Meeting has a bad connotation in today’s world. When we think of the word, things like drudgery, boring, and waste-of-time probably come to mind, and that’s if you’re feeling generous. I taught for three years and all of us, teachers and administrators alike, gave a collective groan whenever we had meetings to attend. Committee meetings were the worst.

Last saturday at our annual meeting, there was no groaning. In fact, we laughed, did some push-ups, ate, and rode our bikes to check out the new shelving and workbench that Duane and Eric have masterfully built. We also worked through the details for the upcoming year. When things actually get done and you throw in a bit of fresh air,meetings aren’t so bad. Here’s what we all agreed to focus on for 2009:

*5 Free Bike Tune Ups–South Perry and West Central will be the same,but we’ll also go to the Sprague and Hillyard neighborhoods in ’09. More of these events will be pedal-powered since we’re no longer collecting bikes for Ghana.
*No more bikes abroad for now; we’re going to focus on the local community this coming year.
*Memberships for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) shop users. Details to come…
*Grants in the upcoming year, with possible funding for a paid part-time position.
*Grants to fund our two main projects: free tune ups & DIY shop.
*New shop opening this spring/summer in a central location.

Check out our “about p2p” link for our core values, priority projects, and guiding principles.

wow–this is right around the corner! P2P has been at the bike co-op business for nearly 2 years now, and it’s time again for our annual meeting. last year’s meeting was a potluck with lots of food and a bike ride followed the info and chow. it was fun and laid back, and in the spirit of keeping it simple, that’s what we’re planning for this year’s meeting as well :,,) we love meeting new folks, so bring your bike and a dish to share! potluck starts at 5 and things should be wrapping in up in time for a ride by around 7pm. if you’re interested in hearing what we’ll be up to in the coming year, please come. if you have questions or suggestions, this is a great opportunity to be heard. please RSVP by calling 842-6597 or sending an email to pedals2people@gmail.com and i can give you the necessary info.

i saw an old friend, lisa, at the free tune-up event today. she was with her family at the fair. zoe showed me her balloon doggie. lisa came over to say hi, and asked if i always worked. the last time we saw each other was when she stopped by where i work to ask about a new bike. she was smiling when she asked me this question, and i smiled when i responded, “this isn’t work. this is fun!”

ask any of the P2P volunteers that were there today, and they’ll tell you the same thing: we had a ball! it’s exhausting, rewarding, satisfying, and totally enjoyable to do a tune-up event. but a lot like when you cook a yummy meal for your friends. you feel happy providing something homemade that brings people together and nurtures the soul. i feel the same way about these tune-up events. we provide something good, but we get so much happiness in return. beth, mike,john,ken, ben, jace and klay worked so smoothly together today. it was awesome being a part of it all.

The Shop hosted us at their spot from 10-2, just like they did last year. Thanks guys for the awning, the bottomless container of cold water, and the huge chunk of space in your parking lot. don’t forget to check out the summer movies at the Shop this summer. Top Gun shows tonight at dusk! http://www.theshop.bz/

We couldn’t have asked for a better fundraising event! What fun with awesome food and great company!

Char Zyskowski and Karen Copeland of Apple Charlotte Cooking and Catering Co. donated their time and super cheffing skills to cook the best cajun spiced meal ever. Former Apple Charlotte graduate students also helped with the food preparation. The muffeletta knocked our socks off! Yummy veggies grilled to perfection, freshly-baked chiabatta, salty olive tapenade and melted jack cheese sealed the deal. Each bite was the perfect combination of salty/sweet, soft and crunchy. Apple Charlotte also prepared red beans and rice, jambalaya, cornbread, chocolate bourbon cake and sweetened ice tea for over 30 people. WOW! Odem Corps donated wine for the event. Conbined with pefect summer weather and relaxed outdoor dining, we felt like the luckiest bunch of bike freaks on the planet :,,)

The ticket sales brought in the money to pay for our legal fees. Now, pedals2people will send the 501c3 packet off to the federal government, and we’ll be on our way!

Thanks so much to everyone who attended, participated, and donated you

We couldn’t have asked for a better fundraising event! What fun with awesome food and great company!

