Bike Coop in Rockville, MD/Montgomery County – interest?

[dasgeh]

I can think of two successful models of bike coops:

1) Phoenix Bikes – you could reach out to your safe routes to schools person, girl and boy scout troops, 4H troops (if you’ve those), church youth groups, and other youth organizations to get kids involved. Even if you don’t start whole hog with the “earn a bike” program, you could at least teach them, and get some willing students and future teachers. It’s great publicity and you may get some parents tagging along.

2) Parties/events for specific populations – I believe a couple coops around the region are hosting women-focused nights and Spanish speaking events. Those seem to be popular.

Good luck!

[cvcalhoun]

There are actually several bike coops in the DC Metro area, although none near Rockville. WABA has some links. I’d potentially be interested in using a bike coop if one were formed in this area. (Unlike the existing bike coops, Rockville would be easy to get to by Metro if my bike were not rideable due to the need for repairs.) Unfortunately, my schedule at this point is such that I couldn’t be a regular volunteer.

[swandruski]

Thanks for the responses and ideas. I’ve been in contact with the director of Bikes for the World, who has space here in Rockville and helped with Phoenix Bikes. There may be opportunities for resource sharing with them if this gets off the ground. I’ve also talked with a founder of Gearing Up. Their business model is different from what I was envisioning, but as I said in my original post, this could evolve differently based on people’s interest and motivations. Starting as a simple volunteer-based coop/community bike shop similar to Velocity in Arlington is the most likely scenario.

Based on the responses I have so far, I’m hoping to send out an email next week to everyone who’s contacted me with some updates and to try and arrange a meeting after the 4th of July. Again, if you’re interested in being part of this effort, email me with the subject “Rockville Bike Hub” and I’ll put you on the list for the organizational meeting.

Steve Andruski
swandruski@gmail.com

[Author]

Posts