A bit about Work. And commute.

The UMass Bike Coop, a small, narrow high ceiling room in the University's Student Union. We try and make it work but space is an issue, to get an idea of the space its about two and a half bikes wide and maybe eight long, we have one stand which two mechanics can work on at once. But with the weather becoming nice here in Western Mass, the bikes are coming out. We do have a small storage space outside under an over hang. We are the underdog student business on campus, we are stereotyped as the goofs and underachievers, I can say we work hard to keep this shop going and as one of the two businesses that is not food oriented its hard for people to understand just what goes on in running things. For the most part, people bring in bikes saved from yardsales or attics, left in snow and rain or was their bike as a kid. Some bring in their trusty commuter, their weekend road bike or mountain bike. No matter what we fix it, we have to, in some cases we should just tell them to put it in the dumpster like some shops do, but they are just riding from their dorm to class of to the store downtown, let them ride what they want. Bikes are like people and people are like bikes. We all look at a bike and judge it, just like we do with people, so in a sense we judge a person by their bike. This is human nature and we can all get past this. I enjoy working on every bike that comes through the doors of our shop, no matter how shitty. Its great to see people ride away, being happy about their bike.

Maybe I care a little too much at times, I love my bike, I put just as much care and effort into others bikes when I fix them as I do my own and hope that when it leaves the shop they care for it just as much. It really is a bummer to fix up a bike and put alot of time into it and then see it back in the shop a month later mangled and rusted, all your hard work ruined. I tell people to treat their bike like a cat or dog, you wouldnt leave your dog or cat outside over night, leave them out in the rain or not give them the things they need to survive. A bike is the same way, if its neglected it will rust and components may stop working, you need to give it lube, air, and attention. Take care of your bike, bottom line.