We’ll start at the start of the season…
Fender Bender offered it’s first mechanic training experience (now called “Rags to Wrenches”) in April 2012 – there were 5 people that completed the 6 week training !!

We engaged with a variety of in depth repair skills and bike maintenance techniques – from bike anatomy and proper tool use, to patching flat tires, over-hauling wheel hubs, derailleur adjustments, getting our own “bearings” together, changing cables and housing, and even silk screening our own Fender Bender t-shirts, and more.

The “Rags to Wrenches” mechanic training is more than building bike repair skills – it is community building – where the bike is used as a vehicle of transportation and transformation in our own lives and our communities. The class applies bicycle metaphors to hands on activities that allow us to explore our imaginations and experiences, then guide us to new possibilities of healing, growth, and adventure.

These are pics from the April class, a few open shops – the lovely faces of folks who made magic happen all summer at the shop!

In addition we were able to….
- Coordinate 8 hours of open-shop each week
- Facilitate a 7wk mechanic training at Detroit Community High School http://www.detcomschools.org/
- Tuesday eve bike maintenance classes at Wheelhouse Detroit !! http://www.wheelhousedetroit.com/
- Operate the first ever Allied Media Conference bike lending library http://alliedmedia.org/news-tags/bikes
- Organize and clean the space!
- Led youth and adult group rides on the regular
Young Educators Alliance to name one http://www.facebook.com/YoungEducatorsAlliance
- Hosted the Full Moon night-time ride every month
- Offered bike rentals, and re-furbished bike sales all summer….

BEST of all…there’s a collective now!! Eight peoples deep

How we came together…
Organically and from the ground-up. Each person had a different reason they were there: love of bicycles, to hang out, learn bike repair skills, seeking a gender non-conforming, women, and/or queer positive space, to build community, to bike ride with a group, to ride a bike for the first time – wow! empowerment, curiosity, self-exploration, etc. Whatever the reason was, or as different as each initial interest may have been – we quickly found common passions and deep currents that fussed us in our various walks of life and diversity. This dynamic is the backbone to building strong relationships, understanding, and perspectives in the shop – ones that reflect in the principles and practices we are developing together to guide our work at Fender Bender.

Our goal continues to be more than a bike shop – we want a space where women, queer, and gender non-conforming people can comfortably access bike repair skills, a bicycle, lead workshops and be leaders, host group bike rides, connect to our bodies in a healthy and healing way, build relationships, share stories, and shine in our own unique contribution to our communities, AND the cycling culture of Detroit. We seek to organize in a way to undo harmful stereotypes and damaging expectations, and create space to foster and encourage a new narrative and ways of living for women, queer, and gender non-conforming folks to thrive and share in a rich culture all it’s own right here in Detroit.

Fall/Winter overview
As the season turns toward cold weather and winter we will host events, bike rides, and conversations to connect people and keep the ball rolling. We initially planned to continue programming and open shop throughout the fall and winter – but we’re going to take a break for the next few months (perhaps to open for winter hours in January, but we’ll be in touch). We’ll take this time to reflect and apply what we’ve learned from this season, and physically build into the shop – so we can emerge more cohesive, organized, and clear in our work; what we can offer and how we plan to collaborate in the space.

We will continue to sell refurbished bicycles, bike rentals for multi-day use with groups-events-conferences-etc., light repair work and tune-ups by request. Fender Bender Detroit is a 100% volunteer-run project. All bicycle sales, rentals, and tune-ups help us to financially fuel open shop, workshops, tool and equipment purchases, rent, and material costs. Bicycle donations allow us to provide bikes to people for no or low cost in our “Rags to Wrenches” mechanic training, and also our “Build-a-Bike, Build Community” youth workshops. If you have a bike donation, contact us via this blog, email, or facebook – we are very flexible and can arrange a time for you to drop off, or we are happy to come to you!

As alwayz, if you have ideas or imagine how we can work together – holler !! And if you’re interested in helping with workdays during the next few months, email fenderbenderdetroit@gmail.com, leave a comment here, or message us on the facebook. Thank you!

