The Gabriola Green Bikes Project

Workshop

2010-09-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Last month, I attended a one-week course in bicycle maintenance and repair at United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Oregon. The trip was made possible by a generous donation from Green Bikes founder Hank Sirlin. After completing the course, I'm certainly no pro but I now know enough to teach some basic workshops for the community. The first one took place last weekend at The Commons and was attended by fourteen people who learned to change a tire, repair a flatted tube and clean their chains. The next workshop will cover replacing a chain and move on adjusting derailleurs.

While I was in Ashland, two of my classmates made contributions to our program so THANKS to Liz and Sara! We'll be using the funds to purchase tools and supplies for the program. Much appreciated!

And speaking of thanks, a shout out to Derek Kilbourn at the Gabriola Sounder for supplying the photo for this post.

Green Bike Stories

2009-10-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

I had to travel the day after Fall Fair which was when we put out the new fleet of Green Bikes. 10 days later, my wife picked me up at the ferry and one of the first things I saw was a GB parked in our neighbourhood, waiting for its next rider. Later that afternoon, I saw a kid riding away from The Village on a different GB. Obviously the bikes were being ridden.

Fast forward to yesterday morning. Someone knocks on our door and it's our friend Steve who happens to be a serious runner. He had the kickstand of a GB in his hand and a smile on his face. He'd been out on his morning run when he started feeling faint and a tad nauseous. He was a long way from home and thought he'd have to hitchhike back to his place. He sat down to collect himself and when he started looking around, lo and behold, there was a Green Bike just across the street (he was out at the end of Berry Point). Feeling somewhat better, he mounted the bike and rode it to my house. The kickstand fell off along the way but he was nonetheless very happy to have had the bike handy to get him home (he lives just around the corner from us).

Got a Green Bikes story? Let me hear it.

Thanks to all who have helped make this happen.

More Bikes

2009-09-18T17:17:00.001-07:00

Volunteers Caylie and Laurum Graham prep a bike for paint

Ken Capon applys the green

A green bike and helmet ready to ride at The Commons. A small fleet of newly reconditioned and painted bicycles will be available to the public at the Fall Fair on Sunday, 20 September. See you there!

Eighteen Percent!

2008-10-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended a meeting of the Gabriola Transportation Committee as a representative of GGBP. A lot of great ideas were tossed around and results of the recent Transportation Survey were presented. There was one statistic that I found amazing: 18% of respondents use a bicycle for everyday transportation (errands, commuting, socializing, etc.). Copenhagen is the bikingest place on the planet at 33% but they have considerable infrastructure in place (bike lanes, bike parking/storage facilities, bikes-only streets, etc.) not to mention a century or more of bicycle history and culture. Without any of these things, a significant number of Gabriolans are already using a bicycle for something other than recreation. The goal of the Gabriola Green Bikes Project is to increase that number by making bikes available to anyone who needs one short-term and by increasing bicycle awareness at every opportunity.

Thank You!

2008-10-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

This post will be an ongoing Thank You Note to all the individuals and organizations who have helped the project to move forward. Very much appreciated!

EVERYONE who has donated a bicycle
Hank Sirlin
The Gabriola Commons
Arbutus Building Supply
Village Hardware
The Gabriola Sounder
The Flying Shingle
Nicholson Cycle (Victoria, BC)
Totally Timbers
The Rollo Center
Carol Ramsey
Ken Capon
Lisa Webster-Gibson
Kevan Heughan
Sigrid Bjarnason
Caylie and Laurum Graham
Joelle Anthony
Steve at GIRO

Manifesto

2008-10-22T10:17:00.001-07:00

The Gabriola Green Bikes Project, brainchild of long time island resident Hank Sirlin, is being nudged towards fruition by Sirlin himself, Victor Anthony, and the good people of Gabriola.

The idea is to put a free bicycle under the butt of every Gabriolan or visitor who wants to use one for an hour, an afternoon, or a weekend. GGBP is modelled after other public bicycle initiatives around North America, most notably the Yellow Bikes Project in Portland, Oregon. What GGBP is not, is a giveaway program. These are public bikes, intended for public use, and are not to be taken home and used by one individual exclusively.

The goal is to have 100 bicycles in sound mechanical condition (read: safe), painted and distributed all around the island. For the time being, the depot will be the goat barn at The Commons, and that’s where you should drop off a bike if you have one to donate to the project.

How can you help? Aside from more bikes, the program could use a little cash for parts (inner tubes, brake cables, etc.) to get the bicycles already donated up and running. Also, anyone with basic mechanical skills and some free time is most welcome to volunteer.

Lastly, start using these bikes as soon as you see them around. You can’t miss them. They’ll be painted bright green; tires, handlebars and all.

As Hank says, “Every bike in motion means one less car on the road.” But remember, please ride responsibly. These aren’t racing machines. Think tooling down to The Village to pick up some scones, as opposed to hurtling down Brickyard hill.

To help out or make suggestions, please email victorsez2 at gmail dot com. Also, thanks to The Commons for the space, to Village Hardware for the donation of paint, and to everyone who has kindly donated bicycles thus far. Much appreciated.

Now, let’s get this show on the road!