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April 30, 2005
Twin City Bicycle Club Swap Meet Review
Today was an interesting experience. I was there with two other volunteers representing the Minnesota Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and the Sibley Bike Depot. We received about 5 bikes, a couple of boxes of miscellaneous parts and one cash donation. Also another nice man gave me his number and said he had about 15 bikes for us to pick up.
There was a lot of information available there and I got some nice bike route maps and signed up for information on a volunteer opportunity called Bolder Options, a bicycling or running mentoring program. I also joined the Twin Cities Bicycle Club and got a copy of their newsletter and ride schedule. But probably one of the greatest things that came out of this for me, was meeting a lady who is starting their own Bicycle salvage and donation program specifically for woman, promoting bicycles as a means of transportation. Last year as a test they fixed and gave away hundreds of bikes. Now they are converting their garage into a full-blown bike shop and incorporating as a non-profit organization. I thought what they were doing was a good thing, so I offered my services to help fix up and restore bikes to give away. I got her number so I'll call her in a few weeks to see how it's going.
Overall the swap meet seemed kind of small. The Saint Paul Bike Racing Club's swap meet was at least 2-3 times larger. But there were a lot of buyers there. Many people looked at my tandem bike which I was trying to sell there with a sign that said, "Best Offer" But no-one wanted to make an offer. So I ended up bringing it home.
It was a good event overall and It was interesting watching people look over the stuff, trying to decide whether to buy or not. Even the people that came with me bought some stuff, but I didn't see anything that I wanted, so I didn't buy anything. Well, that's not true, I bought a bike for 10 dollars to donate to the Bike Depot. Other than that, it could have been worse. But I really don't want or need anything for biking. So I didn't spend too much money.
Posted by carl1236 at April 30, 2005 11:55 PM | Bicycles
Comments
Hey I was there. I saw your tandem. My wife thought I should offer you some really low amount, like 2 bucks for it.
I was disappointed with the swap meet. I was hoping for massive scrounging potential, but there wasn't much to scrounge. Only a couple tables had parts out, and those were all either not useful to me or more than I wanted to pay by a long shot or just junk. A couple nice older bikes there, including a Schwinn Suburban in really nice shape. I thought about the Suburban, and an old Trek, but then realized that I have enough bikes for now.
Posted by: Jim at May 1, 2005 12:19 AM
Haha, I can't believe you were there and I missed you. I must have been walking around or in the bathroom or something. I was there from 12:30pm until about 4:30pm!
Well, now you have seen this tandem bike. It's probably better that you didn't take it. I think it's too wobbly anyway for any serious riding. this one is home-made by some guy south of Hastings and the welding is done poorly. It did however inspire some guy who does welding to make his own. He gave me some advice on how to make it more stable, but sadly I don't do welding and I didn't think quickly enough to ask him if he'd do it. Basically the bottom/down tubes are too thin and whoever build this should have reinforced it better so it doesn't wobble back and forth. If this thing was stiffer I would keep it, but I'm going to look for a better quality tandem to fix up and use. Or maybe I'll find a welder who could make it more sturdy.
Well Jim, I'm sorry I missed you and your wife at the swap meet. I can't believe she's still walking around carrying that baby!
Posted by: John at May 1, 2005 09:28 PM
I guess I didn't realize that you were manning one of the tables. If I had, I could have looked for you. I was the guy walking around with the really pregnant woman (part of the time anyway).
Posted by: Jim at May 2, 2005 06:56 AM