Bike Lights and Bike Kitchen Cards – Great Holiday Gifts
For the rest of the month of December our Bike SLO County light sets (One Clear Front Light, One Red Rear Light) are on sale for only $10 a set (normally $15 a set). These basic lights will help you be seen at night while also making your bicycle night ride legal. It’s hard to have too many lights on your bike, but with this set at least you won’t have too few. Batteries included? Heck yeah!
Also available now are our Bike Kitchen Cards, prepaid cards allowing the bearer to use the Bike Kitchen. Cards come in three different versions: One Visit Card ($5), Four Visit Card ($18) and 8 Visit Card ($35).
Bike Light Sets and Kitchen Cards make unique & useful holiday gifts or stocking stuffers and are both available at the Bike Kitchen, 860 Pacific St, Suite 105, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 at the corner of Morro and Pacific (map). The Kitchen is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Noon – 5 PM.
The Bike Kitchen is a program of Bike SLO County. We have all the parts, tools and knowledge you need to fix your bicycle! We can help you build a bike from the ground up, fix that junker you found at a garage sale, or simply tune up your bicycle. We serve all types of people, and are committed to creating a safe space for everyone. We have provided guided instruction to over 8,000 people since opening our doors in 2010.This bike not your cup of tea? Still looking to buy a gently used, ready to ride bicycle? We sell all kinds of bicycles! Come in and see us!Have a bike you’d like to donate? Your generous gifts help the Bike Kitchen thrive and give even more people the chance to experience SLO County by bike. Thank you!
Like Bikes? Join us! It’s free! Click here to join and we’ll keep you informed about all things bike in SLO County: JOIN
You’re probably familiar with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But what about Small Business Saturday? And what’s the deal with Giving Tuesday? Two Wheeled Wednesday? Here’s the wrap up from Bike SLO County:
Black Friday
In the US Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, noted as the first day of traditional Christmas shopping, during which hordes of consumers are drawn to special offers by big box brick and mortar retailers. Bike SLO County’s Bike Kitchen will be closed on Black Friday! So we totally get it if you’re desperate for a used rear derailleur on Friday and go elsewhere. In honor of the spirit of Thanksgiving the Bike Kitchen will be closed the whole Thanksgiving weekend, and won’t reopen until the next Friday, December 4th. However, when we reopen we’ll be running a $10 December Special on our Bike SLO County Bike Light Sets, which let you bike legal and safe for very little cash. These bike light sets and our Bike Kitchen Visit Cards make wonderfully unique holiday gifts and stocking stuffers.
Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday is the Monday following Thanksgiving, promoted by online retailers like Amazon as a day for exceptional bargains. Bike SLO County doesn’t sell anything online. But if you shop at Amazon, your purchases can benefit Bike SLO County through their Amazon Smile program. What is Amazon Smile? It’s pretty much the same thing as Amazon (it is part of Amazon), except when you use Amazon Smile they donate a portion of your purchase price to Bike SLO County (or any of your favorite participating charitable organizations. To shop using Amazon Smile and benefit Bike SLO County use this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/75-3021545
Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local on Saturday, November 28th. Although Bike SLO County and our Bike Kitchen will be closed on Small Business Saturday, there are plenty of small businesses in SLO County who would love your business. Bike shops. Coffee shops. Shoppy shops. If you live in or are coming to the City of SLO for Small Business Saturday without a bike, the fine folks at SLO Transit are offering free bus service on Routes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6A and 6B from approximately 8am to 6pm. By riding transit for free, you can save money, help alleviate heavy traffic and the demand for parking, especially during the busy holiday shopping season.
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday, often stylized as #GivingTuesday for purposes of hashtag activism, refers to the Tuesday after U.S. Thanksgiving, December 1st in 2015. It is a movement to create a National Day of Giving and Philanthropy at the beginning of the holiday and Christmas season.
To mark this #givingtuesday, anyone who wants to celebrate the powerful positive role that giving plays in our world is being asked to donate and share their own ‘unselfie’ on their favorite social media sites and by email. What’s an #unselfie? To take an unselfie, write on a piece of paper the name of the charitable cause you’re supporting on Giving Tuesday. It could be as simple as “#Bike SLO County” or as involved as and “I support better bikeways in SLO County” or whatever reason you feel moved to give.
A photo posted by Bike SLO County (@bikeslocounty) on
Add the tags #unsefie, #givingtuesday and #bikeslocounty, then hold the piece of paper in front of your self (or even in front of your face) and snap an unselfie. We’ll even have some preprinted sheets available in our office (map), or you can download PDF or JPEG color or black & white versions online: Color PDF version: Color JPEG version : Black & White PDF version : Black and White JPEG version
End of Year Campaign
Giving Tuesday kicks off Bike SLO County’s annual End of Year fundraising campaign. SLO County had a fantastic 2015, with lots of countywide bike projects completed (bike lanes in Paso Robles on Riverside, Union and Creston roads, a fantastic bike and pedestrian bridge & trail in Morro Bay, new bike lanes and green striping at Arroyo Grande High School, the very first blacktop bike safety course in California at Oceano Elementary, buffered bike lanes in Los Osos on LOVR, new green lanes on Broad, California & Madonna streets in SLO) and major projects funded for the coming years. We’re hoping you’ll help make 2016 even better. Our goal is to raise $25,000 for safer bikeways around SLO County by midnight, December 31st. Please consider a donation on Giving Tuesday, or anytime before the end of the year at bikeslocounty.org/donate
Two Wheeled Wednesday
What about Two Wheeled Wednesday? Two Wheeled Wednesday occurs…every Wednesday of the year for the foreseeable future! Give back to yourself by riding your bike on Wednesdays. Invite your friends to go for special Two Wheeled Wednesday rides. Invite anyone and everyone to go on Two Wheeled Wednesday rides! Did we mention that Two Wheeled Wednesday makes a healthy and fun New Years Resolution for you, your friends and family?
UPS is looking for cyclists interested in delivering packages during the holiday rush (now until December 23rd).
Typical workday starts around 9:45 -10:00 am. Need to be fit and capable of pulling a 2-wheeled trailer (21″ x 30″ cargo area, 38 lbs. empty) up the hills in your neighborhood. Bob Nanninga has been doing this for 3 seasons with UPS and typically puts in 3-4 hours and 10-15 miles average, daily Monday – Friday.
The week before Christmas is crazy but by then, you should be in shape. A mustache is OK but no hair is allowed below the upper lip.
If you’re interested, contact Bob at 805-234-6757, for more details and to put you in touch with UPS supervision.
Who wouldn’t love to get a package delivered by a bicycle?! This is a great quick gig for someone interested in riding their bicycle to make a little extra money for the holidays. Spread the word!
Once again, there will be a bicycle group in the downtown SLO Holiday Parade! This year’s theme is “Beary Merry Christmas”
When: This Friday, December 2nd, 6:30pm Where: Broad and Monterey St, SLO Holiday decorations required. (No Santa Costumes) What: Holiday decorations required… get your bike decked out! (NO Santa costumes)
More information can be found on the Downtown Association’s site here, and here.
One Visit Card ($5), Four Visit Card ($18) and 8 Visit Card ($35).
