We need YOU to help us to help "Our Place"

[John D]

At the 2015 Tripleshot AGM in December there was discussion about ways the club could increase its "social responsibility footprint".

A few days later Ritchie Hughes approached me at the Xmas Party with a comment along the lines of "You know, the only people who ride their bikes more than us are the street people downtown. They really rely on their bikes and so we should find a way to help them out." This struck a chord with me, so I mentioned it to Tripleshot member Mikael Jansson (whose research at UVic brings him into contact with Victoria's "street-involved people"). Mikael told me that Brent Hooper from Velofix had recently started doing free bike repairs for the "Our Place"
clientele. So Mikael, Steve Lund, and I stopped by to see Brent in action and were introduced to Le-Ann Dolan (Our Place's director of operations).

As a result of that meeting we decided that Tripleshot could make an immediate and meaningful contribution by donating new and used bike parts to support the efforts of Brent and his team of volunteers (i.e.
by cutting down on the parts costs that Velofix incurs). Brent provided us with the following list of his most-needed parts:

- brake cables, shift cables & housing
- brake pads - Usually mtb V-brake pads & mtb cantilever pads but some road style ones occasionally (not inserts)
- tubes, 26" x 2.0 & 700c x 38/35
- tires, 26" & 700c hybrid (32 to 40)
- complete mtb rim brakes (Vbrake or cantilever)
- derailleurs - usually mtb ones, mostly rear but sometimes front.
- pedals (flat, commuter style not clip ins)
- grips (for flat bars)

Tripleshot member Bud Sabiston has recently stepped up to lead the first call for donated parts. Bud will have his vehicle in the parking lot 20 min prior to our Tripleshot rides on:

- Friday Feb 25
- Sunday Feb 27
- Tuesday Mar 1

If you have any parts to donate that are too big for a pre-ride drop off, you can drop them off at the The Pedaler (321 Belleville Street) on Saturday Feb 27, 10am to 2 pm. Note that Brent is expressly NOT looking for donations of complete bikes, nor does he need parts for kids' bikes.
Bud will follow this up with information on how YOU can get even more involved by volunteering your time to help Brent's team of mechanics at Our Place. As an added incentive, just imagine how happy your spouse/partner/house-mates will be to see you cleaning out your garage to donate bike parts for a worthy cause!

John (for the TSC Exec)

[Bud S]

These repair sessions are scheduled to take place the first Tuesday of every month, 2-4pm at Our Place, just inside the gate. Our Place Society refers to their community as ‘family’, the bike repairs are done in their family environment which is very casual, safe and secure. The repair recipients are always appreciative.

We hope to continue to have a minimum of 2 certified bicycle mechanics at each session, however, specific bicycle repair skills are not required to volunteer. Often times it is a matter of oiling a chain or tightening a cable. It is a bit surprising how many people are riding around without brakes because the brakes are not connected!

The following are the general areas of repair activities:
Certified Bicycle Mechanic – oversee/direct and provide mechanical expertise
Repair Person - repair/replace tires, cable/gear adjustments, assist mechanics
Support Person - triage repairs, assist with repairs

Kudos to Brent Hooper (Velofix) and Paul Raymond (The Pedaler) for getting the wheels rolling on this project, as John has indicated the contribution to the cycling community is immediate.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact me by email, bud.sabiston@gmail.com, I will provide more details and a link to the schedule on Drop Box.
Cheers and thanks for your time,
Bud

[bisonesque]

Hey John. I think this is great. Are we going to be collecting donations on an ongoing basis? Just saw this tonight, but I would love to contribute.

Cheers
Alex

[Bud S]

Hi Alex, lots of people have expressed interest but so far nobody has dropped off parts. Perhaps pre ride isn't the best strategy. John had mentioned post ride drop off, perhaps a permanent bin somewhere would work too. Those of us participating in the repairs would like to keep it ongoing, so more to follow.
There is a repair session today at Our Place (Today being first Tuesday of the month) 2 - 4, rain or shine! Of course open to anybody who like to drop by to see how it all works, mechanics on hand often pulling off some amazing work to keep a ride rolling for another month is a learning experience for all.
Cheers.

