First, The Hub of Detroit is having a bike drive and is seeking donated used bikes before September 1st.

We are currently trying to get 300 bicycles donated by Sept. 1st to continue our youth programming.

In 2011 alone, the Hub got over 300 youth on bicycles and taught mechanic skills to many more. In 2012 we are
providing more programming than ever in our 13 year history by having youth work in our shop 5 days a week.
This would not be possible without the help from generous people just like you.

The 2012 Bike Drive flier has all the details.

Hiring Earn a bike instructors

The Hub is also helping to hire a couple instructors for a youth Earn-a-Bike program in the Osborn Neighborhood. This program is the result of a grant via the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

We are working on getting an Earn-a-Bike program started in the Osborn Neighborhood in collaboration with the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative as well as the Rails-to-Trails Conservatory and other groups.

If you are interested, just email me (jason@thehubofdetroit.org) a resume and cover letter explaining why you would be perfect for this job. You can also drop off or mail a printed cover letter and resume to:

The Hub of Detroit
c/o Jason X
3611 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201

The Hub will be hiring and training folks for this job, but it isn’t our program, just one we are helping with.

Again, this position is NOT a job at the Hub.?It is a program that will take place in the Osborn Neighborhood near Outer Drive and Connor.

We highly encourage folks of all different types to apply for the job. Get a resume in by July 15th for consideration!

Apply now. It should be a very rewarding experience helping get more Osborn youth on bikes!

This Saturday, June 9th is the 2nd annual 10-mile bike ride benefit for homeless veterans.

The ride starts at 9am at the Detroit Veterans Center (2770 Park Avenue) in the Cass Corridor.

The Foundation is also asking for donations of new or used bicycles, head gear/caps, T-shirts, bicycle repair kits, water bottles, and donations.

For additional information, contact Ms. S. Jones at (313) 766-1726.

Press release from the Hub of Detroit, one of America’s largest bicycle co-ops:

Contact: Bradley Iott and Jason Fiedler

BIKE DONATIONS FOR YOUTH BIKE GIVEAWAY

The HUB of Detroit seeks donations of youth bicycles for its biannual Youth Bike Giveaway. Last year, the program gave away over 100 bikes. This year the HUB will distribute approximately 100 bikes to children ages 4-8 on June 18th and 21st. Additionally, the program will educate children and their families on safe riding habits though an informative safety packet given with each bike. Diligent volunteers will be recycling and refurbishing donated bikes prior to the giveaway. We ask that bikes have wheels 20 inches or smaller to accommodate this age group, but any bike will be accepted.

Donated bikes can be brought to The HUB’s retail shop at 3611 Cass Avenue Detroit, MI 48201 during shop hours:

• Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM-6 PM
• Sunday 12-2 PM
• Monday by appointment

If you work for an organization that helps out families that could benefit from a free bike or if you would like to volunteer at The HUB, please contact Jason Fiedler at jason@thehubofdetroit.org.

If you have a child ages 9-16 years old, they may be eligible to get a free bike through the HUB’s Earn-A-Bike program. For more information about that program, please contact Darrin Brouhard at darrin@thehubofdetroit.org.

The HUB of Detroit is a non-profit bike shop in the Cass Corridor. It’s mission is to provide cycling education and services with a focus on youth development, sustainable practices, and community access. To accomplish these goals, The HUB offers a variety of youth programs, including Youth Earn A Bike, Mechanics in Training, and the Youth Bike Giveaway.

A new bike collective called the Red Planet Bicycle Collective has opened in Detroit. They are located south of  Seven Mile and Woodward and just down the street from the Innate Healing Arts Center (18700 Woodward).

Our mission is to mobilize the Seven Mile and Woodward area by providing access to donated bikes, tools and parts, and teach bicycle repair. Through hands on workshops the community will learn road safety and how to build and maintain a bicycle.

The collective is seeking donated bikes, parts and tools. Donations can be dropped off at the Healing Center (313.366.2247)

The Hub of Detroit bike giveaway

Congratulations to the Hub and all their volunteers for giving away 123 kids bicycles! They expect to have another bike giveaway in the future and there’s an opportunity to help.

If you have a youth bike in your basement that isn’t being used anymore, bring it to us so we can help it find a good home. The best times to drop off donations are during our volunteer nights (Wednesdays and Thursday 6pm-8pm). Bring them to our Back Alley Bikes entrance (first alley West of Cass on MLK).

Moving a piano by bike

The Metro Times has an article on the Joybox Express, a band that is traveling across Michigan on bicycle with a piano.

There’s something beautifully old-fashioned about the Joybox Express — it’s more 1910 than 2010. Yet the joy of shaking it to a Jelly Roll Morton stomper — or, hell, the bliss of riding down a country road on a bike — will never be outdated. And let’s face it: A band of bicycling minstrels is pretty awesome. Guitarist Brian Delaney says, “When bicyclists go by, they usually pump their chests or stick their fists up in the air in approval.”

The band is biking to Detroit along Warren Avenue on Tuesday for a show at Cliff Bell’s that evening. They’ll be at the Scarab Club for a show on Wednesday.

Gushing Oil, New Habits

John McCormick is a columnist for Autos Consumer. His recent column in the Detroit News, Gushing oil must finally create some new habits, asks the question, “What does the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico mean to you as an automotive consumer?”

And his answer is soaked in realism.

There are plenty of voices arguing that although this spill was accidental, it’s fair to say that Americans’ greed for oil is at least partly to blame…

But as Jason Henderson, a San Francisco State University geography professor, has suggested, there is now a moral imperative for U.S. consumers to do something meaningful about their fuel consumption habits. In a recently published statement, Henderson argues that the hazards of deepwater oil drilling are too great to continue and that ‘far-off miracles’ in hydrogen, wind, solar or nuclear power will not meet the country’s immediate energy demands.

Instead, Henderson proposes that we, American drivers, reduce our daily gasoline usage by 20 percent.

We agree.

And we also like McCormick’s suggestion that “there are strong arguments for greater use of public transport, more investment in high-speed rail systems and even more prosaic solutions, such as bicycle lanes to encourage Americans to use two wheels rather than four.”

Bike lanes are a prosaic solution? Okay, compared with hydrogen fuel cell magic, bike lanes themselves are a little ordinary and dull, but biking in them? Not always prosaic — especially if you’re pulling a piano.