Norman's Bicycle Co-op

Bad News

The Clinic — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:17:11 +0000

All clinic shop hours are cancelled until further notice.

For reasons beyond our control we are losing our current garage space and are going to have to close the doors for a little while until we can figure things out.

If you have anything in the shop, send me a message and we can get it back to you as soon as possible.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

If you have any ideas for a new shop space, we are currently in the market for a free place where we can fix peoples bikes.

Norman Alleycat

The Clinic — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:40:05 +0000

An Open Letter to the Man in the Red Truck

The Clinic — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:00:57 +0000

Dear Sir,

You might not remember the encounter we had the other day, but I do. In case your memory has grown fuzzy, let me refresh it.

I was riding my bike down Main Street, going about 20 mph. Your red truck approached me from behind, slowly getting closer, honking all the while, eventually maintaining a distance of about six inches from the rear wheel of my bike.

At first I thought you wanted me to get over – but I was over as far as I could get, and we were the only two vehicles on the three-lane, one-way road, meaning that all you had to do was put on your blinker and turn that steering wheel ever so slightly, pass me and never have to think about it again.

Maybe, I thought to myself, there’s an axe murderer in my back seat and you’re just trying to let me know. Turns out, my bicycle doesn’t have a back seat…

Read the rest of the article by Chris Dearner at the OU Daily.

Help Us Help Norman

The Clinic — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:11:40 +0000

This type of sewer grate is banned in most cities because it is extremely dangerous for cyclists, who can get their wheels stuck between the bars. Norman, however, is a little behind the times. I’ve been talking with some members of the Bike Advisory Committee and apparently the city has a bunch of new grates ready to be installed, but I guess they need a little motivation.

We are beginning a map of the locations of these grates around Norman to send to the city council. If you see one, please note the location and post it here.

View Larger Map

New New Shop Hours

The Clinic — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:35:01 +0000

As the school year starts, we are changing up our hours a little bit. If these don’t work for you, we can do other times by appointment.

Thursday 4-8, followed by the weekly bike ride.

Saturday 12-4

Let’s fix some bikes.

Progessive Dinner and Weekly Ride

The Clinic — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:38:06 +0000

Hey ya’ll, we are gonna try to start doing a weekly ride around town on Thursdays at 8:00 PM starting at the Clinic. We’ve done this before and it turned out really well, so we want to make it a weekly thing.

Another thing we want to start doing more of is progressive dinners. If you were around last year we did this once and it was a blast, so we want to keep it up. A progressive dinner is basically a dinner a la bicycle. We all meet at one house, have a salad or something, then ride to the next house, have an appetizer, then the next house for a soup, then dessert, drinks, whatever. If this sounds like something you want to help out with, let me know in the comment section.

I’ll let you know more about time/place/date after we find some friends that like to cook.

Bike Commuting on the Rise

The Clinic — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:49:11 +0000

According to Good Magazine,”bike commuting rates have sky rocketed, going from 483,145 commuters nationally in 2003 to 664,859 in 2007.” Who knows how many of us there are now, two years later.

Operating Hours

The Clinic — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:16:51 +0000

New hours. Thursday – Saturday, 2 – 6. Feel free to come by anytime during those hours. We might be open some other times, but these hours are the ones to go by for now.

Safe Riding in Oklahoma

The Clinic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:53:09 +0000

Today, Ardie Lewis died from injuries he received after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle near Seminole, Oklahoma. It is time to make Oklahoma streets safe for bicycles. Share the road. Learn the rules. Be aware. There is no need for this to happen today or ever again. Send an email to the Mayor and city council today in support of Norman bike lanes.

Also, if you don’t know about ghost bikes, check ‘em out here.

Lastly, the Clinic’s first community bike ride is tomorrow, Thursday the 29th. Meet at the Clinic at 8. Be safe.

Bike Lanes in Norman

The Clinic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:01:50 +0000

Our favorite city council member Tom Kovach, who sits on the transportation committee, called me today to let me know that there is a large amount of support within the council for bike lanes in Norman. Please take a few seconds to:

1) copy the following email and title it ‘Request for Norman Bike Lanes’

2) fill in your name

3) send it Tom Kovach at ward2@NormanOK.gov and Cindy Rosenthal at mayor@NormanOK.gov

Hopefully, with enough public support, we can get this in to the city budget for next year. This is one simple way we can help make Norman a safer place to ride. Please take a little time and make this happen.

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Dear Mayor Rosenthal and City Council Members,

I support the concept of designing and establishing clearly marked bicycle lanes throughout the streets of Norman. Bike lanes will make bicycle transportation safer, and will encourage more non-combustion transportation as a safe, pleasant, and environmentally-sound alternative to combustion transportation.

Signed,

Your Name
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