[Bud S]

Correction, first drop off today. Thanks Andrew!

[bisonesque]

I have a few items gathered, and I am reaching out to folks I am connected with to get some additional donations in. I will have them before the next session, which I believe would be April 4th.

As I have gone looking for parts I have had a number of folks approach me regarding full bikes. I know that Brent isn't looking for those. However, I am wondering if Our Place would take donations of full, functional bikes and get them in the hands (or under the asses) of people who could use them.

Any chance of asking our contact with Our Place?

Cheers
Alex

[John D]

However, I am wondering if Our Place would take donations of full, functional bikes and get them in the hands (or under the asses) of people who could use them.

Hi Alex;

When Steve, Mikael, and I met with Le-Ann Dolan (Director of Operations at Our Place), she made it very clear that they were not interested in taking full bike donations. We asked specifically.

Cheers,
J.

[bisonesque]

Thanks John.

Alex

[bisonesque]

I have managed to pull together a box of stuff. Is the Pedaler still the place to drop off?


A

[Bud S]

Yes Pedaler would be great, any day is fine they are now open for the season 9- 6 daily.

There is another repair session this Tuesday (5th) 2 - 4 pm at Our Place. You could certainly drop off at that time if it's more convenient or you'd like to check out what goes on, you'll see the Velofix van in the lot. Any other times please drop off at the Pedaler.

Martin/Mikael from TS are planning to be there and of course any other volunteers are encouraged. Just let me know ahead of time if you'd like to participate so we have an idea of how many will be there.

Thanks Alex!

[bisonesque]

Managed to drop a pile of stuff off at The Pedaler on Friday. Most of this was donated by Alex Hui and Martin Clermont. Many thanks to them.

Cheers
Alex

[Bud S]

Here's a quick update on these workshops that continue as planned, the first Tuesday of every month. They are popular and well attended, a small group of Tripleshot members have been volunteering on a regular basis, (Tom Burton, Mikael Jansson, Martin Farnham) making a significant contribution to the program.
The last couple of sessions have been particularity busy, Patricia O'Byrne (Our Place Community Engagement Coordinator) has passed the workshop times/dates along to other facilities so we can expect to see higher numbers through the summer.

Here are some stats we've been keeping over last few sessions, numbers are averages:
Volunteers - 7
Bikes serviced - 22
Walkers - 1
Scooters (or motorized wheelchair) - 1
Longboard - 1 (total overall)
Recovered stolen bike - 1 (total overall)
Brake and gear adjustment/upgrades and tire repair are the majority of repairs, we are starting to see regular participants (approx 20%).

The next workshop is tomorrow 2-4 at Our Place on Pandora, feel free to stop by or let me know if you would like to participate at the next one August 2. Or you can always drop off spare parts (as previously described) at the Pedaler, 321 Belleville St, 7 days a week.

If you aren't following the Pedaler on Facebook (always lots of good cycling info there) here's a post about the Our Place workshops:
https://www.facebook.com/ThePedaler/pos ... 1344984019

[Paula]

Rats, if I had read this earlier….

I am NOT very mechanically inclined, but I CAN change a flat… are you hoping for people with more skills than that?

Paula

[mfarnham]

Paula, I'm mechanically challenged and I've volunteered and felt like I added at least some value. Yesterday I was on "clipboard duty", meaning I greeted people coming in, took notes on their (bike) issues, assigned them a number in the cue, and briefed the mechanics. In the past I've oiled chains and added air to tires. If "too many" mechanically challenged people show up, they can watch those with more skills do repairs and learn. If you and I both turn up in the future, we could each do half the clipboard work and spend the other half of our time studying up and getting our hands dirty as apprentices. Who knows...eventually we may be teaching others!

Martin