Got this in the email, anyone know the answer?

Hello:

head about beer cupcake moustache last night at the MMRacing kick
off…good times. Looking for a cross specific team in the Boston area.
It’s the cycling sport I’m interested in racing. Any leads? One focused on
local/regional/sustainable biusiness & living would be way cool…like MM,
only for non-”pros”.

Regards,
Wayne

Hey you, yes you, remember how you were saying you wanted to go on a long ride this weekend? Well Bikes Not Bombs needs your help. See below. Give Jasmine a call if you can help, she is super awesome and would very much appreciate it!

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We are in a bad situation w/ no marshalls for the saturday bike-a-thon training ride — it’s 55 miles… interested or know someone who is? these are great rides!!!…. sweep, lead, fast, slow, anyone who’s reasonable and can do it!

THANKS!!

–
Jasmine Laietmark
Director of Grassroots Fundraising and Events

www.bikesnotbombs.org
617-522-0222 x106

Here is a whole bunch of things you can do to help out BNB!

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PC LAPTOP NEEDED!

Right now Bikes Not Bombs is urgently in need of a PC laptop. Ideally a Pentium IV or equivalent (like the Centrino processor). But a Pentium III can work if it has enough speed and memory. Let us know what you have to offer! Donations are tax deductible. Contact arik@bikesnotbombs.org

INTERNS WANTED!

BIKE-A-THON EVENT PLANNING – INTERN
There are so many aspects of this event, from outreach to info organizing to ride support and mapping, etc etc. Get in touch and we can talk about how you could join the team! Contact arik@bikesnotbombs.org

GIRLS IN ACTION – INTERN
Helps us prepare for and run our next session of Girls In Action. Most importantly you’d have youth work experience, w/ young women in their early teens. Emphasis on female empowerment and bike riding. Mechanics knowledge is helpful but not required as advanced mechanics will be supporting the session and can help you learn too along the way. The Spring Girls In Action session will run 5 days a week, weekdays 3:30-6:30pm and we’d need you here for at least one of these sessions, ideally more. Contact matt@bikesnotbombs.org.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY – INTERN
Help with software, network upgrades, support our database team, server upgrade, etc etc! Contact arik@bikesnotbombs.org

HOST A FUNDRAISING PARTY!

We encourage you to host a FUNdraising event for BNB. It could be a simple brunch, cocktail party, or other sweet gathering for your friends, family, neighbors, and/or coworkers, and we will bring a short and entertaining presentation of BNB’s work. Food, friends, and Bikes Not Bombs.

This is fun! Not only does the money go a long way, but you help spread the word about BNB’s work – perhaps your cousin would like to join you on the Bike-A-Thon ride this year or perhaps your neighbor would like to come help load a container of bikes to Ghana.

Bike-A-Thon riders Bruce Lederer and Sandy Machson had quite a fabulous (and lucrative) brunch in January, raising over $1,000 and having a great time doing it! Several of their friends are now on board with the Bike-A-Thon, and all of their guests learned more about BNB. One of them is even hosting a party next month! AND it was fun! We in the office would love to help you with party logistics. Email Jasmine@bikesnotbombs.org if you’re getting excited about the idea.

HELP WITH A BIKE COLLECTION IN YOUR TOWN

1) Does your town do a spring “Recycle Day”? (or “Drop off day” or “Clean out your attic day”, etc?) Bikes Not Bombs collects hundreds of bikes in conjunction with Recycle Days in Andover, Chatham, Concord, Mansfield, Natick, and Tewksbury, but we are looking to expand our collection efforts into other towns. If your town does an event like this, and is not on the list above, let us know about it (no need to research specific information).

2) How does Bikes Not Bombs collect and process 6,000 bikes per year? More than half of them are donated at suburban bike drives on Saturdays during the spring and fall. Volunteer a Saturday or three and help our bike donations team meet enthusiastic suburbanites and bring back the bikes. The day is long, and can be physically demanding, but you will always get to meet lots of fun people. Email Steve Bosco, bike donations coordinator at buddyster@rcn.com if you want to be plugged in.

SAVE THE MBTA: BAKE SALE ACTIONS
Monday March 9th, 3:30pm
Wednesday April 1st, 3:30pm

As a member of the On-The-Move Coalition (OTM), Bikes Not Bombs is involved in pushing forward legislation that OTM has written around public transit. OTM is a coalition of community based organizations in greater Boston that came together in 2000 with the goal of an environmentally sustainable and socially just transportation system that is integral to the preservation and creation of livable communities.

BNB and OTM believe that public transit users should not be held responsible, through service cuts, an unaddressed maintenance backlog and a seemingly endless cycle of fare increases, for improvements that do not benefit them or increase the environmental health of those living in greater Boston. To this end, OTM and the the bill’s sponsors, are trying to address the massive debt of the MBTA, $1.8 billion of which was unfairly placed on the T as a result of the Big Dig, by instituting a gas tax and designating the proceeds to address public transit needs.

