[YellowBike] howdy from the midland

[Benjamin Dugger Lerer]

greeting yellow bike yankees

It's exciting to hear projects with yellow bike racks and all. I've put myself
in the middle of middle america and, well, it's pretty flat and the biking here
really highlights the fact that i'm very small and i'm putting myself in front
of large hurtling bricks. The bike projects around here in Champaign-urbana are
pretty wonderful things. Just a little shop for community projects right
now(classes, workshops, cheap bikes, work equity trades, trailer/bike
building), and a 'bike master plan' that is about to be proposed, but doesn't
offer much in the way of interesting ideas tailored to the town (i.e. just
stripe a bike lane and call it a bike friendly town). just visited danny danger
at working bikes in chicago and spent a bit of time in that operation. Just
imagine a well organized [meaning sorted piles of parts and little cubbie holes
for internal shifting hubs], and probably a thousand bikes or more stacked
around on a floor that has holes breaking through to the auto shop below. A
beautiful thing. They're trying to open up a membership based community bike
shop in addition to their store front which pays for space, paid mechanics
(imagine?), and shipping containers. anyhow, good folks.

Just wanting to check in with ya'll and say i'll be coming back near to the date
of dec. 15th, so save some busted bikes for me. also, did we work out rpf's for
last year? i know there was some contention over my purchase of some tools and
paint just before summer, but i never was reimbursed for that. let me know if i
should take it up with fi-com.

anyhow, best to the lot of you and hope the colors of fall are keeping you
inspired and warm [or maybe just some good arm warmers].

yours,
otis