CRANKSGIVING!!

It's that time of year again - mark your calendar for one of our favorite events:  Cranksgiving!

Saturday, November 12 · 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Bike Masters (129th/Fort)
Event supporting the Omaha Food Bank.


Those of you who have participated in this event in the past know how much fun it is!   From their website:

It's a race ... of sorts. Each rider gets a list of 10 items that must be purchased, each from a different store. (Where you get them is fine, you just can't get two from the same place.) First one back wins.


After the race, when everything is tallied and totaled, all of the food purchased goes to the local Food Bank.

There's no entry fee -- you'll just pay for what you buy (15-20 bucks). There will, however, be prizes.

You're going to go ride anyway, right? Just pick up some food along the way and help us help a lot of people who don't have the luxury of jumping on a bike 'just for fun.'

Hope to see you there!

Indoor Trainer Rides

Many thanks to our friend Pete Lieben with the Omaha Pedalers who has once again collected and summarized all of the indoor trainer rides going on at the various Omaha-area bike shops! 

**

SO, LET’S RIDE!

Tired of staring at the wall or Wheel of Fortune while pedaling alone mindlessly on your bike trainer? Want a diversion from the gym? How about joining friends and fellow cyclists for rigorous exercise at one of your favorite places—the local bicycle shop! Numerous Omaha bicycle stores offer free cycling training sessions during the winter season.  This is a great opportunity to visit those stores that you always thought you wanted to see but never quite got around to. And…you get a great workout.

Bike Masters
http://www.bikemastersomaha.com/
5265 N 129th St (Corner of 129 St & Fort St)
(402) 964-1080

Wednesdays at 6:00 pm and a Saturday ride at 9:00 am. Bring your bike and trainer. Check for updates and changes at our Facebook page, “Bike Masters Cycling”.  All are welcome.

Bike Rack
http://bike-rack.com/
14510 Eagle Run Dr
402-333-1031

Saturdays meet at 8:15am with riding starting at 8:30am
Wednesday meet at 5:45pm with riding starting at 6:00pm
Sessions will last about 1 hour

What You Need
Your bike and your trainer or rollers.
Cycling clothes and shoes if you use them (Helmets are not required unless you tend to fall off your trainer.)
Water bottle and towel

If you do not already own a trainer stop in to the shop today and let us help you pick one out. Indoor trainers are a great way to keep in biking form all year long. (If you need a trainer, call ahead to see if we have extra trainers available). If you would rather not lug your bike and trainer back and forth to the shop for each session we can also store your bike and trainer in our warehouse between sessions at no cost.

Bike Way
http://thebikeway.com/
15115 Industrial Road
(402) 392-2390

Mondays from 6:00-8:00 pm beginning January 18. Bring your own bike and trainer or call ahead for trainer availability.

Greenstreet Cycles
http://www.greenstreetcycles.com/
1302 Mike Fahey St.
(402) 505-8002

Monday night ride (outside). Meet at 7:15 pm and leave at 7:30.
Also, to keep you flexible and limber, a yoga session Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30. ($5.00 charge)
Will announce indoor winter training later.

Trek Bicycle Store of Omaha
http://www.highgearomaha.blogspot.com/
8410 S. 73rd Plaza (Papillion)
(402) 935-1988

Tuesday-6:00 pm-8:00 pm
Saturday-8:00 am-9:30 pm

These rides are designed for the everyday cyclist from the novice to the expert. Please come out and join us for some cycling fun and maybe a cheesy 80's flick. Bring your trainer. We will have some but call ahead for availability.

Winter riding is just around the corner

Recent LCI graduate Butch Johnson of Cycle Works in Lincoln talks to News Net Nebraska about commuting in winter.

Give Bike Commuting a Try (on the cheap)

If you would like to try bike commuting, but you don't have a bike or the bike that has been sitting in your garage, since the early 70's,  needs more than a bit of TLC, then a one of the local bike shops has you covered.  This spring Bike Master's at 129th and Fort will be offering bike rentals of commuter bikes with fenders and a rack.  Give Dave at Bike Master's a call for more details.

If you have a bike shop closer to you (see the links to the right of this page) that you would prefer to work with, give them a call and see if they offer anything similar.

Once you find out how much fun bike commuting can be, dig out that old bike and see if it's up to the task.  If you still need a trusty steed, swing by your local shop and they can help you get started.

Don't forget to have the local commuter expert at the shop give you some tips on what to bring with you, and how to get from A to B in Omaha on a bike.  While your at it, take a look at the Commuting 101 articles here at Omaha Bikes.

