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Call for Front Desk Volunteer

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Written by Carol Mattsson Carol Mattsson

Published: 22 June 2017 22 June 2017

Bicycle Exchange would like another person or two to join the front desk team.

The Front Desk role is perfect for someone who is enthusiastic about getting bikes repaired but doesn't like to get dirty. The main task is to accept donations of bicycles throughout the workday, so our donors feel appreciated and our volunteer mechanics can stay focused on their projects. Other duties include:

• Help volunteers sign in at the beginning of the workday
• Recruit a volunteer to collect lunch money and fetch the pizza
• Record the occasional sale of a bicycle or a part
• Greet other visitors to the workday and answer questions or introduce the visitor to someone who can help

Read more: Call for Front Desk Volunteer

Volunteer of the Month: Mark A

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 01 June 2017 01 June 2017

Usually, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange (SVBE) donates quantities of bikes to our partner agencies, not knowing the stories of the people who actually get them. Most of our volunteers don't get to see their hard work in action. 

On rare occasions, an agency will refer a specific individual or family for bikes. In this instance, a family of six needed transportation – bicycles for all. Due to prior commitments, SVBE didn’t  have extra bikes for them. 

Mark A., a hands-on volunteer mechanic for SVBE, who usually takes home a steady stream of bikes to work on for SVBE, had a good idea of what they needed and asked them to come back in two weeks. Mark then took a few bikes home with him and fixed them up before the next workday. 

When the family returned, the 6 and 8 year olds were extremely excited to see their new bikes. The father said his younger kids could hardly sleep the night before because they wanted to see and ride their new bikes. Unknown to the father, Mark had also fixed up a cruiser bike for the dad, similar to the one the mother already had.  Mark said, “You should have seen the totally surprised look on the father’s face when I gave him his bike!"  That big smile on his face said it all!  He was just as excited as his kids!” Getting a bicycle to ride at any age is truly a wonderful experience!

Read more: Volunteer of the Month: Mark A

Volunteer of the Month: Patrick S

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 03 May 2017 03 May 2017

Patrick is a true coastie, born in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California. His family moved to Livermore in 1953, where he grew up in what then was a beautiful rural part of California with miles of cattle ranches and not so many people.

Like many others he served in Viet Nam. In his case it was flying helicopters for the army from 1971 to 1972. Returning after his tour, he enrolled at San Jose State and got a degree in Geology and then went to work for the U.S.G.S. He later moved to Mountain View where he worked for defense contractor Watkins/Johnson and eventually became a manufacturer's representative in electronics sales.

Now Retired, Patrick has time to indulge his hobbies, which include surfing and classic bicycles. His main rides are a 1984 Serrota and a 1974 Holdsworth. He also is a VW bus guy who has owned a few, including a 1989 Westphalia camper. He knows Colleen and others in the group and started volunteering regularly this year. Welcome to the family Patrick!

Volunteer of the Month: Dave Z

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 01 April 2017 01 April 2017

Dave Z has been working at the Bicycle Exchange for 2 years fixing bikes. You may see him riding around on his Rivendell road bike - he's logged 100,000 miles on it. He used to go on bike tours through France, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, but his favorite was New Zealand. He feels like he learns a lot by working on so many different kinds of bikes through the Bicycle Exchange. He's a native to the area, born in the east bay in a city called Alvarado which is now Union City. Dave is a retired electrical engineer and is a curious sort who likes to read all kinds of books. He also enjoys photography and riding with and editing for the Western Wheelers bike club.

Volunteer of the Month: Jonny T

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 06 March 2017 06 March 2017

Jonny grew up in the North beach neighborhood in San Francisco, and remembers the "Summer of Love" and his Black Panther neighbors among many "only in San Francisco" people and places in the City by the Bay. After graduating From Galileo High School he attended CCSF, taking courses to be a Machinist. He then went on to a variety of construction jobs doing carpentry, electrical work, etc. Today he works for PG&E where he has been employed for the last 36 years. Currently he works testing Smart Meters.     

