It still feels like icy hibernation, but so many things have happened this season in preparation for spring!
We sold the very last of our stock of new and used studded snow tires, and bought a big shipment of new Suomi studded tires to keep our dedicated Madison winter commuters safe.
We had a constant trickle of folks coming for our free open shop Fridays, we made a few old bikes work for new riders, and showed off a few pictures on our Twitter. We set up social media sharing for our best eBay deals, so our friends can get dibs on the good stuff.
Despite weather delays, we’re working out the last of the paperwork with the city, getting ready to open the Madison Bicycle Resource Center in the Judge Doyle Square building, October 2019. The biggest change coming for us will be membership benefits — Community members will be voting members of Freewheel, and have access to special member discounts and classes, and Commuter members will have access to the lockers, secure storage, and bike wash at our downtown location, as well as other perks. Come to our Community Meeting this Saturday, March 12 1-4pm, to learn all the details and more.
Here’s the Facebook event link: Freewheel Community Meeting
We sent a huge shipment of bikes to Africa at the end of December, and have a growing pile of entry-level mountain bikes to ship again, please contact us if you have a bike or bike parts of any kind to donate!
In preparation for our sudden and dramatic growth, we bought more stock than ever before (2018 Soma frames! Panaracer tubeless-compatible tires in all kinds of colors!) and also got down to business applying for more than $100,000 in grant money to finance our work. We won the American Family Insurance Game Day Dreamer award, netting us $3,500 and a ton of good publicity for our Executive Director Elijah. They showed a promo video at the Badgers game, that told our story (and the stories of all three finalists!)
Neat!
Our spring class schedule is finally worked out, and we’re ready to announce so many new workshop and class times, at our Saturday afternoon Community Meeting, 1-4pm — come to the meeting to hear more about classes and membership, and enjoy free food and drinks on us. One Barrel Brewing and Mershons’ Cider, as well as nonalcoholic options.
Lastly, we’re running a GoFundMe fundraiser, to cover the costs of opening a new location, and we’re offering multi-year memberships for the lowest pre-launch price we’ll ever offer them. Check it out and give what you can, and please share us if you use social media, to help support our cycling community.
Thank you so much!
Love,
Freewheel