Spring Clean 2013

As spring approaches, give your bike some TLC - come out and get your bike checked out/repaired or look for a new (used) one! Check calendar for open shop hours and be prepared to get your hands dirty ;-)

As Winter slows some down, come and help clear the trail so we can ride in the spring ! ;-)

What: Northwest Branch trail cleanup

When: January 21, 2013 10:00am-12:00pm (2 hours)
Where: Meet up at Melrose Park parking lot (red x on the map), corner of Rhode Island Ave and Charles Armontrout Dr.
Misc Info: No need to RSVP just come! In case of inclement weather (meaning lots of rain,snow, etc) the event will be cancelled!

https://www.facebook.com/events/327309317382960/

ELECTION DAY 2012

Next Open Shop will be 13th Nov. 

Go vote for improved bike trails, & renewable energy... 

& remember 

In view of the arrival of Sandy, Tues evening open shop has been cancelled.


Next open shop will be in 2 weeks (not Election Day).
See you all then & stay safe.

Anacostia Riverside Trail

Why does it take so long for essential cycling infrastructure to be implemented?

This 4 mile extension of the Anacostia River Trail from Bladensburg (which has been open over a year) to the city will reportedly cost $15m & not open until Fall 2014!
Ridiculous !


http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2012/10/15/meet-the-new-anacostia-riverwalk-trail-soon-to-be-gap-free/comment-page-1/#comment-98610

Mount Rainier Bike Co-op Seeks Volunteers

The Mount Rainier Bike Co-op (MRBC) would very much like you to volunteer alongside others during our open shops. We have the space, the tools, and used parts in great supply, and we certainly have the clientele. With your help, we have the ability to more than double our service potential!

MBRC will also hold it's first Volunteer-Only Closed shop this Sunday, September 16th from 1-4pm. This shop will occur every 3rd Sunday, is open to anyone willing to work on donated bikes, and is intended specifically for a) preparing donated bikes to go out at suggested donation and b) creating an informal educational environment for bike mechanics. Hope to see you there!

About MRBC

Since 2005, MRBC has aimed to enable and encourage people to own, maintain, and ride bicycles safely. We reclaim, refurbish, and redistribute used bicycles that would otherwise be heading for the landfill, teach mechanics to youth and adults, and partner with local DC area organizations to promote an inclusive and responsible bicycling community. MRBC focuses its services locally, but the shop and its programs are open to all members on a donation basis.

Volunteering at MRBC

MRBC offers volunteers an opportunity to assist a diverse clientele in a relaxed, well-supplied bike shop. The willingness to learn and to teach form the core of volunteerism, and as such MRBC accepts volunteers of all mechanical skill levels, from completely inexperienced to veteran wrench. Volunteers are also granted the right to use our wholesale bike parts catalogue, and the opportunity to work on personal bikes for free.    

Regular Open Shops:

WEEKLY
Tues:7:00pm-9:00pm open to ADULTS only

Sundays: 1:00pm-4:00pm
-1st & 2nd Sundays are 18&UNDERS shops
-3rd Sundays are VOL-ONLY BUILD Shops
-4th Sundays are open to ALL
-5th Sundays are CLOSED

MONTHLY

Last SAT of each month - 10:30am- 1pm

To Volunteer

Just show up ready to help at one of our open shops! If possible, email ahead of time and let us know you are coming.

Sieze the Carp!... With Your Bike!

Thanks to Chris Doyle's new, easy-to-use work boards, tools were accessible and swiftly returned to their homes at last Sunday's shop. This was our second week in a row that featured a majority of 18&Unders. Kids helping adults fix flats! Kids lugging mom's bike down to the shop for a surprise tune-up! Truly great stuff.

A special thanks to Josh for taking a major roll in volunteer duties, and for imparting upon the younger ones some pretty excellent nutritional information.

MT !!!!IER youth! You are making it happen!

Sunday Kids Shop: Full of Kids!