He hooked up with the Bike Exchange when he went into Evolution Bikes in Cupertino 5 years ago and saw our flyer. The rest is history. Jonny is one of our most stalwart volunteers. He is always the first person on site on work days. He opens the shop and selects bikes to be worked on. Then (usually with John F's help) he pulls out the tool carts and starts putting out tables and shade canopies. When you see him, be sure to tell him thanks for everything he does!

Volunteer of the Month: Judy

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 23 January 2017 23 January 2017

Judy has been fixing bikes at the Bicycle Exchange for 3 years, has more recently joined the Steering Committee, and writes all of our thank you letters to donors. She enjoys fixing the adult bikes and especially 3-speeds, similar to her own Raleigh vintage bike. Judy loves long distance rides and has ridden in a lot of places including along the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. She's originally from Illinois but moved out here because of the weather and mountains. Her business helps pre-med students navigate the process of getting into medical school. Judy rides with the Wetern Wheelers bike club and also volunteers for Turning Wheels for Kids where she joins 1,000 other volunteers to assemble new bikes for kids to ride.

Volunteer of the Month: Falguni

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 04 December 2016 04 December 2016

Falguni is one of the people behind the scenes at the Bicycle Exchange that helps keep things running smoothly. She volunteered at a workday after her colleague, Doreen, told her about it. She moved from bicycle fixer to accountant for the group because it better fit her schedule and professional training. Falguni loves to ride bikes, especially across the San Francisco golden gate bridge and on Angel Island where there is one awesome downhill ride right toward the ocean. She also loves reading books about start-ups and hiking Mission Peak, Rancho San Antonio, and Sunol.

Volunteer of the Month: Alison

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 01 November 2016 01 November 2016

Thursday, Oct. 6 was a special work day where we hosted a group from Adobe Systems at the bike Exchange.
 
Alison organized the  event  from the Adobe side  (Jack Miller, as always, set things up on our end) and your humble reporter was able to sit down with Alison for a few minutes during the lunch break to find out a bit about her and about the Adobe group .
 
Alison hails from Windsor England and grew up living around the corner from The Queen and Elton John, with whom she frequently had tea.
 
In 1997 she tired of hobnobbing with the toffs and came over on the boat to the colonies. Having discovered the promised land, she went to work here in the exploding tech industry and eventually found herself  at Adobe systems where she works and plays today. 

Read more: Volunteer of the Month: Alison

Volunteers of the Month: Bahar & Romtin

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 03 October 2016 03 October 2016

This month we visit with Bahar R and her son Romtin. They live in Los Altos and their whole family loves riding.
 
They belong to the Young Men's Service League, Rancho chapter - Mountain view / Los Altos which comes to the Exchange periodically  to volunteer. They were introduced to the league by Romtin's school mates and their moms.  
 
This is their second visit with the league and they were on their second kid's bike when I caught up with them in the afternoon and were obviously enjoying themselves.
 
I asked what was the hardest thing they had done and Romtin said it was learning how to change a tire. 
 
They both are excited to learn more about bikes and are hoping to  come back again soon.  Here's hoping they bring their friends too! 

Volunteer of the Month: Grant

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Written by Lauren Z. Lauren Z.

Published: 01 September 2016 01 September 2016

A native to the bay area, Grant has been volunteering at the Bicycle Exchange for seven years. Many new folks get their orientation from him. He likes to make the orientation engaging and informal - ensuring everyone knows that along with fixing bikes, our goal is to learn. He encourages people to ask questions. 

Grant commutes to work each day - five miles total - on a 1991 Bridgestone MB-3 bike that he converted from a mountain to commuter bike. He enjoys mountain biking at night when it's not as hot and a better time to ride slower. One of his hobbies is blacksmithing, and his current goal is create one really good knife. He has even built his own forge.