Work Update

 The part time job gig was a bit interesting the other day. Some of our board members were at the Iowa Bicycle Expo last January and met a fellow from a town about 40 minutes North of Waterloo who has a bicycle shop. First of all, this was news to me when I heard about this shop last week. Secondly, a newer bicycle shop is a pretty cool thing these days in Iowa. Cool and rare. So check out Pedal and Play Sports in New Hampton if you ever get the chance. It's at 45 Main Street. Odd weekday hours. 4pm - 8pm, if I recall correctly because this is the proprietor's second job. 

Anyway....

This fellow had some bicycles gathering too much space which he had collected from the community and after he heard we did recycling and reclamation of old bicycles and parts he invited us up to take a load of those bikes off his hands. So, on Tuesday of this week I and a couple of our Board members went up in a truck and picked up 35 bicycles. 

Nick is not a thief. Trust me!

I hadn't planned on standing in a narrow, ice and snow filled alley in New Hampton, Iowa in the early afternoon, but there I was. Helping load the truck and chatting with the shop owner a bit before we headed back to Waterloo. 

So, a little explanation here. We keep what we can use, but a lot of this bicycle stuff is not going to get used. Ever again. So, we try to get as much of the unwanted stuff into the recycler's hands that we can. If we do not, it usually goes into landfills and this isn't our best end game for bicycles. 

With that in mind we ended up going to our local recycler to unload the bikes we knew we did not want to tear apart or refurbish. If you've never been to a recycling business, it is a wild trip of a place. 

There is a HUGE shredding machine, for one thing. Those machines are fascinating. Then you have the cranes with the monster magnets on them. Add in some huge heavy equipment and big trucks and it brings the boy out in a man. It's kind of fun for a little bit, anyway. 

So, a successful trip was had and now we have another shop connection we can help out with regarding the disposal of unwanted bicycles. It was fun to see another shop operation and talk with another passionate bicycle person. 

Now we're in waiting mode until Spring sets in, probably this weekend, actually, and then we should get busier. I'm really done with Winter, I'll tell ya that much.