After the Petworth Bike Co-op meeting last month, the Northwest Current wrote a story about the group.
“We got hundreds of responses!” said Hennessey, who works in human rights and public health and has helped start bike cooperatives in the developing world. “This town has been waiting for a new bike co-op.”
After a few meetings and movie night at the Georgia Avenue center that presented the Italian classic “The Bicycle Thief” — which links a man’s ability to provide for his family to his access to a bicycle — the co-op held its first clinic on May 30.
“A lot of people showed up with their bikes — all kinds of people,” Hennessey said proudly. With tools available on the center’s back patio, people asked co-op members for help with repairs like fixing flat tires and tuning derailleurs.
And that’s basically the gist of the program.
Chain Reaction went under largely for financial reasons, a fate the Petworth group is trying to avoid by employing a revenue-neutral model — that is, using only volunteer labor and donated bicycles. The People’s Media Center, whose mission is to empower neighborhood residents through skill building, provides the space gratis.
A few miles to the east and just over the D.C.-Maryland border, P.J. Park, a co-founder of the Mount Rainier Bicycle Co-op, was excited to hear about another group starting up. “I wish them the best of luck — I really hope they take off,” he said. “D.C.’s needed a bike co-op for a while.”
At this point, though, Hennessey and his collaborators aren’t interested in seeking funding. The program is in its infancy and doesn’t even have a formal name yet. For now, their goal is to keep administrative meetings to a minimum and focus on the big goal: expanding a love of bikes and encouraging the District’s burgeoning growth as a city for cyclists.
The Petworth Bike Co-op will be holding its free clinics every Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. at the People’s Media Center, 4132 Georgia Ave. NW, between Upshur and Taylor streets. For more information, visit vineeta.org/bike.
After a few meetings and movie night at the Georgia Avenue center that presented the Italian classic “The Bicycle Thief” — which links a man’s ability to provide for his family to his access to a bicycle — the co-op held its first clinic on May 30.
“A lot of people showed up with their bikes — all kinds of people,” Hennessey said proudly. With tools available on the center’s back patio, people asked co-op members for help with repairs like fixing flat tires and tuning derailleurs.
And that’s basically the gist of the program.
Chain Reaction went under largely for financial reasons, a fate the Petworth group is trying to avoid by employing a revenue-neutral model — that is, using only volunteer labor and donated bicycles. The People’s Media Center, whose mission is to empower neighborhood residents through skill building, provides the space gratis.
A few miles to the east and just over the D.C.-Maryland border, P.J. Park, a co-founder of the Mount Rainier Bicycle Co-op, was excited to hear about another group starting up. “I wish them the best of luck — I really hope they take off,” he said. “D.C.’s needed a bike co-op for a while.”
At this point, though, Hennessey and his collaborators aren’t interested in seeking funding. The program is in its infancy and doesn’t even have a formal name yet. For now, their goal is to keep administrative meetings to a minimum and focus on the big goal: expanding a love of bikes and encouraging the District’s burgeoning growth as a city for cyclists.
The Petworth Bike Co-op will be holding its free clinics every Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. at the People’s Media Center, 4132 Georgia Ave. NW, between Upshur and Taylor streets. For more information, visit vineeta.org/bike.
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