Bikes Not Bombs Mega Update
Written by Boston Biker on May 28Bike-A-Thon 2013 is only 5 days away! Register, Donate, Volunteer!
Sunday, June 2nd is just around the corner and Bikes Not Bombs needs YOU to join hundreds of riders for our biggest event and most important fundraiser of the year! Enjoy an amazing day of cycling while raising critical funds to support Bikes Not Bombs’ unique bicycle-based empowerment work in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and right here in Boston!
Choose from four scenic routes: a 15-mile ride that’s great for cyclists of all abilities, including families with children, a 25-mile ride that climbs into the Blue Hills, a 40-mile ride that’s filled with sweeping fields, babbling creeks, and shady groves, and a 65-mile ride that’s perfect for avid cyclists who want a challenge. Choose the ride that’s right for you, ride at your own pace, and have fun! Detailed route maps are available online.
All four Bike-A-Thon rides start and end at the park in front of the Stony Brook T Station on the Orange Line, at Lamartine and Boylston Streets in Jamaica Plain. Rides are fully supported with food, mechanics, cue sheets, rest stops, and following vehicles. You’ll be greeted at the finish line with gourmet lunch, live bands, face painting, and time to hang out with other cyclists. Riders also receive a limited edition 2013 Bikes Not Bombs t-shirt! Top individual fundraisers, teams, and youth are eligible for great prizes, like these awesome Aftershockz headphones, gift certificates to all sorts of cool places, and more!
There is a registration fee of $20 for folks 18 and older, and $10 for riders under 18. We try to make our ride as accessible as possible and keep a low fundraising requirement: $150 for riders 18 and older, $100 for riders 11-17, and $50 for riders ages 3-10. Once you register, you’ll receive an email packet with a pledge sheet and more info and you’ll also be able to make a personal fundraising webpage, which makes it easy for people to sponsor you online.
Find out more and register to ride today! And help spread the word on Facebook!
Nevis Earn-A-Bike is a grassroots youth bicycle program, modeled after BNB’s own Earn-A-Bike, that provides bicycle mechanics training, leadership development and bicycles to young people throughout the island of Nevis in the Eastern Caribbean. Nevis Earn-A-Bike provides opportunities for young people to learn more about bikes, develop tangible and useful skills in bicycle repair and leadership, and build cross-community friendships. This program is in partnership with the Department of Social Services of Nevis, and has plans to expand to the neighboring island of St. Kitts.
This shipment of about 500 bicycles and parts will supply the Nevis Earn-A-Bike, and potentially the St. Kitts Earn-A-Bike, for at least the next two years. We’ll be loading lots of 24″ bikes, BMX bikes and 26″ mountain bikes. Come and join us!
TIME: Sunday June 16th from 10am to 5pm. Drop in for an hour or stay all day!
LOCATION: The BNB warehouse at 10 Harvard Street in Dorchester
DETAILS: Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Equal Exchange coffee is generously donated by City Feed & Supply!
Click here for more information and to RSVP!
The Bikes Not Bombs Youth Bike-A-Thon team, “Team Swerve,” is putting the FUN in FUNdraising with an awesome and delicious event!
On Friday, May 24th, Team Swerve will be hosting the 2nd annual Super Soaker Scooper ‘Stravaganza from4-7 pm outside the Stony Brook T Station. Come on by and support our youth team by purchasing some delicious ice cream sundaes. Team Swerve is aiming to raise $4,000 and every dollar from this event will go directly to helping them reach their goal. Plus, who can say no to ice cream?? Read more, RSVP, and help spread the word on Facebook!
Feel free to contact Alumni Services Coordinator, Kenny at 617-522-0222 x102 or[email protected] for more information.
If you can’t make it, but still want to support the BNB Youth Team, you can donate online.
A bike drive is an event, often organized by a volunteer, to collect bicycles for Bikes Not Bombs. Large drives will sometimes bring in over 200 bikes! These drives help us extend our network of bike collection beyond our two locations in Jamaica Plain. If you have a bike to donate, you can always bring it to Jamaica Plain, but if you live further away, then hopefully you’ll be able to find a bike drive that is closer.