Bike Love, Fender Bender Detroit

There are 2 main ways you can engage with community-access opportunities: OPEN SHOP and BIKE BREAK-DOWN days…

1. OPEN SHOP – there are 3 main ways you can engage with open shop time!!

a. You can bring your bike to repair or perform maintenance work with our tools and guidance our a mechanic assistant if needed…

b. If you are interested in building a bike, we do have bikes in various conditions that need repair to get up and running. These bikes can be bought for $25, and may need new parts, or repair that will cost additional fees, ex. cables, cable housing, inner tubes, new tires, derailleur, etc. Once you purchase a bike to restore, we can assist you in restoring the bicycle. This may take anywhere from 1-10hrs of work, so your bicycle will not be ready for riding immediatley – and will require you to be present and available during the open shop hours to co-restore the bike with the assistance of one of our mechanics, while you establish intimate knowledge of and relationship with your soon-to-be bicicleta

c. The third way you can use open shop hours time to volunteer time with us: organizing the shop, parting out bikes, and sorting thru bike part inventory. Taking bikes apart is a great way to become familiar with the bicycle and all its working parts and wonder…. also you will get to know the tools you need to use and for what

OPEN SHOP HOURS: Mondays 7-9pm, Thursdays 7-10pm

2. BIKE BREAK-DOWN – there is one way to engage with bike break-down hours!!

a. This time is dedicated to parting out bicycles that are not going to be restored. Bike parts taken off these bikes will be used to stock our inventory of used bike parts. Its important to create a supplies of parts that can be used for restoring other bikes, and during community-access open shop hours

Taking apart bikes is the BEST way to learn about bikes, how they work, and the right tools to use and when!!!

BIKE BREAK-DOWN HOURS: Fridays 6-9pm, and every 1st + 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:30-9:30pm

These shop hours are available specifically for women, transgender, queer, and gender non-conforming cyclist in Detroit. Respect safe space !!

If you have any questions, concerns, ideas, and/or ways you think we could collaborate with you or your organization – plz let us know! Share this info with anyone you think would like to get involved, and/or appreciate/needs/wants time and space like this to learn and grow!

Looking forward to seeing you and your bike at the shop soon!

Big bike love!

Fender Bender Detroit

Check us out at The Fender Bender shop during Allied Media Conference to see what all the talks about….

4605 Cass Ave Detroit 48201 – enter black metal door in alleyway on west side of the building

Interested in the lending libaray!?! This is a great overall perspective and descriptive article on the lending library, and potential of what it can become: http://wearemodeshift.org/organic-approach-bike-sharing-detroit

Lending library first to kick off this weekeend during AMC 2012 – rent a bike and pedal yerself a nutritious and delicious smoothie!! All vegan! All gluten-free!

Lending library is open from 8am-2pm and 4-7pm each day

1 day over-nite rental is $30 —— 2 day over-nite rental is $55
3 day over-nite rental is $75 —— 4 day over-nite rental is $90

There is a $100 refundable deposit with every rental – you get this back when the bike, lites, lock, and helmet come back in good shape

So stop in meet some of the Fender Benders, hang out, learn about our programming, and future plans…..

Hope to see you here!!

Reblogged from Grist:

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Cross-posted from Sightline Daily.

In the Seattle suburb where I grew up, the main transportation choice most residents face is what kind of car to buy. I moved to the city after college and, inspired by the “car-lite” lifestyles of several friends, decided to give cycling a try.

I fell in love with it. Urban cycling freed me from slow buses, parking meters, and mind-numbing elliptical machines.

Read more… 1,176 more words

Check out vendor info, admission prices, and other details at the official site – http://www.detroitbikecity.org/

AND, Fender Bender will be there too – with Wheelhouse Detroit – so come find us when you get there and say HI!

and oh, one more thing – you will find Fender Bender Detroit with Wheelhouse often these days – becuz Sarah of Fender Bender is working with Wheelhouse too! Its kinda gonna be the best summer ever. SO even if you don’t make it to the swap meet (which you really should…it’s only 8 bucks!) roll thru the Wheelhouse sometime, say hello, get a tune-up (especially after that bike sat in your basement all winter – no shame), or join one of the Wheelhouses many informative and fun Detroit-centric group rides this summer.

Fender Bender will also be partnering with Wheelhouse for the second year to offer basic bike maintenance and repair classes – day and time TBA

For more info on Wheelhouse Detroit and all they do and are involved with cycling in the city go to this link http://wheelhousedetroit.com/

Hope everyone has been on bike enjoying the hell out of this amazing March sunshine! Happy early spring!

Sarah

Among people speaking will be Claire Stoscheck from Cycles for Change http://www.cyclesforchange.org/about – you have to check them out!

