Teal, and Periwinkle. They feature a "skull and crossbones" made from cogs, chain parts, a wrench, and a bike polo mallet. 15.00

Pick up a bandanna for only 5.00. Fly them from your bike, get your dog to model them, or simply pocket them to wipe that hot afternoon sun from your brow.

Since opening The Bike Cave also carries various other products such as spoke cards by Ian Stewart, Aftermass and Never Give Up posters, Yehuda Moon comic books, used clip-less shoes, and the Chainbreaker Bike Book. We also carry a variety of free literature, patches, and zines from Microcosm Publishing. We also have one free helmet to give away, courtesy of Bike Wichita. In the future, we hope to provide the public with free bicycle helmets on a regular basis. 

Fancy wheels you got there, buddy. Wish I had that sweet looking spoke card.

SPOKE CARDS, 1.00 by IAN STEWART, bigmention.blogspot.com

I don't know how to fix anything on my friggin' bike

and not even God knows where I should start.

CHAINBREAKER BIKE BOOK, 15.00

Excuse me, I need to satiate my love for bicycle riding

as well as my love for comic books

without the two being mutually exclusive.

YEHUDA MOON COMIC BOOKS, 15.00

The Bike Cave Voted as HWC's Bike Friendly Business

Congratulations to us! The Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita has named us a Bike Friendly Business in Wichitawesome Wichita, Kansas. Albeit we didn't do much except love bicycles, work on bikes, love bikes, sell bikes, give away bikes, love bikes, and host clinics all about bikes. Did I mention that we love bikes? Good. I wanted to make that clear. The Bike Cave gladly rubs shoulders with such local businesses as Picasso's Pizzeria, The Anchor, Wichita Pottery, and many other great locations.

As mentioned in previous posts, the HWC has been a major advocate this past month in promoting bicycle riding for recreational and commuting purposes. We're both saddened and relieved that Bike Month is over, but we look forward to planning more helpful events for next year. Look forward to many of our future Maintenance Clinics to keep your cycling momentum going as well as opportunities to meet our staff at future fundraising events. The Bike Cave is hosting a basic Maintenance Clinic next Wednesday, June 6th, 5pm. Thanks again to the Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita for their recognition.

The Wichita Bicycle Friendly Business campaign honors businesses, corporations, organizations, associations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that actively promote bicycling. The HWC Bike Wichita steering committee has selected 29 deserving businesses that engage in bicycle friendly approaches that include but are not limited to the following: 

• encourages bicyclists to the buildings
• has secure and convenient bicycle parking
• provides incentives for employees to commute by bicycle
• supports a bicycle team/club
• works to improve bicycle conditions in the community
• provides onsite shower facilities for employees
• promotes "bike to work" week

To apply your business as a Bicycle Friendly Business you can apply at www.hwcwichita.org or by calling 264-4066 x221.

National Bike to Work Day, May 18: A Bike Wichita Press Release

May 18th is a big day for cycling in Wichita considering we will be hosting our open house and it is also National Bike to Work Day. Bike Wichita has organized a Commuter challenge to help bring awareness to commuting options (or some may say "lack thereof") within Wichita. Below is their press release describing the event:

Wichita, KS – Commuting to work by bus, car or bicycle is relatively easy in Wichita. Or is it? The Commuter Challenge will pit Jemelle Holopirek from KAKE, Kara Sewell from KWCH and Emily Deaver from KSCW against one another in a challenge to see who can arrive at City Hall first, using the bus, a car and a bicycle.  All three-television personalities will begin at Panera Bread Company at Hillside and Central at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, May 18, National Bike to Work Day. The destination is the City’s Law Enforcement Memorial at Central and Main, where City leaders will hold a press conference to analyze the various mode of transportation within the city. The community is invited to attend.

This event is put together to celebrate the bicycle, after-all it is National Bike to Work Day. More importantly, however, this event brings awareness to the community that there are various forms of transportation within our city and that bicycling is not only great for fun and recreation, but it is a perfect mode of transportation.

