Hey Everyone,
So I’m sure you are watching the approach of the end of the year. You may be watching it on your 2012 Hub of Detroit calendar that we sold last year. The sale of those calendars helped us get through the rough winter. In case you didn’t know, winter is a slow time for bike shops. Both in The Hub for retail and Back Alley Bikes in programming.
Well, we want there to be more bike stuff to do in winter. So in order to expand Back Alley Bikes programming, we need to keep making that money. One way of doing this is selling you stuff you need (that isn’t a bike). What am I getting at?
WE MADE ANOTHER CALENDAR!!!!
I bet you want to see a little preview of that don’t you? Sure, check this out….
So that is the cover featuring the Back Alley Bikes logo over the workbenches at the BAB shop.
But lets take a look at what you can be looking at a year from now. Here is October 2013…
So I should have mentioned, but each month features a drawing by one of our youth from Youth Earn-a-Bike. Before kids can earn a bike from us we have them draw a bike and label all the parts they know. This gets them thinking about bikes as a machine made of many cooperating parts. It also tells us what they already know. If you don’t pick up a calendar, these drawings are pasted to the walls of the stairwell leading up to the Back Alley Bikes space. But don’t you want a copy for your own home?
If I haven’t tugged your heartstrings enough, lets take a look at what May looks like:
So we should have these awesome calendars available in the next week or two for sale. $15 will help you remember what day it is while decorating your home/cubicle/garage/secret lair at the same time.
Where do the profits from these calendars go? To Back Alley Bikes of course! Helping more kids getting onto bikes and excited about riding in Detroit!
But maybe you aren’t into calendars…
That is alright, here are a few previews of other events we have going on this winter:
Friday, November 9th
We will be having a benefit concert at Back Alley Bikes including performances by
Sagan Youth http://
Closet Burner http://
Failed http://www.facebook.com/
End Trails http://
The Gator http://www.facebook.com/
Joey Awesome on the violin probably
Jack VanDyke on the recorder
Darrin Brouhard on the banjo
and if you really behave…maybe we can get Mr. Fishboy to perform again
The show will be all ages, doors open at 8pm and its just $5 to get in. Where at? Right in the Back Alley Bikes workshop.
If you do the facebook, there is an event page here
Check out videos from our previous benefit shows here and here.
TBA in December (probably a Friday Night)
A dinner and a movie night is being planned. How will it work? Easy, you can either buy a ticket for dinner and a movie or simply for just the movies we’ll be screening. Then you show up, eat dinner and watch a sweet double feature with a Back Alley Bikes/Hub of Detroit documentary in between.
Sound like a good time? Probably because it will be. More details next month.
Wheel Building Class (December/January)
Some folks have mentioned they want to learn more about fixing bikes than what we currently offer at the Adult Mechanics Class. Again, we are working on expanding program as we have more resources to do so. But we have decided to have a wheel building class as a fund raiser.
You see, because of the material cost associated with building a wheel, we can’t offer this class for free. However, after taking the class you will not only have the knowledge of how to build a wheel, but you will also be taking home a wheel set. Sound pretty good? Look for details soon about registration, timing and cost of the class.
Winter Bike-a-Thon (Sunday January 6th)
So January is a little bit on the cold side and people aren’t all that excited to ride bikes. So why not let someone else ride those miles for you? On Sunday, January 6th – Back Alley Bikes staff and collective will be riding for 24 hours. We will be seeking pledges for each mile we ride. We plan on doing an easy 2 mile loop around the neighborhood surrounding our shop.
So you have to ask yourself – are we crazy enough to ride all day? How many miles can we really do in the beginning of January? Which person should I pledge too? Who is going to ride the most miles? So many gimmicks! So much fun!
We are up to the challenge (we hope!). So look for information on how to pledge to the ride soon…
Alright this has been a long update, but I don’t want you thinking that we are being lazy this winter. We have a lot to do! And this only takes us through January! Keep an eye on our website for further details about all the upcoming events!
See ya’ll soon!