And Kim Cross of Magic City Cycle Chix http://magiccitycyclechix.wordpress.com/, with more bad-ass lady cyclists/mechanic/enthusiast speakers to be announced.

Join in with your own perspective, experience, stories and insight as to how cycling can become a part of regular transportation for women. Inspire others to build or secure confidence, challenge themselves, and break down obstacles that may be barriers to women using cycling as transportation. Offer support and resources that may make this mode more accessible and safe.

Register at the link above. And continue to make this a priority in your neighborhood and community. You can form your own cycling as transportation alliances and support networks to ensure more safe, accessible, and comfortable commuting. I wonder what kind of advice or suggestions they may offer to begin this kind of work, or enrich already existing models of commuter support and safety…. register to find out!

This here is a sweet resource for LGBTQ and allies – there are dozens of websites, info, support, blogs, events, programs, ideas, etc from all over the country complied here for your sifting and browsing pleasure….

Connect with a few of them!

Check out these other amazing bad-ass wombyn bike club in LA – full moon riding and more…

Ovarian Psycos

http://www.facebook.com/ovarian.psycos

and here

http://ovarianpsycos.com/page/3/

Here’s one example of a recently made bicycle documentary that focuses on the joy of learning bike repair and riding as women, transgender, and queer people but the challenges of doing so in a male dominated “dudey” domain….

check out the wordpress here -

http://dudeyfreezone.wordpress.com/the-film/

watch the video here –

http://vimeo.com/35672630

Enjoy!

Fender Bender has been “re-tooling” all winter but is “gearing-up” to wheel back into the swing of things starting next month with the announcement of our first Mechanic Training 6 week workshop series, and a Bicycle Lending Library to make its first appearance at Allied Media Conference 2012. More to come on both these projects soon!

Fender Bender has also been participating in Detroit Future Media classes. Here, I have been working on a short video that will highlight and uplift the women, transgender, and queer bicycle lovers of Detroit – as riders, mechanics, enthusiasts, advocates or otherwise! Sharing our own voice, stories and perspectives to positively impact and enrich the cycling community of Detroit.

Plz email fenderbenderdetroit@gmail.com if your interested in being interviewed and/or have a story or experience you’d like to share on-camera

NEXT, New Location: Whoot!

Fender Bender Detroit is in a new location all our own. We began our move from The Hub last July, and in Janruary of this year completed the final pieces. The space is being readied for everyday bike shop use. The shop is located at 4605 Cass Ave at the Cass Corridor Commons. The Commons is a collaboration of various Detroit grassroots organizations – some of them long standing – and some of us facilitating our incubation and permanence in the neighborhood. Folks like People’s Kitchen Detroit http://detroitevolution.com/, Whole Note Healing Collective of alternative, traditional and justice based healing/health practices, and YEA! – the Young Educators Alliance. The Commons was formerly the First Unitarian Universalist Church – and still holds service on Sundays as well as other related community events like Felice’s drum circle on Wednesday nights 8-11pm, and the signing circle on Wednesdays at 7pm.

The long term goal of The Commons is to create shared space, knowledge, and resources, financial repsonsibilty and accountability to one another under the cooperative principles that guide our relationship to work and community in Detroit. The Commons reflects the needs, wants and imaginations of Detroit and its residents first.

EMEAC – East Michigan Environmental Action Council http://www.emeac.org/ inherited the building from the UU. They are a well-rooted and influencial grassroots org of almost 30 years. EMEAC has had a tremendous impact on environmental issues in the city – teaching and learning how to engage Detroit in transforming the environment and quality of life thru personal, civic and neighborhood/community engagement.

In alignment with social and environmental principles and practice of EMEAC and these groups -it was a natural fit that Fender Bender would collaborate to see where our grandest ideas could combine and take shape in the future of Detroit.

***We are slowly developing our content and curriculum at a pace that allows for change and sustainability in program, as our relationship with the community grows and contributes their wants, needs and imagination to Fender Bender.

One way to assist in this process in by participating in the survey – your input and thoughtful responses are a key ingredient and play a crucial role in shaping the content, program and curriculum of Fender Bender Detroit. What do you want?

TO TAKE THE SURVEY email Sarah – fenderbenderdetroit@gmail.com – I will send it to you!

That’s all for now! Check back soon for details on how to register for mechanic training classes, and for more info on the bicycle lending library 2012.

Be the cyclists you wish to see in the world!

<3<3<3