Naturally, we at The Bike Cave will be rooting for the cyclist, but not without much love to all three women for their generous involvement. Of course, members of the bike cave would love to throw out some tips: Firstly, don't be afraid to ride on the street! Not only is it faster, but cars are more of your presence than they would be if you were on the side walk, so in many aspects, it's safer. Secondly, wear a helmet and ride with confidence! With a little gusto, a cyclist is perfectly capable of beating a car from Hillside and Central to downtown Wichita. It's all downhill, baby. Of course, always remember to obey traffic rules and use hand signals. Now for some fast facts included in the press release:

Bicycling is for everyone. 15% of the U.S. population rides a bicycle making it the second most popular outdoor activity in the US. Bicycling is fun, healthy and smart.

Bicycling is the ideal way to take short trips. Most trips Americans make are less than 3 miles. With the price of gas and parking concerns bicycling just makes sense.

Bicycling can improve your health. Adults who bike to work have better weight, blood pressure and overall health and children who bike are less likely to be overweight as adults.

Bicycling is less expensive than driving. The average households spend nearly $9,000 on car payments and vehicle operating expenses per year. Just one round trip commute of 10 miles saves the bicyclist around $10.00 a day.

Bicycling reduces road congestion and air pollution. For every 1 mile pedaled rather than driving, nearly 1 pound of CO2 is saved.

Bicycling is safe, and together we can make it safer. The health benefits of bicycling outweigh the risks of bicycling. The more people who ride, the safer bicycling becomes. Both motorists and bicyclist can exist on the same road.

Still not interested? How about for a free lunch? In addition, all bicycle commuters are invited to the Old Town Plaza (near the Warren Theater) on Friday, May 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., grub provided by Jimmy Johns.

Bike Month 2012 PSA

Our first day at The Bike Cave was a joyful success brimming with energy, curious patrons, and a busy cash register. Let's hope that this is an indication of business to come and that our beginning years will not be as brutal as our neuroses envisions it to be. Day 2 has been partially spent giving our blog a face lift (complete with gigantic title logo, an update of authors, and a correctly listed address).

We are now three days into Bike Month and there is much to be excited for. Like what? I'm glad you asked. How about this PSA video that featuring Mayor Carl Brewer? Click the video below and enjoy informative content about Bike Wichita:





Click the KSN news link for the latest news on Wichita's Bicycle Master plan and comments from the members of the community, including Wichita bicycle club, The Coasters. 

The Bike Cave is now officially open at its new location: 115 1/2 S Pattie

We are finally open! Today marks our first official day of business at our new 115 1/2 S Pattie location. We are nestled comfortably between Notes and Noises (we are part of their shop space) and Red Sea Tattoo. At 11:11am this morning we received our first sale and we couldn't be happier.

The shop looks absolutely fantastic with its color coded benches and tools and a fresh tire rack and tables made especially for us by Mr. Aaron Rivers. Our first day felt hopeful with friends stopping by to check out the shop and a mention in the Wichita Eagle by Carrie Rengers. Check out her blog write up in the business section  here or scroll down to read a brief excerpt of the article at the end of this entry.

Wichitawesome work benches: tables made by Aaron Rivers, model: David

The "yellow bench" with tools and a picture of our tire rack by Aaron Rivers, new and used tires

Merchandise!

Father and son, Michael and Tom James talk shop. Most dogs welcome.

Thanks to our readers for all of their support and for simply following the progression we've made. Please come by the shop, say hello, and give us some work to do. We'll teach you all you need to know about bikes in return. 

Excerpt from the Wichita Eagle:

Bike Cave comes out of the basement into its own space

WICHITA — The Bike Cave, which Michael James started a few years back in his College Hill basement and garage, is going mainstream with its own place.

“It’s always been the long-term goal to get to where we’re in a retail space,” James says.

The shop opens Wednesday in part of the Notes and Noises record shop on Pattie just south of Douglas Avenue.

The Bike Cave is a nonprofit organization that exists to promote biking and help more people do it through economical repairs.

Bike owners can pay $5 to rent bench space and specialized tools to fix their own bikes, or they can hire someone at the shop.

“We’re not trying to steal business from any of the retail shops,” James says.

He says a lot of shop owners are supportive of the Bike Cave.

“We’re really trying to exist for people who aren’t riding but maybe could be,” James says.

Read more here: http://blogs.kansas.com/haveyouheard/2012/05/01/bike-cave-comes-out-of-the-basement-into-its-own-space/#storylink=cpy

The Better Block Project: Tonight and Tomorrow!