We look forward to seeing you out there.

Indoor Training Rides

I just got a fantastic email from the Omaha Pedalers Bicycle Club that summarizes all of the indoor training rides going on at the various bike shops. Thanks to Mark, Pete, Joel and whomever else with the OPBC helped put this together!


Local bike shop indoor training programs. (Information provided by bicycle shops)

Bike Masters http://www.bikemastersomaha.com/
5265 N 129th St (Corner of 129 St & Fort St)

Indoor cycling season has started with two weeknight rides, Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:00 pm and a Saturday ride at 9:00 am. Bring your bike and trainer. Check for updates and changes at our Facebook page, “Bike Masters Cycling”. All are welcome.

Bike Rack http://bike-rack.com/
14510 Eagle Run Dr, Omaha, NE 68116

Training Schedule
*Saturdays meet at 8:15am with riding starting at 8:30am
*Wednesday meet at 5:45pm with riding starting at 6:00pm
*Sessions will last about 1 hour

What You Need

*Lots of energy (There will be no yawning allowed at the Saturday morning sessions.)

*You will need to bring your bike and your trainer or rollers.
*Cycling clothes and shoes if you use them (Helmets are not required unless you tend to fall off your trainer.)

*Water bottle and towel

If you do not already own a trainer stop in to the shop today and let us help you pick one out. Indoor trainers are a great way to keep in biking form all year long. (If you need a trainer, call ahead to see if we have extra trainers available). If you would rather not lug your bike and trainer back and forth to the shop for each session we can also store your bike and trainer in our warehouse between sessions at no cost.


Bike Way http://thebikeway.com/
15115 Industrial Road

Mondays from 6:00-8:00 pm beginning January 18. Have a few trainers at $5.00. Call ahead for availability.


High Gear (Trek) Bicycle Store http://highgearomaha.blogspot.com/
8610 Brentwood Drive (Moving soon! See their website for details!!)

Winter workout schedule
Tuesday-6:00 pm-8:00 pm
Saturday-8:00 am-9:30 pm

These rides are designed for the everyday cyclist from the novice to the expert. Please come out and join us for some cycling fun and maybe a cheesy 80's flick. Bring your trainer and climbing block if you have one. We will have some available at a nominal fee but call ahead.

Trek Bicycle Store of Omaha http://trekomaha.blogspot.com/
7214 Jones Street

Winter workout schedule

Tuesday night - 7 p.m.-8:15 p.m.
Thursday night - 7 p.m.-8:15 p.m.
Saturday morning - 8:45 a.m.-9:45 a.m.

For each session, we'll have demo trainers available for rental for just $5 available on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can, of course bring your own trainer as well. It's best to arrive about 15 minutes early to get your bike set up and ready to go.We'll do 60- to 80-minute workouts each time, so bring a couple of water bottles and a towel. It's going to get sweaty.

Xtreme Wheels
19277 Conifer Lane, Council Bluffs, IA 51503
(712) 388-0800

The store is closed for a winter break. Winter training sessions begin on Jan 18th. Call then for info (712) 388-0800.

CBSO Party - Bike Blender in action!

A fabulous and festive time was had by all at the Community Bike Shop Christmas party on Tuesday night!  Thanks to all for the great hospitality.  The spirit in the place was awesome (as always), and you never leave without feeling a profound sense of community.

We put the bike blender to good use, making chocolate mint smoothies!  The key to a good chocolate mint smoothies is peppermint ice cream (apologies to our vegan friends who had to forgo on this one - although we gave it a shot with just vanilla soy milk, chocolate syrup and peppermint flavoring). 

We had to pedal by hand since we didn't have a trainer on hand to use.  Aaron (see photo) was able to get it going about 32mph, which was clearly in the "liquify" category!!   Also note that the blenderologists have also hooked up LED lights to the tire generator, so not only do we get smoothies, but we get a light show, too. 

Pedal Power!! 

P.S.:  If you want to hear "the rest of the story" involving peppermint smoothies, an electric blender, and a complete and total kitchen disaster, you can check it out HERE.

Community Bike Shop Omaha - October Newsletter

The Community Bike Shop Omaha has released their October Newsletter. The September newsletter is also available if you missed it.

Freiker, Bike Blender and Pedaling Revolution Updates!

A few updates and vibe requests today!

First, please start getting the good vibes going for Freiker. The draft Safe Routes to School grant application went in the mail today; the money would fund Freiker programs http://www.blogger.com/www.freiker.org at 3 Omaha elementary schools. We still have a few more steps to go through for this grant process, but as they say, "vote early and often" - this applies to good vibes as well!

