Bike art at Just Local Food

No foolin! Even though our store walls are filled mostly with coolers, freezers, bulk bins and more, (aka the colorful products of the many food artisans we work with), we've still made room for art. And let us rejoice for the beauty art brings to our world. In the month of April we've got our annual tribute to the bicycle, known as the common wheel. This year we'll have works from Mark Aumann, Lori Chilefone, Nick Dewar, Joe Maurer and Amy Zagar. Grab a cup of coffee and admire the view. And you still have a week or so to enjoy the beautiful international photographs of Mark Aumann.

WQOW News story 3/15

Local Group Sees New Opportunity for Old Bikes

Watch the news story here

Eau Claire (WQOW) - A local group is using old bikes to spark new interest in biking.

The Greasy Fixins Bike Harvesters started collecting old bikes to use for spare parts last fall.

"It all started with the university donating 25 abandoned bikes from the summer because all these students leave and they leave their bikes abandoned, they're sitting outside all winter," says Kyle Zander, a member of the Greasy Fixins Bike Harvesters.

Now they're using the bikes to spread interest in the activity by helping folks fix up their old bikes or in some cases provide them with a new used bicycle.

"Its an open shop where anybody can come in and work on their own bike, if they don't know how, there's a number of us here that can teach them how to. We have parts, we have bikes, we have frames, we have food, we have fun, we have music," says Dan Green, a member of the Greasy Fixins Bike Harvesters.

Besides fixing flat tires, rusty chains and anything else that can go wrong with a bike, the group repairs old bikes and donates them to various groups in the community.

"We get them fixed up, a lot of people put some time into the bikes and we're donating them to transitional houses where guys don't have enough money to provide transportation for themselves," says Zander.

The group has also donated bikes to the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

"Everyone here loves biking and wants to support it however they can and we thought this would be a good way to do it," says Green.

"Its a good community project, you get to meet a few people, share a little time and knowledge, learn something on top of it," says Don Bestul, a local bicycle enthusiast.

The Greazy Fixins Bike Harvesters meets every other Saturday afternoon in the basement of Banbury Place Building 17. On Earth Day, the group is holding a bike auction so they can buy some tools and bike parts.

Leader Telegram Article

Volunteers rehab old bikes, give them to needy

By Blythe Wachter

Tammy Anderson normally takes the bus to get around Eau Claire, but she got a "new" set of wheels Saturday. Anderson and daughters Makaylah and Paula spent the afternoon in the dimly lit basement of Building 17 at Banbury Place, fixing up bicycles with the help of volunteers, using salvaged tires, chains, handlebars and other parts. "We walked here," Anderson said. "We'll ride (the bikes) home." An informal, volunteer-driven group known as the Greasy Fixins Bike Harvesters keeps this bicycle project spinning along. The project is designed to give bicycles to people who can't afford them, educate about bikes and keep broken-down two-wheelers out of landfills, said Zac Barnes, 23, and Kyle Zander, 24, UW-Eau Claire graduates who are part of the group. It started two years ago as an AmeriCorps VISTA project. Both men are volunteers with the anti-poverty national service program. UW-Eau Claire has donated bicycles abandoned on campus. Other bikes came from the Eau Claire County Sheriff's Department and individuals. The group has given dozens of bicycles, including some to youth organizations. More community workshops are planned. People can fix their bike or fix a donated one to take home. For the Eau Claire Community Earth Day Celebration April 25 at Owen Park, the group plans to have a bike auction/adoption and provide a bike valet and minor tuneups. Tyler Mickelson of Eau Claire worked on his bike Saturday, adjusting the brakes. He had a lot of work to do, including overhauling the gear shift. But he said, "If anyone can take home a bike for a little elbow grease ... it's a wonderful thing." http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-news_local.asp?id=BJF5DE10IU9

Group Helps You Fix Your Bike For Free

Group Helps You Fix Your Bike For Free

Posted: 8:48 PM Mar 11, 2009 Last Updated: 11:13 PM Mar 11, 2009 Reporter: Mary Rinzel with Photographer Duane Wolter Email Address: mary.rinzel@weau.com Recycled Rides

A | A | A It might now be the best day to break out your bike, but if you have a broken bike we have the answer. Whether you want to fix it for free or just get it out of your garage, a community project is riding to the rescue. It's a project designed to encourage biking, give bikes to people who can't afford them, and keep busted bikes out of landfills. Don't be fooled by the one little bike propped by the door because inside the building behind it, deep in a dimly lit basement, is a mountain of tires, chains, handlebars and pedals. Amidst the parts are the guys working to put them all back together again. "People don't expect this huge pile of bikes," says Kyle Zander. "People who are cleaning out their garages where bikes are collecting rust and dust (can give them to us) and we're fixing them up and giving them to people who need bikes." "Anything is accepted and appreciated," says Zac Barnes. "The best part is testing out the bike once you've really worked on a bike!" Barnes and Zander are a part of E.C. Bikes, the informal group behind the Banbury Bike Project. It all started last fall when UW-Eau Claire donated a bunch of rusty bikes abandoned at the dorms. Six months later, the group has given out dozens to people who can't afford to buy their own. "It's amazing to see what the community can do when we get together and work toward the same cause," Zander says. The project has since turned into a community work shop of sorts; a place to fix a donated bike or use plenty of extra parts to get your own bike ready to ride. "Come on down,” Zander says. “Bring tools if you got them. Bring a bike if you have one and we'll crank out some bikes together!” The guys have a workshop this Saturday (3/14) from noon to 5 p.m. at Banbury Place in building 17 off of Galloway St. Everyone is welcome. They say they can always use extra tools--as a donation or just to use for the day. For more information on some other upcoming events and how you can donate a bike CLICK HERE, e-mail EauClaireBikes@gmail.com or call Dan Green at (715) 497-7359.

Workshop pot luck and kubb 3/14 from Noon-5

The Banbury Bike Project will be hosting another workshop this Saturday March 14th from 12 - 5pm at The Banbury Place in Building 17. We'll have food, bike games and kubb! Bring your bike, something to share, some tools and a friend!

We will be fixing up bikes for the Eau Claire Community Earth Day Celebration on April 25th at Owen Park. At the Earth Day Celebration we will be holding a bike auction/ adoption, bike valet with free minor tune ups, and recruit donations of bikes, parts, and tools. Let me know if you would like to volunteer with us on April 25th - we are going to need plenty of help!

Tour de Farm

here's an amazing fun activity we can work towards this summer... partnerships with the foodlums to have an great event for those volunteers that help us out, for those folks with new bikes, for community gathering and dining in general!

A series of dinners from June to October sure would be beautiful!