Saturday June 8, 2013 -- Learn to Ride Safely on the Road with CICLE

Don't ride on the sidewalk! (it's safer and faster to ride on the road). Learn how to be a smart cyclist and ride your bike safely in the road.

Learn how to:  

• Take back the road

• Be alert and safe

• Know your rights as a cyclist

• Make the best use of your bike!

Our next class is:
  Sat June 8, 2013  11 am - 12:30pm
This is our last class before the summer break! 

Where: Caltech Y: 505 S. Wilson Ave, Pasadena CA   

What to Bring: Your bicycle, in good running order and a helmet.


Price: FREE! This class is subsidized by Caltech Transportation on behalf of Caltech Bike Lab

Please RSVP with the class date to bike@cicle.org. Space is limited, but the public is welcome!

Basic Tune-up/Repair Class: Brakes, Shifters, and Derailleurs | Saturday June 1

Basic Tune-up/Repair Class: Brakes, Shifters, and Derailleurs

When: Saturday, June 1
1pm - 3pm 
(with hands-on Q&A and repair time until 4pm)
 
Where: Caltech Bike Lab
(see map, approximate address is 1147 East California Boulevard)

The free class will cover basic tune-up of your braking and gear shifting systems: how to get your brakes adjusted (all types that show up), and how to get your derailleurs and shifters adjusted, for that clean-clickin' buttery feeling. 

We'll also show how to fix the most common problems: replacing cables, replacing pads, and straightening bent derailleur hangers.
Bring your bike, or bring a friend's bike, or bring a friend and their bike.
 
Questions? Contact Jon at (jonathan DOT r DOT murphy AT gmail) for more information 

The public is welcome, with priority to members of Caltech/JPL community if there is limited space.

Ride to Angel City Brewery / Food Truck Party on Sat May 25 at noon!

In addition to keeping your bike in mechanical good health, the Caltech Bikelab is forever interested in making sure it gets some exercise. And we like to exercise too, but only if we can cancel it out with hedonism.

Angel City Brewery in the Arts District of DTLA

To that end, we're riding to Food Truck Haven at Angel City Brewery.

Angel City is a new craft brewery in the heart of the Arts District of Downtown LA, and their monthly food truck convocation promises delicious opportunities.

The ride is about 12 miles and mostly flat, and there will be an option to take the Gold Line for a speedy return to campus.

Meet at the Caltech Bike Lab at noon on Saturday, May 25th; we'll leave at 12:15 and return around 5pm.

Bring a working bike, a helmet, a lock, and an ID proving that you are at least 21. If you are employee/student of Caltech/JPL, the food is on our tab, but bring some cash to pay for your beer. Hope to see you there!

Caltech Bike Week Blitz from May 13-17!

Bike Week is coming up on May 13-17. Here at Caltech, we are going to be doing a Bike Week Blitz. These are special outdoor office hours for Bike Week during lunchtime Monday through Friday outside Chandler Cafe. The week's schedule will be:

* Mon 12-1 PM Paul
* Tue 12-1 PM Laura
* Wed 12-1 PM Ari
* Thu 12-1:30 PM Jeff and Luca
* Fri 12-1:30 PM Leon and Margie

*these outdoor office hours will be held outside Chandler Cafe

We will still have evening office hours at the shop for more complex repairs:
Tue 5-7 PM Daven & Jeff at BikeLab
Thu 6-7 PM Eric at Bike Lab

Bring your bike in for a basic tune up/bike repair!

******************
The City of Pasadena is doing a series of festivities organized by C.I.C.L.E, these are free and open to the public. The highlights include:

• A Taste of Pasadena Restaurant Ride
• Ladies Night
• Bike To Work Pit Stop
• Bike Home From Work Shift Party
• Bike-In Movie Night
• Kids Costume Bike Parade with the Mayor

See the full schedule at C.I.C.L.E's website: http://www.cicle.org/attend-an-event/bike-week-pasaden

League of American Bicyclists awards California Institute of Technology Bronze Level Bike Friendly University status!

We are very pleased to announce that Caltech has been nationally recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bronze Level Bike Friendly University!
 

In order to be recognized as a bike friendly university, the university had to demonstrate excellence in several categories:

Engineering
Education
Encouragement
Enforcement
Evaluation and Planning 

See the full list of recognized universities in 2013 here. 

Caltech Bike Lab and Kristina Valenzuela at the Caltech Transportation Office worked to prepare our application and we are very happy to see Caltech, with our high percentages of students and faculty regularly commuting by bicycle, recognized as spearheading efforts to make the university even more friendly to bicyclists.

Just in time for this year's bike month in May, we installed a DIY bike repair station that provides 24 hour access to basic tools on campus next to Red Door Cafe. The bike repair station was purchased with funds from the Moore Hufstedler Fund at Caltech and Caltech Bike Lab paid for costs of installation.

The Caltech Bike Lab has had a bike repair shop on campus for many years with regular office hours where any member of Caltech/JPL community can access tools and get help with bike repair. Our volunteers are currently students and staff at Caltech and JPL. The Bike Lab also leads regular bike rides to CicLAvia, an annual christmas light rides, other rides to breweries and food trucks, and we host an annual social BBQ with the JPL Bike Club.

We also emphasize the importance of safe bicycling education. Caltech Transportation sponsors a free defensive cycling classes every quarter at the Caltech Y organized by Caltech Bike Lab. The class is open to all members of Caltech (priority signup) and also to the public. It is taught by local bike organization C.I.C.L.E.

We also have a Metro TAP subsidy offered at the Caltech Bookstore. With Caltech ID, you can refill your Metro TAP card with $20 of credit for only $15. The nearest Metro stations are only a 5 minute bicycle ride from campus. The Caltech Bookstore also sells bike lights for riding at night and U-locks to securing your bicycles at the hundreds of bike racks all over campus.

We recognize this is only the beginning of our journey, (let's aim for silver, gold, platinum, and diamond) but its a great start!

Check out the new Dero Fixit DIY Bike Repair Stand outside Chandler Dining Hall and Red Door Cafe!

Just in time for National Bike To Work Month this May, we've installed a bright orange Dero Fixit DIY Bike Repair Station by Red Door Cafe!

It's all ready for you to use, 24-hours a day! There are basic tools to adjust bikes, fix flat and an air pump too.

The bike repair station was purchased with funds from the Moore Hufstedler Fund at Caltech and Caltech Bike Lab paid for costs of installation.