Friday, July 25, 2008

Theivery









(Pictured: My pal Eldon's bike, stripped and miserable, being saved by the cops)

We are all reading the stories. We are all waiting for the final numbers. We are all shocked and disappointed. Not in the theives (shame on them) but on the city for letting it come to this. Taking action at this point, and trying to reunite 5,000 bicycles with their owners (after mashing them into trucks and loading bays, after taking them from crushed heaps in dilapidated garages) is absolutely ludicrous. Most likely the cops hope this makes them *look good*, finally taking down the bad guy, and making *all efforts* to get people their bikes back, but all in all it is too little too late. But their Bike Registry gets lots of press and they stand to make millions from the sales of abandoned bicycles on their ebay auction, so the cops will win in the end. Surprise surprise.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Bike Pirates Needs a New Home



Dear friends and community members,

We are looking for a new home for the shop. After two fantastic
years in our space on Bathurst Street with an encouraging
landlord and supportive neighbourhood, we now find ourselves
in search of space to accommodate the work that we
do – DIY bike repair, workshops, parts storage, bike sales,
and a little bit of cooking. We need to find an adequate space
in an accessible neighbourhood which will also fit into the
budget of a volunteer-run non-profit group.

Potentially we are hoping to find two separate spaces – one
small storefront for selling recycled bikes and an infoshop,
and another workshop space where we can house our tools,
stands and collection of used parts, and where most of our
work would be done.

Our impending move has the potential to help us reach more
people in the community by expanding our hours of operation
(from two days a week to five) and by situating ourselves
within a new neighbourhood who may not have previously
made it into the shop.

We are asking for your helping in seeking out a new space!
Please let us know if you have information on a location that
might suit our needs!
Feel free to contact us at info@bikepirates.com or lunch@bikepirates.com

Steady as she goes,
Bike Pirates.