Empty the Fill

This afternoon The Geek and I went to a party at the dump. Not exactly a place most people choose to have a party, but WRENCH decided it was a good way to restock community bike shops. We were there as a part of SkullSpaces pre-August Hack-a-thon.

 

The City of Winnipeg has a compound at Brady Landfill where people are encouraged to drop of unwanted bicycles. The community bike shops benefit as well as The Winding River Therapeutic Community addictions treatment program in Headingley. The corrections officers at the center were  trained in bike building and repair and the treatment participants build bikes as part of their therapy.

 

At any rate, this is the scene when we arrived this morning; hundreds of bikes!

 

Various vintages, styles, sizes, and states of repair.

 Bikes needing very little in terms of repair (and there were a great many of them) were taken as is.

 Today was one of the first hot days we've had this year -the shade provided by the tents was absolutely necessary.

And the pile of frames stripped of usable parts waiting for the metal recyclers.

 

We also found, lost in the rows of bicycles, this elderly Raleigh. Most Winnipeggers seem to have little fondness for vintage bicycles, so we rescued it before it was stripped down for parts. It was likely in perfect condition when it was dropped off -even the tires held air when The Geek pumped them up.

 The test drive went well.

Another frame came home with us as well.

 

 

 

If you live in Winnipeg and you have some spare time, you may want to consider volunteering at one of these shops.

Going to a New Home

We no loner use the cargo bike and the bike trailer so The Geek put them on the curb with a big "free" sign.

About an hour late, we heard a knock at the door and a find fellow asking about their providence.

After some chatting, the trailer was swiftly attached to the gentleman's bicycle and he was on his way. And since he lives less than 0.5 kilometer away, he was going to walk back for the cargo bike. He thinks they will be very handy for one of his friends to use at the Folk Fest.

 

And in the the quirky manner of Winnipeg relationships (where seven degrees of separation is unheard of -you are lucky if there are two), I was not surprised to discover this fellow's sister went to university with my sister.

A New Source for Bike Parts

We took a canoe trip down the Seine River this afternoon. In addition to rocks and trees blocking the stream, there were, in places, an alarming number of bicycles and shopping carts.

The Geek fished one smaller one out of the river.
These are probably stolen bikes but the police don't have the time or the resources to be dredging the river to find them. And if they are insured, they have undoubtedly been replaced.
It now is hanging in the garage until we decide what to do with it.

The Cargo Bike Part 1

Today at a garage sale we found the last piece needed for the Geek's planned cargo bike. She found the other bike during Free Giveaway Weekend and the angle iron was rescued on garbage eve a few weeks ago.
The Geek had a wonderful day of tool therapy cutting things apart,
welding them back together,
and grinding off the rough spots.
She progressed to this point before supper, when she came in and checked her plans based loosely on this site.

And she is still playing outside now. It may well be finished by tomorrow.

Bike Trellis

The Geek picked up this bike during the free giveaway weekend as part of the future cargo bike.
One of the neighbour's vines apparently likes it too.
We are going to need a set of pruners to get this fella' loose again.
A very good anti-theft device indeed!

The Orioles Bike Cage

Today we took a load of 'retrieved' bicycles and assorted parts to the Orioles Bike Cage.
(My new-to-me bike is on the top of the pile, but it didn't stay there.)

It is located near the Orioles Community Club in Winnipeg's West End.



The 'Cage' is housed in what I think was the changing rooms for the nearby skating rink, but it has been converted to a well kitted out bicycle repair shop.

They also have a huge assortment of donated parts.

There were three volunteers working with several children when we arrived. The kids seemed to be having a great deal of fun riding around on their wheels and no doubt helping where they could.

A Chopper Bike

The Geek figured since she fixed the blue bike for N3, and now the road bike for N1, N2 should have a turn. She feels N2 is a chopper kinda guy, so she is going to try one for him.

She was first going to try to combine these two bikes, but the fork on the red one did not have thread that went far enough down.

Which is ok since we weren't necessarily after the penny-farthing look.

So she tried the fork from a Peugeot frame she had kicking around.

With the threads ground down, she can tighten down the headset.

This is more of the look we are going for, but perhaps even a smaller front wheel?

Waiting for the Brake Placement

N1's road bike is ready to go. She just wants him to try it to ensure the brake levers are in the right place before she tapes the handlebars.

A Load of Potential

This week Garbage Eve netted The Geek this very neglected Supercycle. It is now sitting in the yard with one of two bikes from a previous trip.
And when I came back from the farm yesterday, I brought with me these two bikes.
This is a Venture Caprice that I bought second hand in 1985. I rode it all over that year and it travelled with me to Flin Flon. Now we will have to see what further adventures it will have.
And this well used Supercycle bike is destined to be a road bike for N1 in his future triathlon endeavours.

And, of note. As of this moment, there are on the property 12 bicycles of various sizes and stages of usability, one bicycle frame, eight assorted wheels, parts, and one unicycle.