Upcoming Bike Drives:
- Carlisle, MA on Saturday, June 1st, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Sharon, MA on Saturday, June 8th, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
- South Dartmouth, MA on Saturday, June 15th, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Sherborn, MA on Saturday June 15th 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Northampton, MA on Saturday June 22nd 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
- Beverly, MA on Saturday June 29th 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Want to help bring Bikes Not Bombs’ bike collection to your town? We’d love to have your helporganizing a bike drive
Village Bicycle Project is hiring a Cadbury Bicycle Factory Maintenance Training Coordinator – a 9-month position in Ghana, from September 2013 – June 2014. The Coordinator is needed to initiate, coordinate, implement and report on bicycle repair and maintenance training programs in remote villages where The Bicycle Factory has donated over 17,000 bicycles since 2009. The position is for 30 hours / week on average, and will require extensive traveling to as many as 150 villages.
Visit the Village Bicycle Project’s website for more information on this exciting position!
Bikes Not Bombs extends Kwame Bidi a warm farewell and heartfelt thank you. Kwame has worked with BNB for the past 9 months on a temporary contract as International Programs Associate. During his time, he has helped BNB develop extensive systems of monitoring and evaluation for our International Programs, and he has provided increased support to our international partners. Kwame just completed his graduate studies in Sustainable International Development at the Heller School of Brandeis University, and is moving on to the next step in his career. Kwame, we will miss you, and we wish you all the best!!!
Bikes Not Bombs is currently accepting applications for Summer Earn-A-Bike and Fall Girls In Action.
- Summer Earn-A-Bike Session I – July 10 – July 26 (M-F, 2-6pm)
- Summer Earn-A-Bike Session II – July 31 – August 16 (M-F, 2-6pm)
- Fall Girls In Action September 9th – October 10th (M-Th, 3:30-6:30pm)
In these programs, participants aged 12 -18 choose a bike from those donated to Bikes Not Bombs, and not only learn the skills to build it up, but to maintain it as well. At the end of the program, once the bike is built, it is theirs to take home! Additionally, we go on bike adventures to explore some of the fascinating places Boston has to offer, and explore various environmental and social justice issues.
There are a limited number of spots available. Applicants are chosen based on application date, the applicant’s availability, and willingness to commit (Note: Girls In Action is only open to girls). To qualify for enrollment, BOTH the completed application and payment (cash, check or money order) must be submitted. Applicants who are not accepted will be notified and the program fee will be returned. Fee waivers are available.
If you have any questions please contact Ashley Leary at 617-522-0222 x101 or email[email protected].
Applications are available online. Mail or deliver the application & fee to: Bikes Not Bombs, 284 Amory Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
This summer, especially after the Bike-A-Thon, we’ll need extra volunteers to help around the office with easy tasks, such as data entry and envelope stuffing. If you or someone you know is available during weekday business hours, then this office volunteering role would be a great way to plug in and help out BNB! Scheduling is flexible. Please contact Sean Madsen at [email protected].
The April and May Free Clinics at the BNB Shop have been a big success so far! For June, we have Practical Bike Fit on Thursday June 6th from 8-9pm, Basic Maintenance Wednesday June 12th from 8-9pm, and Flat Fixing Wednesday June 19th from 8-9pm. Check our website for more details. No need to sign up – just show up at 8pm! And don’t forget Tool Time, which is Monday June 3rd from 7-9pm and does require both a BNB Membership and advanced sign up.
Longtime BNB Shop employee Miguel will be leaving us to apprentice at the Center for Appropriate Transport in Eugene OR. He’ll be teaching bike mechanics as well as learning about and fabricating Cargo Bikes, one of which he hopes to raise money for and send back to BNB. Derek McIntire (also a former BNB employee) has returned to BNB as a shop mechanic. Derek just got back from working in Kenya with a community bike shop helping to train the staff in more advanced mechanics and shop operations.
We are now stocking two new panniers from Racktime. The Single-it ($60) is an individual pannier with organizing pockets, outer reflectors, and a waterproof rain cover. We are also stocking the Travel-it in two sizes (front-$100 and rear-$120). These are more traditional touring panniers with multiple pockets and an integrated rain cover. Both of these use Ortlieb’s proven QL1 mounting system (which means they attach similarly to the more expensive Ortlieb panniers) but are priced more competitively than the Ortlieb’s.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the Bike-A-Thon! We’ll be giving free bicycle safety checks to registered Bike-A-Thon riders in the morning and tabling in the afternoon.
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