Between 4-9pm tonight, regular commuters of Douglas, within Hydraulic and Kansas Avenue will be presented with a temporary, refreshing, and hopefully, more scenic arrangement of the downtown sidewalks. The Better Block Project, captained by Jason Roberts of Dallas, Texas is a unique concept that transforms grey, run down, pedestrian-sparse areas into comfortable sidewalk seating, bike friendly lanes, pop up coffee shops, food vendors, and virtually anything that will draw a crowd to the street. 

Unlike most city planning, the slow upstart of quaint sidewalk businesses, or the dredging of ordinances, The Better Block Project bypasses the endless project proposal meetings by giving the public as well as city officials the hands on experience - all over the span of a weekend. On top of the "street renovations," many volunteers and patrons are encouraged to display public art. Even the city 

If you don't have tonight to experience the enhanced crosswalks or night time lighting, the temporary set up can also be experienced on Saturday between  9am and 1p. 

If this description isn't filling your awesome meter to max, then the amount of bike friendly amenities should surely tip the scale. Considering The Bike Cave is burgeoning with bicycle enthusiasts, we are especially thrilled about a bike track separating bicyclists from traffic by a median, a bike lane separating traffic from parking, a bike rack, and even a bike-in theater. 

May is Bike Month

Hello! The Bike Cave has some very exciting events coming up for Bike Month!
*May 2, 2012 is when our retail location at 115 1/2 S. Pattie Wichita, KS 67211 will be open. Shop hours will be Wednesday thru Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
*May 5, 2012 The Bike Cave is working with the Parks and Recreation Department with a Safety Clinic for kids at Linwood Park, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
*May 9, 2012 The Bike Cave will be hosting a Maintenance Clinic at our shop, 115 1/2 S. Pattie 67211, from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
*May 12, 2012 The Bike Cave will be at The Farm and Art Market in Old Town doing a Maintenance Clinic for people who ride their bikes to the Market. 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
*May 18, 2012 The Bike Cave will have an Open House event at our new retail location, 115 1/2 S. Pattie 67211, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. We invite you to come and go as you please.
*May 26, 2012 The Bike Cave will be at The Farm and Art Market in Old Town doing a Commuter Clinic for people who ride their bikes to the Market. 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Thank you everybody for all the support and love. We have been working very hard these last few months to have an awesome and organized place for people to work and learn on bikes.

Grand Opening!

Well devoted followers, it looks like dreams are finally becoming a reality. After four long years in the making, The Bike Cave will finally be moving in to a retail store front this spring! If all goes well, we will be opening for business at Douglas and Pattie, between Red Sea Tattoo and Notes and Noises Records at the beginning of May. Huge thanks to Chris Trenary of Notes and Noises and longtime Bike Cave supporter, for renting half of his shop to our organization. The plan right now is to be open Tuesday through Sunday 10-5 starting in May.

In light of this, we are going to need lots of volunteer support to make this happen. The shop space is going to require a great deal of construction work to get useable and stay open and we need all the help we can get. If you are interested in volunteering please get in touch via facebook or email or call 530 CAVE!

January update

Well, The Bike Cave isn't quite yet open (though I admit the weather has been nice!), but that doesn't mean the staff isn't working!
We've been contacting various organizations for assistance in gaining that magical 501(c)(3) and having meetings every week (well, when we can). Though progress is slow, we're all optimistic and eager to advance.

In other news, we have a lot of donations sitting in the garage and will be reconditioning them for sale as we have time.














Maybe one of these days this won't be full of bikes... but hey, where's the fun in that?

Also, eventually we'll get through this pile.

We ordered a whole stock of 27" tires, along with a stack of new tubes and rim strips.



















Though we haven't officially started open shop hours yet, we're still eager to help out - so if you need something to get you through this (mild) winter, holler at us on our facebook page and we can make a special appointment to get you sorted out.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/82943390258/

Update your bookmarks!

This blogs url has been changed to http://bikecaveict.blogspot.com. Real website at http://bikecaveict.org coming soon.

