Monday, November 10, 2008

UC Davis Bike Co-op In Trouble

http://urbanvelo.org/bike-church-gets-eviction-notice/

A press release i got forwarded from some friends...

The Davis Bike Church is a volunteer-run bicycle cooperative and
toolshare that has served our community for the past five years by
keeping people on their bicycles and out of their cars. We believe in
bicycling as a primary form of transportation, and repair and reuse of
materials. Through sharing bicycle parts, tools, and knowledge, we
have become an integral part of Davis.

The Church helps hundreds of people every month. Every Wednesday and
Saturday, people come by the dozens to exchange parts and bike
know-how. Volunteers guide cyclists of all stripes through
maintenance through various procedures as intensive as building a
bike from scratch, or as simple as oiling a chain. Outside of normal
operating hours, our volunteers are serving the community in variety
of ways. We have participated in multiple 'Bike to School' days with local
schools. In conjunction with the University, we built a pedal-powered
laptop station, and have received grants from the UC Davis
Sustainability Advisory Committee to build infrastructure and obtain
solar energy to power the Church. Volunteers have started other
important bike programs in Davis such as the Davis Bicycles! advocacy
group, the Velolution radio show, and built pedal-powered ambulances
to serve communities in Africa. We support local bike shops by
keeping people on their bikes and showing them how to recognize when
they need parts and maintenance. We were voted the #1 bike shop in
Davis by the Davis Wiki in 2008. Above all, we are a collective of
volunteers dedicated to teaching the art of the wrench.

After five successful years on the property of UC Davis, University
administrators are in the process of evicting the Church from its
location at the Domes. As we are finding a solution to this issue, we need
your support.

You can show your support and solidarity simply by riding your bike,
but in this time of need, we are asking for extra help. We are
collecting letters of support to present to the University, and to
obtain support from the City of Davis should we need to move to a new
location. You can send letters to the Bike Church, c/o Tom Denton, 2
Baggin's End, Davis CA 95616, or send an email to
bikeministry@ucdavis.edu <mailto:bikeministry@ucdavis.edu>. You can also
sign the online petition:
We will continue holding services Wednesday and Saturday from 12-6pm;
get information and directions at daviswiki.org/bikechurch

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