Saturday, May 25th, 7-10pm
@ the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Walnut Hills (2950 Gilbert Ave.)
Tickets: Only $5 at the door (includes dinner and a raffle ticket for a $25 gift certificate from Clifton Natural Foods)

A Dinner and Bikes evening includes a gourmet, vegan and gluten-free buffet dinner prepared by Joshua Ploeg, a presentation about transportation equity and the everyday bicycling movement by Elly Blue, and a near-complete excerpt from Aftermass, Joe Biel’s forthcoming documentary about the history of bicycling in Portland. The event is followed by a book signing with all three presenters, and some time to peruse our traveling bicycle and cooking themed bookshop.

Thanks to our sponsors, it’s only $5 at the door! And everyone who attends will be entered in a raffle to win a $25 gift certificate donated by Clifton Natural Foods.

Sponsored by: MoBo Bicycle Co-op, the Village Green Foundation, Queen City Bike, Core Clay, Spun Bicycles, and Clifton Natural Foods.

You can check out what it’s all about on our Facebook page, Dinner + Bikes Cincinnati, and at www.dinnerandbikes.com

About the presenters:

Joshua Ploeg is the the traveling vegan chef. When not touring the world, he is a personal chef and delighter of secret cafe goers in Los Angeles. His adventure cookbook In Search of the Lost Taste is a smash hit, as is his controversial raw food cookbook, So Raw It’s Downright Filthy.

Joe Biel is the author of brand new book Beyond the Music. He founded Microcosm Publishing in his bedroom closet 17 years ago and now publishes nonfiction books, zines, and movies through Microcosm and Cantankerous Titles. In his “spare time” he makes documentaries on empowering topics from punk to bicycling. On this tour, he’ll be showing selections from Aftermass, a feature documentary about bicycle activism in Portland.

Elly Blue is the author of the newly released Everyday Bicycling: How to Ride a Bicycle for Transportation (Whatever your Lifestyle). She is the founder of Taking the Lane, a publisher of empowering books about unique aspects of cycling. Her writing has appeared in Grist, Bitch, BikePortland, Momentum, and the Portland Mercury, and her own blog. Her second book, Bikenomics, will come out in early 2014.

The Village Green will be buzzing as both of our projects, MoBo and the Gardens, share the fruits of our labor with the community in exchange for some monetary support for our programming. We’ll also be introducing our newest program, Soapbox Books + Zines!

If you haven’t visited the Village Green in a while, this will be a great time to stop by. We’ve been busy throughout the winter in all parts of the organization, and good things are happening. Come check out what we’re up to and meet some new faces! And while you’re here, pick up a plant for the garden or even an affordable new ride for the summer.

Interested in maybe volunteering in Open Shop or our Kids’ Day summer program? Want some info about the next Sister Cycles series, or Bike Month events we’re involved in? We’ll be here ready to answer your questions and show you what we’re all about. See you there!

Thank you to all of the presenters who supported MoBo and our biking community by sharing their skills and experiences!

Thank you to the MoBo volunteers who helped organize, publicize, and Journey-ize this year’s series!

The Winter Workshop Series is an annual series of educational workshops presented by knowledgeable folks from our community. All workshops are free and open to the public. The atmosphere is relaxed, participatory, and inclusive of all levels of experience! A variety of topics are covered, from bike culture to mechanics. If you have an idea for a topic for next year’s series, or would like to lead a workshop yourself, please get in touch!

More photos from this year’s series can be found here, courtesy of MoBo volunteer Michael Providenti.

Poster created by MoBo volunteer Charlie Brown

The 2013 Winter Workshop Series included:

• “Tune-Ups and Basic Maintenance” – 2/18/13, presented by Ron Gillespie of the UC Bike Kitchen/UC Sustainability
• “Brakes” – 2/25/13, presented by Nern Ostendorf of Queen City Bike with the Graduates of Sister Cycles
• “Wheels” – 3/4/13, presented by Scott Pardi of the Clark Montessori Bike Project
• “Hubs” – 3/11/13, presented by Thomas Brannan of Montgomery Cyclery
• “Powertrain and Shifters” – 3/18/13, presented by Martin Sanders of Reser Bicycle Outfitters
• “Urban Riding and Roadside Repair” – 4/1/13, presented by Jess Linz of MoBo, Guadalajara en Bici, and Sister Cycles with her friends
• “Commuting and Touring” – 4/8/13, presented by Bob Linz, who recently completed a cross-country tour in 2012
• “Modern Components” – 4/15/2013, presented by Dominic LoPresti of Spun Bicycles

Spun is the brain(/heart)child of Dominic and Judi, two long-time MoBo members and fixtures in our community. One struggles to think of two people more perfect to bring a bike shop to Northside; generous, approachable, and committed to the community, they also bring a wealth of experience and a seriously shocking amount of knowledge.

“We want to provide a service for the community of Northside. We will cater to the urban cyclist, the commuter, BMX’ers and even skaters,” says Judi. ”We will provide the very best customer service – no snotty elitist attitudes at Spun Bicycles. We will have a flat screen TV pumping out BMX videos and music. Dominic is in the process of fabricating his own bike racks. This bike shop will be nothing like any other bike shop in the city. It will be a destination. A place to hang out and have a beer while you get your bike worked on.”