In other news, the BikeFightsICT team had our first successful trial run last night at the Anchor. All we need now is a dedicated laptop to run it and a projector. Oh, and YOU to come out and race! Event schedules will be posted as soon as details are hammered out. 

A great end to a great season

The bbq yesterday was a smashing good time, thanks to everyone who came out! Big thanks to Ryan Windham for playing for us (and congrats on winning that killer Ninnescah messenger bag!).

It's been a fantastic season and we're eternally grateful to everyone who's made it possible. Even though the shop will be closed for the winter, there's lots of work to be done until the springtime. I'll try to keep everyone updated on our progress via this blog and our facebook and with any luck at all we'll be re-opening next year in an actual storefront!

Success!

Thanks to the valiant and unstoppable efforts of The Bike Cave's incomparable volunteers and staff, the mountain of junk bikes in the back yard is GONE! Two Sundays of sorting, three trucks and one Honda Accord full of scrap frames and wheels later and the Bike Cave is about 2000 lbs lighter and our cash box is $141 heavier! Thanks everyone who helped out, and a big thanks to Bogue Iron, we couldn't have done it without you!

And another success story: After nearly five years in the making, The Bike Cave is now officially a Kansas recognized not-for-profit corporation! It gives me great pride to welcome Derek Werner, Charli Lauer, Alec Jahn, and Jarrod Acquistapace and myself, Michael James, to the founding Board of Directors. We look forward to serving the Wichita cycling community for years to come.

And one last success story: The Bike Cave has it's best summer yet. We raised over $1000, sold and fixed countless bikes and had a lot of fun along the way. To celebrate the end of the season, we'll be throwing a party this Sunday. Normal open shop hours from 11-4, then we'll be grilling and jamming out to the Michael McDonald-inspired smooth grooves of local acoustic wizard Ryan Windham. $5 suggested donation will go towards renting a commercial shop space in the spring. A bike or box of bike parts will also be accepted in lieu of $5. Food and drinks will be provided but supplies will be limited so BYO is strongly encouraged. Hope to see you there!

So, turns out...

I'm really awful at this whole blogging thing. Mainly the remembering passwords part. Truth is, running the shop takes precedence over running a blog and the shop has been crazy busy this summer. We sold a ton of bikes, helped fix at least that many, made numerous improvements to the shop and drank approximately 16,000 beers collectively.

That being said, we have a few projects we'll need help with. The first is disposing of the mountain of junk bikes in the back yard. They'll have to be stripped of rubber and plastic, and sorted in to steel and aluminum before they can be recycled. I'd like to get this started next Sunday, but I know everyone will be pretty busy making magnificent Halloween costumes, so it may have to be spread out over a couple weeks.

The next big news is INCORPORATION! Yes, the Bike Cave is on it's way to becoming a real live not-for-profit with (cross your fingers) a real live commercial shop space! This will mean lots of paperwork, boring board meetings and money. Lots of money. If you feel inclined to help out in any of these areas, get in touch! We will be drafting bylaws, electing a board and filing for incorporation within the next month or so.

And as always, open shop Sundays 11-4, 553 N Fountain.

The Bike Cave is not dead!

Merely hibernating.  Yes I realize late summer is an odd time for a bike co-op to hibernate but due to personal circumstances of myself and other staff members, regular open shop hours were put on temporary hiatus.  We are still available by appointment (through this blog, facebook, or email me at mtjames at cox dot net) and are tentatively looking at Sundays for our regular shop day through the winter.  We have also been kicking around the idea of a weekly minor repair station on WSU campus, most likely Thursdays. 

Other plans for the winter include
-another fundraiser event
-renovating the shop!  Workflow has been difficult and we're drawing up plans to add more work stations, more tools and better organized parts storage
-Winter biking seminar to help get you and your bike through the cold, sleet and the snow.  Trust me, with the right preparation, winter cycling can be a lot of fun.
-More group rides and alley cat races 

If you're interested in volunteering or need help with a bike or have donations for us, please get in touch via my email above, or this blog, or just stop by 553 N Fountain.

Thanks everybody!

Thanks to everyone who came out Saturday! It was a blast and a huge success. We're over halfway to our goal of $400 for the 501c3 filing fee. Of course I brought my camera but was too busy to take any shots. If anyone has any pictures they'd care to share, we'd love to see them!