A new month brought the MRBC's first majority of avid and able young folks to the Kid's Open Shop this past sunday (doors are open to adults who can work on their own and give space to 18&unders), a sight to behold and a not one wrench spared! Long-time attendees like Naya and Nandi were in good company, and might just have finished the work on their ride had the on-duty volunteer not had so many awesome questions to contend with. Hubs were re-packed, breaks were adjusted, wheels were trued to the sound Jimmy Smith's masterful Hammond B-3. 

There's another kid's shop next Sunday, and hopefully those who came out last week will grace the shop with their presence again!

Thursday Open Shop Recap

This recap coming a few days late, but better late than never...

Slower open shop this past Thursday. Michael stopped by and we replaced his bottom bracket. Laura and a friend came in and worked on the green three-speed that we've had in the back room for a long time and just recently got the tires for (it's the old English 3-speed tire sizing, ISO 590). Kevin stopped by with a bike to donate, and is thinking about coming back to build up a bike from the back room. And Dave stopped by for a bit to check in and see how things were going.

Also made progress on a blue Cignal mountain bike that should be ready for sale soon. Just have to fix a squeaky front brake.

Thursday Open Shop Recap

Busy open shop at the coop last night.

Here's what went on:

Yerodin replaced the crank on his bike.
Rudy came in to buy a road bike, but couldn't find a small frame road bike. He's going to stop by next week after the next shipment from UMD.
Peter came in to do a spoke replacement, and is now planning on building some wheels of his own.
Dan came in to fix up a vintage Columbia road bike.
Matt came in to do some work on his road bike, and now has a functional front derailleur.
Jose came in to fix a flat.
Drokil came in to fix a flat.
Scott came in to work on his bike, trying to get rid of a gear skipping problem on the small cogs of his freewheel.
Ji Chen and his dad came in to buy a bike, and rode off with a nice purple Fuji.

In terms of volunteers, Dave Cahill was around for almost the whole night and was a great help, especially with getting the purple Fuji ready for sale. Dave MacMillan also came by and made progress in getting another bike ready for sale. Yerodin, Dan, and Peter all signed on to the Coop email list, so hopefully we'll see them around as volunteers!

TONIGHT'S OPEN SHOP CANCELLED

Sorry for short notice, but due to volunteer vacations'- tonight's shop is closed.
Next shop will be this SUNDAY 1-4pm.

Monthly FULL MOON RIDE

Another Fullmoon, another FullMoon!PicnicCruise!

Tuesday, July 3, Mt Rainier Bike CoOp, 3601 Bunkerhill RD, Mt Rainier, MD
gather 7pm
departs 7:30

Keep our eyes on the skies, there may be thunderstorms, as yet.

BicycleSPACE, a great bike shop on 7th north of New York Ave, NW DC, is hosting another bike gathering themselves, brilliantly celebrating fireflies and heavy on the picnicking, if we so choose to join them again!

6/23 12:30pm, Summer Solstice Ride To Ruin 2012!

Consider riding 2.5 hrs north to picnic and swim in a river near ruins of a mill, then ride back.

Saturday June 23
12:30p Gather Mount Rainier Bike Coop, 3601 Bunkerhill RD
1:00p  depart (2-3 hr ride will stop 2-3 times for water, food, any needed rests)
4:00p  arrived at Savage Rocks
7:00p  departed back
10:00p arrived at Mt Rainier Bike Coop

route:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212934556383620671801.0004891827597f7361778&msa=0&ll=39.043186,-76.834259&spn=0.298112,0.441513

Why a very strenuous ride in summer heat? You'd be surprised how far you can go on your bike if you haven't surprised yourself already. This ride has scant hills through a mostly shaded route! This ride happens 2 days from the Summer Solstice and there will be as much daylight (til almost 9) to use on the return trip.

Chinese Elm down on 38th at Utah Ave, Brentwood, MD. June 22 2012 Downburst/Microburst. We few still wanted to ride.

Caitlin, Roopa, Harold, Tim, Winnie. 38th at Bunkerhill RD.

Rob. U.S.1 North at BunkerHill RD, Brentwood MD

Rob, Winnie, Katie, Tim, Harold, train. Anacostia Trail Eastern Branch. Edmonston, MD.

Caitlin, Katie, Winnie, Rob, Roopa, Tim, Harold. Anacostia Trail Eastern Branch. Riverdale, MD.