Char Zyskowski and Karen Copeland of Apple Charlotte Cooking and Catering Co. donated their time and super cheffing skills to cook the best cajun spiced meal ever. Former Apple Charlotte graduate students also helped with the food preparation. The muffeletta knocked our socks off! Yummy grilled veggies, freshly-baked chiabatta, salty olive tapenade and melted jack cheese sealed the signature New Orleans sandwich. Each bite was the perfect combination of salty/sweet, soft and crunchy. Apple Charlotte also prepared red beans and rice, jambalaya, cornbread, chocolate bourbon cake and sweetened ice tea for over 30 people. WOW! Odem Corps donated wine for the event. Conbined with pefect summer weather and relaxed outdoor dining, we felt like the luckiest bunch of cyclists on the planet :,,)

The ticket sales brought in the money we needed to pay for our legal fees. Now, pedals2people is sending our 501c3 packet off to the federal government. we’ll be one step closer to building a community cycling center.

Thanks so much to everyone who attended and participated. you made our whole year!

tomorrow, it’ll be May and that means bike to work (BTW) month–whoo-hoo!

in celebration of bikes, and commuting, and springtime, and all things right and good in this world (getting a little carried away i guess), we’re taking part in some cool events.

• Monday, May 12th, 7-9 am: P2P will be in riverfront park near the carousel helping to fix bikes for BTW commuters. there will also be a pancake breakfast, so come get some fuel, and then ride to work.
• Wednesday, May 14th, 7pm: REI will be host a ffree showing of Ayamye,the Village Bicycle Project’s powerful documentary about their efforts to bring affordable,reliable transportation to people in ghana, africa. David Peckham will be there to answer questions and discuss his experiences in ghana. please come to the showing upstairs in the clinic room. 1125 N Monroe.
• Wednesday, May 14th, 6:30-8:30pm: we will be collecting bikes for the Village Bicycle Project, if you have an old bike collecting dust somewhere, please bring it REI on May 14th so it can go to a good home. we’re only accepting adult bikes in repairable condition. here’s some info on acceptable bikes.

pedals2people will do a short presentation at REI this sunday at 12: your basic slide show in power point format. don’t worry. i’ll keep it short and sweet. i’ll give some dates for our upcoming events, like the P2P annual yard sale where we’ll be selling some surplus parts and bikes. i’ll also have patches for sale. they’re pretty cool.

REI will host a ride at 11am through Riverfront and down the trail, and there are lots of other presentations scheduled for this sunday’s Cycle Fest.

if you’re on your bike cruising around in the predicted 65 degree weather (wow!), stop by for a free bike check-up.

*art credit to andy singer*

Alison Boggs, spokesman review reporter, titled her recent article “pedal power to the people.” in the picture above you see Tim Bordwell, smiling and happy with his choice of wheels. it really was a pedal-powerful experience donating bikes to local teens in need.

when mike and i arrived at crosswalk to deliver bicycles, tim wasted no time coming over to check out the selection. he thanked us. he helped us unload the bikes, and he kept flashing that smile. tim got first pick of the 9 bikes we donated to crosswalk last thursday

tim, a client of crosswalk, wants to find work, but he doesn’t have bus fare to pay for transportation to the job interviews. it’s a vicious cycle…no money for the means to get to work, leads to not getting the job. no job equals no money for transportation.

tim has experience in food service, and he hopes to find restaurant work again soon. now that he has a bike, he can accept work that was out of the question before. with dependable transportation,he can work a late shift or arrive before the buses start their routes in the early morning. with a bike,tim doesn’t need money for gas or a bus pass. and that means more money in his pocket. now, he can create a new cycle…one where he pedals his way to independence.

to fall is inevitable if you ride a bike.

what a great shot!

this is nick thresher’s work. nick sent us 20 amazing pictures for the P2P/Scoop Photography show, and i still have to decide which 2 to enter. because of space limitations, we’ve only accepted 2 entries per person. so, i keep looking at the photos he sent today, trying to decide which to include. they’re all so clean, perfectly framed, and potent. he captures not just the moment, but the apex of the moment with his camera. dang!

the show will run from december 9th thru january 31st, and the scoop is hosting an opening this sunday from 12-2. come join us if you can.