Free Cycles Missoula

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Free Cycles Missoula

Community Bicycle Shop

732 S. 1st St W.
Missoula MT 59801
406- 541-PATH (7284)
mist@strans.org

Providing bikes, parts and help for those in need...

Check out: Pedal Fest 2008!

Community Bike Shop Hours of Operation

Open shop: Monday - Thursday - 3:00pm - 7:00pm

"Bike Well" Class: Tues 7-8:30pm
Wed 5:30-7pm
Thurs 1:30-3:00pm

Volunteer Night: Wed- 7:00-9 pm

Open Shop: Repair your bicycle; We have stands, tools, parts and help available. This is a free service, yet your donations keep us running.

BikeWell Class: This class covers basic bike repair, good riding skills, and traffic laws.

Free Bike: To get a free bike, two hours of volunteer time and the BikeWell class are required.

Volunteer Night is held every Wednesday from 7:00-9pm. Come help with sorting, cleaning, bike-building and general shop up-keep.

Checkout Bikes: We have ready-to-go bikes that you can borrow for up to one month for free. A $20 refundable deposit is required.

Free Cycles Missoula is an all-volunteer effort to provide free bikes and parts to the people of Missoula. This happens in many shapes and forms. What started as 'free-roamin' green bikes in the spring of 1996 as evolved into 5 different programs:

Community Cycle Shop: We run a shop that people can build bikes, get used parts, borrow tools, etc- for free.

Festival of Cycles: Each spring we throw a huge 'bike party' to kick off the city's Bike/ Walk/ Bus week. The main attraction is combining whatever bikes and parts we have on hand (usually several hundred) with a community-wide bike drive that forms the bike pit. People helping people build bikes is what it's all about.

CheckOut Missoula: We keep several styles of bikes on hand to loan out to visitors, other non-profits, and whoever else needs short-term wheels.

Pedal Education: Our outreach program- includes everything from maintenance workshops to sustainable transportation discussions.

Green Bikes: Our free-roaming program- we release anywhere from a few to 60 green bikes at the festival. Usually half survive the season. This program is more about trust and sharing than transportation.

A scene from the Festival of Cycles- in addtion to the bike creation pit, we have free food, music, bike games, drama, safety courses and usually a few surprises. One goal is to celebrate healthy transportation.

a free-roaming green bike waiting to be ridden

One of the 6 community shops we have coordinated over the years- this one in a loaned garage on California Street

Links:

Missoula Case Study - Click on Case #54

Some history and recommendations from Free Cycles

More Free Cycles Pictures

Original Green Bike Proposal

Original Checkout Bike Proposal

Original School Fleet Proposal