San José Bike Clinic at Zero1

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Zero1 is one of the coolest artistic and cultural events in San José, and it only happens ever other year. This year, San José Bike Clinic volunteers will be setting up for a couple of hours on Friday, Sept. 14 at Zero1 to spread the word about Bike Clinic’s plans and to help people tune up or fix their bikes.

Look for Bike Clinic on William Street at S. First Street in Downtown San Jose, next to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) Bike Valet parking services. That means if you ride to Zero1 you can learn how to fix any problems you’re having with your bike, borrow some tools or a bike pump, and then park your bike with SVBC while you enjoy this great festival of art and technology.

To learn more about the Zero1 Biennial, visit www.zero1biennial.org. This year, the theme is Seeking Silicon Valley and the programs and exhibits from Sept. 12 to Dec. 8 throughout San José and Silicon Valley.

Also, there are two 24-mile bikes rides you should consider joining, guided tours called A Spatial History of the Silicon Valley. They’re put on by a Zero1 (e)MERGE artist and UC Santa Cruz artist Nick Lally. The first is on Sept. 14 at 12 and the second is Sept. 15 at 11:30. More details: www.zero1.org/blog/interactive-art-nick-lally-seeks-silicon-valley-bike

Bike to Work Day Gear-Up Event: Mission Accomplished!

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Establishing Shot of the San José Bike Clinic's Bike to Work Day Gear-Up Event

The San José Bike Clinic at the San Pedro Square Market

Just last Sunday on April 29th the San José Bike Clinic set up shop for the second time. Held in front of the brilliant San Pedro Square Market sign, the Bike to Work Gear Up was a smashing success, packing a lot of learning and a lot of fun into a mere four hours!

In addition to over a dozen volunteers staffing the event, several visitors returning to the Bike Clinic for the second time, and many folks just dropping by to see what we’re about, we had 40+ newcomers stop and stay a while to participate in Bike Clinic activities.

The Bike Clinic offered classes to help people get their bikes ready for Bike to Work Day, covering everything from tuning your bike up and checking for safety before heading out, to planning your route through the city of San José, to properly locking your bike once you get there — and making sure you have proper lights for your trip back home!

The Bike Clinic even took the education out onto the streets in coordinated safety rides through the city, emphasizing proper riding practices and how to effectively share the road and get by with your bike as a viable mode of transportation.

Back at the workshop, our skilled bike repair ‘medics’ diagnosed problems with many a drop-in patients’ bike, and wrote ‘prescriptions’ to empower those in need to fix their bikes themselves.

At the end of the day attendees unwound by playing fun group biking games like Last Bike Standing, and weaving around cones in a slalom run. For some it was plenty just to enjoy an afternoon hanging out with a bunch of other bicycles enthusiasts.

The San José Bike Clinic is all these things — free bike education, a place to learn and to work on your bike, and a biycycle fan hangout spot — and more! We know we’re doing something right when people keep asking us when we’re going to be back! We are very excited at our positive feedback and are proud to be working towards establishing a permanent fixture for the greater San José bicycle community.

Watch this space for news of the Bike Clinic’s next event!

Bike to Work Gear-Up Event, April 29

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Bike Clinic co-founder Angela Dube teaches friends how to fix a flat

Bike to Work Day is May 10—are you ready? Do you have a bike that’s been gathering dust? Flat tire, creaky chain, sloppy shifting and squishy brakes?

Bring your bike down to the San Jose Bike Clinic Bike to Work Gear-Up on April 29 from noon to 4 p.m., and we’ll show you how to fix those problems yourself, as well as provide you with a checklist so you know how to look for these problems on your own on May 10. Or, just come and hang out!

What: We’ll be doing bike repair and route planning classes, we’ll have bike stands and tools so you can wrench on your bike under the guidance of our bike repair coaches, we’ll do a safety ride to refresh your memory or teach you how to ride safely on the streets. We can even give you a personalized expert consultation on route planning!

When: Sunday April 29, noon to 4 p.m.

Where: San Pedro Square Market, Saint James and San Pedro streets, Downtown San Jose.

RSVP: Please RSVP if you can attend, and share with friends, at https://www.facebook.com/events/373591872685809/.

Contact: If you have questions, email info@sjbikeclinic.org.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there with your friends, family, classmates and coworkers!

Enter the San Jose Bike Clinic Logo Contest!

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We are excited to launch a contest to create the first San Jose Bike Clinic logo, a logo that will go down in history for changing the San Jose bike culture forever! Please share this request for designs far and wide so we get lots of options to choose from.

Submissions are due by April 16, and must be submitted in digital form (take a photo if it’s hand-drawn) to codyk@veggielution.org. All submissions will be reviewed by Bike Clinic volunteers at our April 18 meeting so the logo can be included in a banner for our April 29 event, and we’ll also upload them all to the SJ Bike Clinic Facebook page (like us on Facebook if you haven’t already) so that all our fans can vote for their favorite’s by ‘liking’ them. We’ll make the final selection on April 18.
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Introducing San José Bike Clinic!

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San José Bike Clinic held its first public event yesterday with beaming success!  Over 50 people showed up at Montgomery and San Fernando Streets to repair bikes, learn how to repair their own bike, compete in bike games, take rides around downtown, and chat about the Bike Clinic!

We’ll aim to have more updates and perhaps photos here soon.  For now, be sure to check out these amazing photographs from Alex at Metro and more photos from Jack Miller of Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.