Reno Bike Project Commemorates 10th Anniversary with 2016 Event Series
Ten full years of bicycle advocacy and education for the community is cause for celebration, and the Reno Bike Project has created several opportunities to do so, with a series of events beginning in May and running through October 1. Northern Nevada’s thriving bike culture will continue to be propelled through an interactive dinner, pancake feed, bicycle bingo, workshops, and partnering with area events, all culminating in the organization’s landmark anniversary event on Oct. 1.
Formed in 2006 by Co-Founders Noah Chubb-Silverman and Joseph “Kyle” Kozar, the Reno Bike Project (RBP) is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization formed with the intention of getting more people on bicycles, and to provide the community with a bike shop and resource for cycling education, cooperation, and advocacy. Donations of all new and used bicycle parts and accessories—or entire bikes—are accepted at RBP’s physical location in downtown Reno, which also provides affordable access to public workstations where people can get help from RBP’s team, or use the provided tools to fix their own bikes.
“We began Reno Bike Project to help make bikes available to everyone here in the Truckee Meadows, and to promote the culture itself,” states RBP Co-Founder Noah Chubb-Silverman. “We want to help demystify the mechanics and educate people on the benefits of cycling. That’s also why we began outreach efforts to the local schools, to start the bike education process early and help ingrain it into kids while they’re young.”
Proceeds garnered from Reno Bike Project events in 2016 will also help support community outreach and education efforts such as providing in-school bicycle education programs for middle- and high-school students, offering a weekly Ladies’ Night workshop, as well as a nine-week bicycle repair and maintenance course to the public quarterly. In 2015 alone, more than 1,200 bikes were distributed back into the community and more than 2,000 hours were logged by people working at the shop’s public stations.
Bike Around Bingo will kick off the Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance’s Bike Week on Saturday, May 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with cyclists taking over Midtown Reno in an effort to be the first to complete their bingo card with marks acquired from participating businesses. RBP will host a secure, free bicycle valet—similar to a coat check—that day outside Recycled Records on South Virginia Street and provide additional racking at the nearby Statewide Lighting parking lot for participants to safely leave their bikes while visiting businesses and booths.
Credit: Reno Bike Project
Bike Week will continue with events hosted by RBP, including a public after-hours bike maintenance and repair workshop for women on Tuesday, May 17 from 6 to 8 p.m., and a bike repair and beer tasting social—in partnership with Mellow Fellow—on Wednesday, May 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. Then on Friday, May 20 from 6 to 10 a.m., the RBP team will serve up pancakes, bacon and coffee to anyone cycling into their downtown shop during their 10th annual Pancake Feed.
RBP welcomes a U.S. tour pairing seven courses of mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free fare with short films and conversation on bicycle culture on Wednesday, June 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Sundance Bookstore. The sixth annual Dinner and Bikes tour—presented by Elly Blue and Joe Biel, co-directors/producers of bicycle documentary series Groundswell, and traveling vegan chef Joshua Ploeg—makes a stop in Reno on its journey across the country to bring people together, eat delicious food, and get inspired about bicycle transportation. While guests are dining, local advocates discuss their work, local issues, and initiatives, then Blue and Biel co-present an interactive discussion and presentation to include the screening of their Groundswell documentary series, consisting of eight short films on successful bicycle advocacy and implementation movements that transpired in locations around the globe. Tickets are $20 per person, and can be purchased via the event’s Facebook page prior to the event. Tickets will also be available at the door for $25.
A year of festivities leads up to the Reno Bike Project’s anniversary on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 1, where lovers of two-wheeled, pedal-driven transportation will revel in ten years of bicycle advocacy and education with live music and entertainment, plus food and beverage.