Monthly Archives: June 2015

Mass Ave Monopoly

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Mass Ave Monopoly full photo album here.

"All good things to those who wait..." 

But there are some things that one should never wait upon - like making sure you have bike lights and a properly fitting helmet when riding a bike, or that the bike itself is safe to ride on (no, you should NOT wait until the back wheel is wobbly and the bike looks ready to spontaneously combust before having the bike checked). We hold bike events pretty regularly now (once per month), open to the public, so that you can bring in your bikes and have them regularly maintained (aka small tweaks!), of course, with the help of Bike Boom and our bike guru volunteers. So this past Friday, after postponing our event on Monday due to the rain, we ran our bike event. 

[below] We welcome a new member of Bike Boom to our event, Ari! They are here to conduct bike safety checks - Bike Boom will fix what they can (in 5-7 minutes) to make your bikes safe and let you know if more extensive repairs need to be taken to a bike store. Visit Bike Boom in Davis Square! For those who are asking about where to get nice bikes, Bike Boom sells pretty nice refurbished bikes.

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We were pretty thankful to have a bike-savvy volunteer show up, Rudy. Near the beginning and towards the end of our event, we started seeing cyclists coming in all at once, until we realized around 5:20 PM that we had to close the bike repair line. (*note: even when the repair line is closed, the bike pressure washer station remains open, as well as the bike-pump and oiling/lubing of the chain self-services). Thanks to Rudy for showing up and helping out, as well as contributing the idea of us getting a bike pressure washer to begin with. According to our survey results, next to free bike repairs, cyclists come in for the free bike pressure washing. 

They have a blast (literally) clearing away the salt, residue, and whatever else is sticking to their bike frames/drive-chain. 

pn2k_monoply-32After the pressure-washing, we had some fun community-building activities (ice-breakers, the Photo Booth and videography station, and bike safety "quizzing" with David, who was here helping to register bikes with MIT Parking & Transportation. 

Thanks for coming! Join us at our next event on Friday, July 31, 2015! (time & location to be confirmed) 

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(left to right) Will, Yaoming, Roy, Michelle, Ye, Ari, Rudy, Dingfang

RECESS!

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In thermodynamics, there's a law that states that the universe tends toward a state of disorder (or chaos). On Thursday, we tried our best to manage this chaos.

For those of you new to PN2K--Welcome! Each month since September 2014, we've held a bike safety event. Each event is characterized by a queue of cyclists waiting to have their bikes repaired/tuned-up for free. In celebration of national Bike Month (and school ending), we called this one "RECESS!"

Cyclists signed-in with us, registered their bikes with MIT Parking, pressure-washed their bikes, enjoyed the food, music, and presence of other cyclists. Some new things we tested out: (1) new (mobile iPad) sign-in/registration system; when you first arrive, we greet you, thus eliminating the need for you to move around and worry about losing your place in line (2) walkie-talkies that help our team communicate with each other - so if you need anything, just find one of us wearing a neon green shirt.

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I love how our cyclists seem to have self-solved the problem of where and how to position your bikes during the pressure washing -- They've figured out how to optimize this process to take into account (1) best way to not spray yourself and others (2) getting at both sides of the bike while keeping your bike still (especially when it lacks a leg stand) (3) saving time! 

Hear, hear everyone! From here on out, we shall recommend the "upside-down" position. 

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Anyway, we had a queue waiting for these two guys.

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And we were much appeased when our volunteer, John, came to the rescue and went through the line for quick-fixes (brakes, pumping air in tire, oiling chains...), even throwing in a 15-minute session on how to change your flat tire. Thanks John for helping teach our cyclists to be more self-sufficient and helping to restore some order in the chaos. 

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Thanks to our partners Robynn (MIT PTO), Armando & Dan (Bike Boom), and our volunteer John! A special shout-out to Oscar for his impromptu volunteering and overseeing cyclists through the power-washing process, as well as our first cyclist in line, Weixun, who helped set up our bike stand! Please join us at our next bike event on the last Friday of June (26th) - same time (3-7 PM), same place (MIT Student Center). 

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(left to right) Yaoming, Dingfang, Alpha, Tian, Will, Ye, Becky

Link to full RECESS photo album