OTM and the T Riders Union are planning two actions to urge the adoption of this bill, and we’re hoping to enlist members of the BNB community in coming out and supporting them. On both Monday, March 9th and Wednesday April 1st at 3:30 p.m., we will be hosting two ‘Save the T’ bake sales to draw attention to the need for action at the statehouse on this issue. The first will be in front of the statehouse and the second will be in front of the Citizens Bank in Dudley Square. If you’re interested in getting involved, please contact Jeremy at jeremy@bikesnotbombs.org for more information.

VIDEOGRAPHY NEEDED!

BNB teens are producing a Bike Safety Video to teach other teens how to ride safely. We need a videographer who can help film it! Or, if you’re comfortable, loan your camera. Contact matt@bikesnotbombs.org.

The Boston Bicycle Messenger Association is putting in a bid to host the 2009 North American Cycle Messenger Championships. This event is not for messengers only. It’s all about the community, not the race, and the community is not an exclusive type of thing.

If you’re at all interested in helping out with this event, in any way, please come out to the first NACCC09 organizers meeting. This meeting will be happening immediately following the monthly BBMA (Boston Bicycle Messenger Association) meeting, this Thursday, April 3rd, with the NACCC discussion commencing around 9pm. Get there a bit early if you’d like, the BBMA meetings are not an exclusive party either. Anyone interested in helping the messengers of Boston will be welcomed with open tattooed arms!

The meetings take place at:

17 Edinboro St. #4
Chinatown

For more info contact the BBMA

The organizers of the Beanpot bicycle race are seeking volunteers to marshal. Marshals get to see the race close up.

What:
– The 2008 Boston Beanpot Cycling Classic Road Race
– Course Marshals are needed to direct cyclists along the course

Who:
-The Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC)
-The Host colleges’ cycling teams (Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Tufts)
-Cycling enthusiasts
-Local residents
-You!

When:
-Saturday April 12, 2008
-Either a morning or afternoon shift (the commitment is approximately five hours)

Where:
-Grafton, Massachusetts (just west of I-495 on the MassPike). Transportation will be provided from Harvard Square
-once in Grafton, Course Marshals will be provided with transportation to their course locations and then back to the town center (food will also be provided)

Why:
-you once raced in the Beanpot
-some of the racers are on your local team or club
-you like cycling or want to learn more about it
-you like the free food and fresh air
-you want to help make the 2008 Boston Beanpot the best one ever!

RSVP:
– beanpot.volunteer@gmail.com

As temperatures plummet and snow begins to fall the last thing on the minds of most Bostonians is the coming race season. Not those on ski slopes or ice rinks, but the collegiate cycling season. Those shivering pacelines, decked in their school regalia, drafting off snowplows and salt trucks, are actually the first sign of one of East Coast cycling’s largest and most highly
organized race weekends… The Boston Beanpot !

The Beanpot has become legendary within the cycling community and New England as a whole. Not only for its events, courses and competitors, but for its seamless preparation and execution as well. The 2008 Beanpot continues in this tradition, but we need the support of our fellow students, residents in neighboring communities, and cycling enthusiasts to make this Beanpot a success… we need volunteers to be Course Marshals!

Anyone who has spent time on country roads in New England knows how winding and rolling they can be — roads that make for a memorable course, but that can be extremely difficult to navigate, especially at high speeds.

This is where we need help: it is the Course Marshals who direct the riders.

If you don’t know whether to turn at the cow pasture or stay straight, Marshals point the way. If you’re not familiar with the course or the large pothole that awaits you as you exit the next turn, Marshals steer you around it. They are your guides, your GPS, the people that allow you to focus on the race and still take in some of the scenery. They could be the difference between a memorable race weekend or the one you lament for years to come because you got lost and rode to New Hampshire.

Volunteering as a Course Marshal can be as memorable as being in the race itself (and for those of you who are hoping to participate as racers: you can do both! Marshaling will not keep you from racing the Beanpot). Not only will you be out on the course close to the action, watching the peloton break away or this year’s top riders battle for position on the last lap. You’ll also know you are helping to keep one of collegiate racing’s most well orchestrated weekends just as anticipated for years to come.

As critical a role as the marshals play, there is NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. Beforehand you are given a brief orientation of what is to be expected out on the course. We will transport you from Harvard Square to the course (Grafton) and provide you with lunch and instructions that are specific to your assigned location. You then make yourself visible and gesture to the approaching riders where they are to go. Extremely simple and extremely satisfying, having
pack after pack of frantic cyclists dependent entirely on your directions to get them to the finish.

This is a great opportunity to give back to the Boston community and collegiate sports culture. If you would like to volunteer as a Course Marshal or would like more information, please contact us at beanpot.volunteer@gmail.com