Harold, Caitlin, Katie, TIm, Rob, Roopa, Winnie. Cherrywood Lane, turning left/north at Rte201. Greenbelt, MD.

Rte 201 north, Beltsville, MD.
We saw trees down from Mt Rainier to Riverdale, but all points north looked like they didn't get the tree-ripping storms the night before.

Montpelier Swimming Pool, Cederbrook Lane, Laurel, MD. Water fountain! Friendly staff!

Brock Bridge RD north. Laurel, MD.

La Campechanita arrives before the explorer like an oasis of sweet ice on a hot day of riding in the sun of Brock Bridge RD in Maryland City/Laurel, MD.

Gorman RD., east. Savage, MD.

Gorman RD. Savage, MD.

A path to the swim spot through mill ruins.

Through the woods. Patuxent River at Savage, MD.

north/west/upstream along the Patuxent River, Savage MD. Woods cleared and larger open path developed since 2010.

Striking Azul Harold. Savage, MD.

In the Patuxent River. Savage, MD.

Patuxent Picnic. Winnie and Rob joined by Mick.

Roopa, Caitlin, Winnie, Harold, Tim, and Rob heading homewards south on Brock Bridge RD by the Laurel Park stables. Katie got a ride to Baltimore from Savage. Smart planning!

Before a delightful mess of fireflies along the Anacostia Trail, we viewed Baltimore Washington Blvd, U.S. Rte1 through Beltsville, from a hilltop of Old Baltimore Pike east of the railroad in Beltsville. It looks like Old Baltimore Pike and (newer)Rte1 used to be a connected road in the past. The railroad severs the seeming connection, now.

Wednesday June 13 2012

This June ide Wednesday saw again many flock to the bike coop.

Cory was first to show and again extremely helpful to arrivals.

Rosy and Job helped out through the night as well.

Many many projects. It was one of those nights.

Tyler freed a seized stem. Liberty!

Xing Xing brought some sweet sesame goodies. So nice! She then trued a wheel!

Me and Harold resolved to meet at the coop next Saturday, June 23, at 12:30pm for a long ride to a swimming spot in Savage MD. If it isn't called off by rain...the ride will be tough. But the reward at the end is worth it -A swim near Patuxent River rapids and the ruins of an old mill, happens at a place us ol' Laurelites called The Rocks.

There will be hydrating and food acquiring opportunities along the way, and at the destination.

This is a very social event. Surely, there will be many groups of families and friends enjoying the river by the time we get there, as many folks gather at this spot every weekend through the summer.

Gather 12:30pm at 3601 Bunkerhill, If it's raining, we'll decide if we'll continue, or call it off.
Depart 1pm
Ride in much shade on hot solstice day for 2.5 hours
Arrive (by) 4pm -Savage Rocks
Depart (by)7pm
Ride back exhausted and surprised that you'd even ride after all that
Arrive (by)10pm 3601 Bunkerhill Rd

FUULL MOON RIDE! with BicycleSpace Join us this month as we ride downtown. Meet at Co-Op or at Bicycle Space! Changed: This month we are partnering with BicycleSpace in DC to join their Full Moon Ride - see http://www.bicyclespacedc.com/ We plan to meet at co-op 7 - leave at 7:15pm to get downtown for 8pm or be at 1019 7th Street Northwest, Washington, DC. Please note their ride is scheduled from 8-12pm but we can metro back earlier if people want to. When Changed: Sat 2012-06-02 7pm – Sun 2012-06-03 12am Eastern Time Where Changed: MRBC & BicycleSpace (map)

Wednesday May 16 2012

Started out easy with one visitor, Brentwood Mike. He brought a loose bottom bracket he wanted to correct. We started getting into it.

Thankfully, Bo and Rosy came through because the crowd ebbed right up, flesh and steel in the warm sun all over the front yard again.

Augustus brought a donation cruiser, then stayed to the end to help some folks out in the yard. That help is very much appreciated, generous Augustus!

Marty came in and helped out a lot.

Xing Xing came with gifts again! Josh R's daughter has a BDay soon, and XingXing has something for it! She worked on her ride some, too.

