Bike Church/Great Pedal Forward

Great Pedal Forward is an initiative within the Bike Church to increase their physical, organizational and administrative efficiency.

Meetings

Great Pedal Forward meetings are being held every Friday at 6 pm at the Domes Community Yurt. The Great Pedal Forward has sped up and veered in a new direction. This was spurred by our recent notice of eviction from our current location by Student Housing. See the main Bike Church page for further details. This page is a great record of all the work we did over the summer, and will continue to do.

Fundraising

We are currently in the process of raising money to fund the transformation of the Bike Church into a better place. The funds raised will go toward the Great Pedal Forward, which is an initiative to increase our physical, organizational and administrative efficiency. This movement will create a more inviting and functional space, which will allow us to increase the population served by the Bike Church not only in the campus community, but also in the larger Davis community. It will also help us to use volunteers more effectively through a cleaner and more organized physical space and organizational structure. While the Bike Church has thrived and grown in its first four years, we need to raise money in order allow the Bike Church to create a sustainable foundation for serving the community for years to come.

We started things off with dance party fundraiser on May 16th, 2008. We raffled off bicycles and other goodies and had local DJs spining late into the evening. It turned out to be a massive party and we received $1440 from donations and merchandise sales. Thanks to everyone who attended and donated. We hope we can have a great party like that on a regular basis.

If you are interested in donating you can either purchase our Merchandise or donate directly to us: contact [email protected].

For those interested here is some details about how much money we've been raising:

Mission Statement

From a group discussion of what the Bike Church should be all about:

• People can help each other, share skills, and empower each other in fixing and repairing their own bicycles.
• Resource use and reuse emphasized and practiced.
• Tools are shared and learned to use correctly.
• Bicycle repair is taught not done as a service.
• Sustainable bicycle/human powered culture is cultivated.
• Waste is given another chance at reuse.
• Getting as many people riding their bikes is paramount.
• The idea where the disconnection from knowledge is smashed.
• A place where one can shout "Boom Shakalaka Gaia".
• A place where community can be built through the communication of knowledge and the practice of sustainable/recycled transportation.

The mission statement should answer where, what, why, how, and who.

• Where do we do it? We are based at the Sustainable Research Area on the UC Davis Campus. We work in and serve Davis, CA.
• What do we do? Increase bicycle mode share. Decrease waste. Empower people in their transportation choices and self sufficiency. Cultivate community and bicycle culture.
• Why do we do it? Everyone should have freedom to cheap, reliable transportation. Riding a bicycle is good for human and environmental health, is safe, decreases pollution and global warming, and is inexpensive.
• How do we do it? Through human interaction. By teaching and instructing in bicycle repair. By providing tools and facilities for bicycle repair. By reusing bicycle parts and materials.
• Who does it? We are a group of volunteers from the Davis Community.
• Who do we do it for? We serve all people who desire our services but primarily the residents of Davis, CA.

Current Problems

• Bike Church physical space is not controlled (open 24hrs).
• No plan of action in place to bring in new Ministers.
• No secure places to store all the parts at the site.
• System in place to meet the E,H&S needs.
• Organizational plan and signage needed.
• Lack of committed people.
• Feng Shui of Church is "bundled".
• No clear place for projects.
• No good waste stream protocol.
• Physical foundation needed.
• Legal, money handling process needed.
• No bathroom or water facilities.

Strategic Plan

The strategic plan document can be found here.

Pictures of our progress

Dome Floor Wedges The Reverend at work Site Planning / Floor Leveling The Floor Mostly Sheeted / Knee Wall Parts Dome Raising A Show of Strength The new Wheel and Tire Wall The New Floor Taken from on the Old Dome Overview of the church in transition and cleanup Fork storage extravaganza Parts being sorted in the new dome Picture from the new gate entrance to the church closed until Oct 1st Divine intervention Bike Pod-scaping along the entrance path New entrance gate made out of some old bike frames with a clever hinge Signage at donation area near entrance More signage for the kids section Initial geometry sketch for dome cover Sketch of wing and pleat needed for pavilion cover design Pavilion cover, design mock up from the front Pavilion cover, design mock up from the back