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.

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2012 at 6:30pm
@ Reser Bicycle Outfitters in Over-the-Rhine (1419 Vine St.)

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!

If you’ve cycled into or out of Northside on Ludlow Avenue recently you probably noticed some striking new infrastructure. Cincinnati recently became the second city in Ohio to install green bike lanes, and they installed the first of these lanes right here in Northside!

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!

It’s been a busy summer at MoBo! We’ve got quite a few updates, so here ya go.

+ 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.

Get on your tux and put on your dress!  Its MoBo’s After Prom Fun’raiser Dance Extravaganza!!

Special Deals for everyone dressed for prom!

Silent Auctions include a custom deck from Cincinnati’s own Fickle Skateboards!  Gift Bags from Findlay Market!  Handmade Jewelery!  And more!

If you have a team that is interested in competing in the Busted Bike Build-Off to win the coveted Bike Builders Belt, then email mobobicyclecoop@gmail.com.  The Build-Off starts at 7:30!