Second, a bike blender update. What a hoot last night at the Community Bike Shop! It was like mad scientists at work down there with those blenders. Forget the plans we found on the web - these guys are doing it their own way! In fact, we now have 2 different (original) blender plans under development. Special thanks to Duane Miller and Stuart Shell, our chief engineers; thanks, too, to Scott Redd and his adorable daughter Emily for coming down to help. Scott took posession of my camera and proceeded to work his usual photography magic (much to the chagrin of Emily, I might add). Photos coming soon, Scott! I promise! Our next work session will be Wednesday, 10/21 at 6pm at the CBSO. Cali Tacos at 5:30, anyone?

Lastly, I'm thrilled to report that the first thing I noticed when I walked into the Mayor's Bike/Ped Advisory Committee meeting this morning was a copy of our new favorite book, Pedaling Revolution sitting on the table in front of one of the attendees. I was equally as thrilled to report about the Bike Omaha Advisory Team and informed the group that they are practically ready to dig into their own pockets to make sure that everyone around that table has a copy. The committee definitely sees our BOAT peeps as being critical to the mission of the work they are doing. Great job BOATers and keep up the great work!

Bike Blender Wednesday!

Our bike blender build begins tonight at the Community Bike Shop at 6:00. I'm not sure how far we will get, but we will be looking at the blenders (up to 3 now - thanks, Caroline for the latest!) and trying to determine which one will work the best and how to adapt the plans accordingly. We will also be looking at the bike and determining what it needs to be the coolest blenderbike around. (All will be required to use hand sanitizer in order to prevent the spread of SingleSpeed Fever!!) We plan to wrap up around 8:00ish.

The more the merrier! Hope to see you there!

coffee & Chrome @ Blue Line

Monday, October 19, 2009
6-8 PM
Downtown Blue Line 14th & Cuming

Chrome Bags factory rep, Cody Prudoehl, will be at the Downtown Blue Line on Monday, October 19, to present the 2010 Chrome Bag product line and visit with you about how Chrome Bags and clothing can make life on a bike better.

Raffle for a Chrome bag, provided by Bike Masters. Get one raffle ticket for each dollar you spend on the world’s best coffee or other consumables at Blue Line that night.

Free SWAG giveaways!!

Discount coupons for Chrome items ordered through Bike Masters!
Contact Dave at Bike Masters if you have questions.

Note: If your shop is hosting a community related event and would like to have the event mentioned on Bike Omaha, you can send the information to BikeOmaha AT gmail DOT com.

"One Lap of the Bluffs" This Weekend!

This weekend is the annual "One Lap of the Bluffs" ride. The ride is sponsored by Christy Creme and Xtreme Wheels. Here are the details:

Christy Creme is once again sponsoring our annual “One Lap of the Bluffs” on Sunday morning, October 4th, starting and ending at Christy Creme, 2853 North Broadway. Cosponsored by Christy Creme and Xtreme Wheels, the 26 mile ride circling the city is 95% bike trails, and the remainder on city and county streets. There will be a couple of hills, which are not too bad. There will be a police escort on the streets at the beginning and at the end of the ride, and a sag wagon will be provided. The registration fee is $30. Lunch at Christy Creme and an event tee shirt will be included. Proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. Registration forms are on the website (ChristyCreme.com), at our counter, and at area bike shops. The route map is also on the website.

We will leave Christy Creme promptly at 8:00. Registration can be done in advance, or just prior to the ride.

If there are any questions, please call me at 322-2778.

Hope everyone will join us. The fee isn’t mandatory… these are public trails, and the more the merrier. Riders are welcome to join us at no cost… but won’t be able to partake in the food. And make your own contribution to the Cancer Society.

AUCTION for the Community Bicycle Shop Omaha - Sept. 19

Saturday, Sept. 19
5:30 - 6:30pm
525 N. 33rd St.

Join the Community Bicycle Shop Omaha (CBSO) for it's annual Bicycle Silent Auction. All proceeds benefit the CBSO and it's continued operations.

Bicycles of all sorts and sizes will be up for sale. Come by and check out the bikes, the shop, sign up to volunteer and bring your family.

Also, the brand new, hot-off-the-presses CBSO T-Shirts will also be available for $20. Get one before they're gone!

CBSO website - http://communitybicycleshopomaha.org/
Follow us - twitter.com/OmahaBikeShop
Become a fan on facebook