… and Freewheel had a super Bike Week! From June 5th through the 7th, we had a pop-up stand on the Wingra Creek bike path, where we met local cyclists, fixed up bikes, and gave away knowledge (and donuts).
We also had several mechanics stationed at Bike Week hot spots around the city, like Ride the Drive and the Planet Bike Bacon Station. Freewheel even made an appearance at the Friday party at Brittingham Park, hosted by Madison Bikes — and it was a ton of fun.
Bike Week is one of our favorite events every year, and it’s a terrific way to network with other cyclists and learn more about bicycling resources in the area. We hope you came out to enjoy the mild weather and good company this year.
New Faces at Freewheel
We’ve hosted plenty of volunteers and visitors at Freewheel this month! Nelnet sent out several of their employees to put in a few days of volunteer work around the shop, and their positive attitudes and continued support have been invaluable to us.
With their hard work, we packed another 300 bikes to ship to Africa. If we keep this pace up, we could hit 3000 bikes by the end of the year — and 13,000 bikes sent to Africa during Freewheel’s history. If you’re interested in helping us reach that target, drop us a line!
We also had an unexpected visitor by the shop: a traveler who dropped by to tune up his bike, on an epic bike journey from Florida to Alaska. His name is Alex, and you can follow his saga on the ‘gram.
Feeling Grumpy?
Look: we know as well as anybody that bikes can be frustrating. If you’re looking for an advanced bike mechanic class where you can … creatively express your honest opinions … then we’ve got just the thing for you.
Our brand new Grumpy Bike Class is Freewheel’s gift to the terminally honest and the foul-mouthed. Whereas all the rest of our classes are warm, fuzzy, newbie-friendly affairs that leave every attendee and every bike feeling affirmed, the Grumpy Bike Class is not that.
If you’re eager to further hone your mechanic skills, and aren’t scared of firm opinions and a little cussin’, learn more about the Grumpy Bike Class here.
Free Tune-Ups!
Grumpy Bike Class isn’t our only new offering. In July, we’ll offer free tune-ups at select spots around the Madison area.
Look for us at the River Food Pantry on Tuesdays from 4-7 PM. Additionally, we’ll be at the Saturday Dane County Farmer’s Market. Swing by and we’ll help you get your bike in tip-top shape, and answer any questions you have!
We Continue to Grow!
Freewheel has seen a ton of financial windfalls lately. We are grateful to Epic for a recent $10,000 donation, and we’re proud to announce that we’ve received a $19,000 grant for our summer and fall programs (in partnership with the Wisconsin Bike Fed, DreamBikes, and Wheels for Winners).
All the money we pull in goes toward helping us complete our mission of bringing people-powered transportation to the masses, including the classes, materials, and services we offer for free. We’re always looking for donations to help us expand our mission, and we’re particularly interested in matching donations, to help donors double their impact.
If you’re interested in going the extra mile to help Freewheel, reach out to us today.
Speaking of Which …
We have some exciting news. But we can’t tell you what just yet! Stay tuned for our July announcement 🙂