We can’t wait! According to Judi, Spun is set for a grand opening March 9th. We’ll keep you updated. And you’ll be able to learn more about Spun at their website, www.spunbicycles.com, soon.

So another year has slipped by, and it has been an eventful one. In addition to our regular Open Shop, MoBo was involved in a couple of Ghost Bike projects, handed out almost a hundred kids’ bikes during the summer Kids’ Day program, held a very successful Bike Sale, created the new Sister Cycles program, hosted and collaborated on workshops, and pulled off another great fundraiser party.

All of these things would not have been possible without the labor of love of MoBo members! We’re all volunteers, and to show our mutual appreciation for the work we’ve all done to make MoBo happen this year, we invite you to come have a beer and some food on us at Boswells on Friday the 14th, starting at 8pm.

Sister Cycles is MoBo’s newest program, an 11-week bicycle mechanics course for women led by female mechanics.

The registration-required course covers basic methods and concepts in a cooperative, hands-on format. Our first class of 15 ladies will complete the course Dec. 14!

Sister Cycles was born out of MoBo’s mission of empowerment. As anyone who visits a bike shop regularly knows, bike mechanics remains a male-dominated field. At MoBo, we believe in making bicycling accessible and practical for everyone, and actively expanding the knowledge pool to include parts of our community not traditionally included is a step toward this goal. Just as all sorts of people ride bicycles, we want to see all sorts of people equipped to work on bicycles. So we make spaces for that to happen!

Though the first Sister Cycles class is nearing completion, we hope to provide another course soon. If you’re female and are potentially interested in something like this, or know someone who might be, let us know! The more demand there is, the sooner we’ll be able to provide another course.

MoBo has teamed up with Reser Bicycle Outfitters in OTR for a night of swapping tips and gear for winter riding. Whether you’re just thinking about taking the plunge or you’re already a seasoned winter commuter, join us at Reser for a workshop and gear swap! Bring your used bike stuff and maybe a few dollars to buy, sell, and trade at a “no rules” swap shop. We’ll have food (some wintery classics like soup and chili) and useful discussions led by Reser and MoBo veterans about how to dress, pack, and ride your bike through the winter. No experience necessary!

If you’ve ever thought that getting geared up for winter riding is just too expensive, or that staying dry and warm is a challenging (or potentially impossible) prospect, this event is for you! And if you’re already an experienced polar bear, come trade or upgrade your gear and share some tips with your less experienced fellow riders. To sweeten the deal, Resor is offering a one-night-only 10% off sale.

Check out the Facebook event page!

Photo courtesy of Mel McVay

Green bike lanes use bright green paint to highlight areas of potential conflict between cyclists and motorists, such as spaces where cars must cross the bike lane to turn or exit a ramp.

The City used the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)'s design

The five new sections of these lanes were installed by the City on Ludlow Avenue where it intersects with Spring Grove Ave, Old Ludlow Ave, Central Parkway, and the Cincinnati State driveway. The sections are part of a larger bike lane installation stretching along Ludlow from Cincinnati State across the viaduct and into the beginning of the Northside business district.

You can learn more about the new lanes and other issues surrounding cycling in our city by visiting Cycling in the City, a blog published by Mel McVay, a city planner and member of the MoBo community.

Thank you City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering for making our streets safer and moving forward with bike infrastructure in our city!

+ Thanks for your patience with the website. The current site is going to be moved to a new host in the next month, so be on the look out for a fresh look. We are excited to be working with Gary Peck, of GE Peck I.T. Business Solutions.

+ NEW BIKE ADOPTION POLICY –  On July 1st, the board decided to change the bike adoption policy. All bikes that are adopted have to be taken home the day of adoption. If you have transportation issues, the mechanic on duty will make arrangements with you. Bikes have a fee of $60 (or you can cash in your volunteer hours). YOU MUST COME IN AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH AND WORK ON YOUR BIKE. Current bikes that have been adopted, and have not been worked on in over a month, will be placed back up for adoption. We have been calling current members who have bikes left at the shop. Please come in and get your bike! The purpose of these changes is to move out bikes and open up space and to get bikes into the hands of cyclists. We are sorry if this sounds harsh, but we want these bikes to have homes!

+ Construction on the wall in the front room has started and there is debris everywhere. We are operating shop from the back entrance, so please come around back and sign in when you come to open shop. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, or even worse, your bike getting hurt.

+ Kid’s Day has been a raging success this summer. We have given out 70 bikes to kids so far with the earn-a-bike program. The kids are gardening and working hard. The last couple of weeks, we’ve had over 30 kids, and one night, a record number of 17 volunteers. Dominic and I are having a blast with the program, and we want to thank you for helping us make it one of the best summers we have ever had. If you want to volunteer, we can sure use the help. You don’t have to be a mechanic to volunteer. We need front desk help, as well as anyone willing to help with activities for the kids. Mondays, 5pm-8pm.

+ Kid’s Day race is set for August 12th. We need as many volunteers as we can get because we are expecting A LOT of kids. Raleigh Bicycles has donated a HUGE box of awesome prizes and a private donation came in for some very exciting prizes to raffle off. It’s going to be so much fun, please come out and help. A 10am call for volunteers, race starts at noon, and pizza and prizes afterwards.

I’ll wrap it up with some pictures taken by Michael Providenti this summer.