Bici Bici 2013

I am not sure if my DIY ethos taught me how to fix my bike or my DIY ethos came from my desire to know how to fix my own bike. Either way, community shops have always been a big asset to learning the in and outs of DIY on a bike. It started in Buffalo, NY at Go Bike, then continued in California with the Bikery and most recently Spokeland. When I heard that Spokeland was hosting the Bici Bici community bike conference of California essentially in my own backyard, I decided I shouldn't miss out.

The conference was spread out over the weekend from Friday afternoon's meet and greet to the ending barbecue on Sunday morning. There were some workshops in between there, but there was also plenty of time to hang out and meet people from shops across the state. It was really great to meet the wide variety of people and how they are using bikes to transform the cities they live in, from the highly professional established Bike Kitchen to the anarchist community bike shop members in Ontario, CA to a variety of homegrown community shops, meeting these people was absolutely incredible. But beyond just the networking there was a great variety of workshops, here's the four I chose to attend:

Community Bike Shops as Radical Community Spaces

This workshop focused on how a place that provides bikes for in need communities could bring about social change through radical organization. The location couldn't have been more of an answer to that. The workshop was held at the Holdout Community Space in West Oakland, a community space that is heavily involved in radical politics but also hosts bike shop hours as well as many other free classes to empower people. This workshop was an open conversation that had a tendency to stray away from the intended topic, but interesting topics were discussed (such as what constitutes a safe space and where lines should be drawn).

Starting a Comidas No Bombas on Bicycles

To say that Comidas No Bombas in Los Angeles is a cool adventure is a heavy understatement. Basically this collective started as a response to a disorganized Food Not Bombs organization and in search of something better. They started out just making burritos and distributing them around LA, spreading literature to help empower those they served. The group was a very thoughtful intelligent motivated group of individuals that make real change seem that easy to start. Their tie in to bikes was the fact that they were more green than most Food Not Bombs, by delivering on bicycle. Again showing how important bicycles can be to bring people together, as stopping to hand someone dinner is much easier when you're on a bike than in a car.

Hustling Donations 101/Fundraising Through Events

This was the only workshop I attended hosted by a Spokeland core member. Devin led the workshop emphasizing a few keypoints on fundraising, something I'd like to help be a greater help in all organizations I am a part of. One of the key points was diligence and recognition. The point being that you're more likely to get things from people who recognize your face and determination, as opposed to trying once a year, but instead trying every other week. The conversation seemed a little broad, but that didn't matter so much, because Devin basically made the push of enthusiasm, and the fact that enthusiasm was necessary to really do things right. He also made the feeling that you need to start somewhere, so just start. Really empowering in message.

Practicamos Espanol del Taller

This was the most practical workshop of the weekend. Morgan from Colecti-Velo, an organization I was unaware of in East Oakland (focusing on serving the Spanish speaking population), led the discussion. The workshop was pretty straightforward Spanish vocab education with some input from some Southern Californians who had heard a variety of different ways to describe the same part. Once again, another great workshop that I was glad to attend.

At the end of the weekend, I was getting a little biked out (okay, not really). From the Bike Party to start, to the workshops, to Port Sprints, there was a great deal of bike activities, bike talk, and hanging. That was the best thing I got out of the weekend though was meeting some really incredible people from some really incredible shops across the state sharing some incredible ideas for how to improve community bike shops and bike culture in general. It's really nice to see community bike shops proliferating and improving bike culture in places dominated by the car like Los Angeles. Because the more people who can fix their own bike, the more bikes they can fix for friends, and more people are on bikes.

But frankly, what I got most out of these people, mostly a group of my peers, was that change is possible. Most of the people at the conference were not extraordinary, meaning exactly that, they were fairly ordinary, but they were doing extraordinary things and that's what was truly inspiring is realizing that it's possible to be a big difference by doing so little. Since this meeting I have been excited about getting more involved with the various shops around Oakland. I'm already thinking ahead to when I can attend the Bikery or Spokeland next, or even visiting one of the many other shops I learned about from this conference. Hopefully, by this time next year I can be a bigger part of the conversation, contributing as much as I listened this year. Now, go out and support your local community shop! And if you don't have one. Start one!