The alarm downstairs decided to let us know it works. I entered the off code several times, but it kept singing. I just let it rip and waited for the police, talking to Mike Gumpert and getting into his tire.

Evan Wilder came in and dealt with MRPD, freeing me up to dance around to different projects like Brentwood Mike's difficult bottom bracket cup....we got it!

The Bunkerhill couple with a puegot and it's derailleur.

Fred and a donation for a bike.

Dave Mac fixing his tire. 

It got to be a rocking night! It was a good night for me. Thanks to all who helped one another get mobile tonight!

                                             NOW, SOME CHUCK BROWN!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

MRBC will be hosting a free Bike Valet at the 8th annual Gateway Artists Studio's Tour for those interested in getting around without polluting, at the 39th St Gallery from 12-4/5pm. Drop on by if you are free to help or just have a chat.

Wednesday 5.2.12

Woah. I used to do Monday nights, Saturday mornings for a bit, and it would get busy sometimes. Really busy.. but for some reason, I felt like it was manageable. Now that I'm getting help on Wednesday nights, it seems I need that help on busy nights. The community needs it. The difference between recent Wednesdays and distant Mondays is that visitors wait less. Seems we could use 8 staffers on busy nights like this. Not joking. Some people waited tonight, and were cut off by 8:30. It was a great night with all the help.

I'm so thankful to all the hands tonight. Thank you so much, Dave, Carl for joining me tonight. As well as our staffer helpers Job, Laura, Corey, and big time, Rosy, for helping me with my neighbor, Jonathan's, bike. So good to see Jonathan and Les make it in.

Oh, and XingXing! Xingxing came through again with big cheer and a plate of homemade dumplings -vegan so Josh R could eat them! YYUMM!! Yall, she hooked it up tonight! She is excited to ride the fullmoon gathering this Friday (7pm), and she is excited that participants can share their food...so...get ready for XingXing, yall! She's coming to the FullMoon!PicnicCruise! and she likes to cook, evidently good food!

While squirting mushroom-tofu dumpling juice out of my mouth, I was turning a bolt on a recent donation that Trinity chose to be her bike. Trinity and her mom, Wakili, chose a couple bikes to cruise their hills of Mt Rainier. Wakili, Trinity and Jua had made it to the coop several times through the last year to try to complete the 10 tasks needed to "earn-a-bike". Word got around and a generous neighbor informed the coop that the time-strapped family could choose their bikes and it would be payed for by said donor. What mayberry generosity thrives in villages the world over, shines in Mt Rainier, MD.

Wakili is fun to talk to about colors and stones. I've been feeling a surprise favoring of browns, reds, beige, and orange -overall with gaudy blue to teal, since February.

-MikeTurner

FUULL MOON RIDE this Fri @ 7pm

Spring is here, or is it summer already ?  so don't forget to come over to the Co-Op and get your bike tuned-up in our Open Shops so you can ride our monthly FUULL MOON Ride this Fri @ 7pm.

Bring lights if you have them and helmets if you prefer. The weather should be balmy so pack a snack & drink preferably to share and we'll head on out to the trails !

Hope to see you there.

wednesday april 18

A wet Wednesday night meant a small turn out.

Hyattsville Harold did come in to work on his wheel. He had a lot of help from Rosey -a newer volunteer who has been nothing but extremely helpful to the operation on Wednesday nights.

Xingxing dropped in to cheerfully announce she is riding her bike and is new to town, then ask if any of us don't eat eggs because she'd like to make some banana pancakes and share them with us. She did reappear with them 30 minutes later! So kind!

Dave came in and helped Josh R with a derailleur problem.

Job also was in place, attending to his wheel.

Elizabeth dropped off some volunteer hour log sheets, where we can write down who was in on what day and how many hrs they've put in. It helps us see who is helping out a lot. It takes three months of one helping in the operation of the space -not on their own bikes/projects- to be able to be considered as a volunteer -at least 2hrs/month.

Good night of kicking it. While not running back and forth this night, I actually got to write up a tag and tinker with a donated cannondale. It's good to have a nice bike to offer to the peops.
-Mike