a day in the life: photos from our last open workshop day at 811 N. Main St.

On 3/2/17, we had our last open workshop day at our 811 N. Main St. location. To commemorate the occasion, we took portraits of every visitor and volunteer at our shop (or attempted to; we missed a few — it was busy!).

Every day at our 811 N. Main St. location has been different, and special. The photos below are from just one day, but through them, we want to express our gratitude for the many thousands of visitors, volunteers, and supporters who've made our years at 811 N. Main St. so wonderful. Thank you for learning with us, thank you for supporting us, thank you for letting us be part of your community. We can't wait to see you again soon at our new, bigger and better location! Stay tuned here, or visit our facebook, our Instagram, our tumblr, or our twitter to hear all the news about our new location as we announce it.

The book of The Bicycle Tree has just begun to be written!

All photos by volunteer Heather, aka @ocisok.

Giant Moving Sale, Saturday 3/11/17 8am to 5pm

Surprise! We'll be having one last big moving sale before we move to our new location! Everything we sell is something we don't have to pack and move, so we're very motivated. We're offering 15% or more off EVERYTHING in stock, with additional special bargains! And, if you see something you want, make us an offer! We've never done a sale of this scale, so come on by and find yourself a new bike, stock up on bike part and accessories, and help us get ready for our big move!

Details: 
Where: The Bicycle Tree, 811 N Main St, Santa Ana
When: Saturday 3/11/17, 8am to 5pm

¡Sorpresa! ¡Vamos a tener una última gran venta de mudanza antes de mudarnos a nuestra nueva ubicación! Todo lo que vendemos es algo que no tendremos que empacar y mover, así que estamos muy motivados a vender. Estamos ofreciendo descuento de 15% o más de TODO en stock, con gangas especiales adicionales! Y, si ves algo que quieres, haznos una oferta! Nunca hemos hecho una venta de esta escala, así que venga y busque una nueva bici, compre piezas y accesorios para bicicletas y ayúdanos a prepararnos para nuestro gran movimiento.

Detalles:
Dónde: The Bicycle Tree, 811 N Main St, Santa Ana
Cuándo: Sábado 3/11/17, de 8am a 5pm

In anticipation of our imminent move, this Thursday, 3/2/17, will be our last open workshop day at our 811 N. Main St. location! It's been a great place, but we've outgrown it, and it's time to start preparing for our move to a new, bigger location here in Santa Ana. 

We know we're not giving you much advance notice here. We also know you're eager to hear the details about the new place and all the ways it will help us serve the community better than ever. All we can say is: soon! Stay tuned for updates. Your patience and understanding as we embark on this exciting new chapter in our history is very much appreciated. 

Meanwhile, if you have any extra time over the upcoming weeks, now would be an especially great time to volunteer with us. Please email info@thebicycletree.org with 'moving help' in the subject line. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped The Bicycle Tree thrive in our mission to support bicyclists and help build healthy, bicycle-friendly communities through activities, advocacy, and education.

Used Bike Sale, Saturday 2/11/17, 8 am to noon

We're having another one of our thrilling Used Bike Sales, except this time even bigger! This time, we're preparing for our upcoming move (details to be announced very soon!) and we're selling bikes and parks even cheaper than usual to clear out the shop. In addition to a wide array of discounted bikes starting as low as $5, we'll have both new and used parts for sale for at least 20% off (items in stock at shop only). Get there early for the best deals!

The shop will also be open during the sale for you to customize and/or fix up your new ride.

Where: The Bicycle Tree, 811 N Main St, Santa Ana, in the back patio
When: Saturday 2/11/17, 8am to noon

Flier by volunteer Cindy, aka @pruneyfingers!

Preview of some of the bikes for tomorrow's Used Bike Sale!

These are just a few of the bikes you can expect to find for sale at ridiculously low prices at tomorrow's Used Bike Sale!

DETAILS

Where: The Bicycle Tree, 811 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA, on our back patio

Time: Saturday, September 3rd, 8am to 12 noon

Prices: so cheap! Bikes as cheap as $5!

Wrench and Ride Summer 2016

Another class of our Wrench and Ride bike education program has graduated! 

Wrench and Ride is our youth-focused bike education program. Through several weeks of classes, our students learn all about bikes and how to fix them through hands-on education. At the end of the classes, our participants get to keep their bikes, along with a helmet, a lock, and lights. After graduation, we all go on a group ride together! When you donate bikes or funds to us, our Wrench and Ride program is one of the main places your donation goes. Find out more on our Wrench and Ride page. 

Second Sundays group rides starting June!

We’re changing up our Sunday Morning Rides! 

Our #SundayMorningRides will now be #SecondSundays! We’re switching from a weekly Sunday ride to a monthly schedule: the second Sunday of every month. Our first #SecondSunday ride will be Sunday, June 12th! We’ll still be meeting at the shop at 9, riding out at 9:30. Another thing that won’t change: we’ll still be riding out for the tastiest food Orange County has to offer. This week’s destination: Crafted Donuts! Join us for a ride to the tastiest and most artful donuts Fountain Valley (and perhaps the county!) has to offer. Donuts… is there anything they can’t do? #MmmDonuts

This change will give us space to make each ride that much more special, and to plan other additional events. Have questions, or ideas for destinations? Send us a message, or email heather@thebicycletree.org.

10th Anniversary party for The Bicycle Tree — food, vendors, and LIVE MUSIC!!!

The Bicycle Tree turns ten years old this year! To celebrate, we are teaming up with SolArt Radio for a day of live music, food, and local vendors! This will all take place in the patio and parking lot behind our shop, and entrance is totally FREE thanks to our sponsors.

We're amazed by the musicians coming to bring life to the air!

Yellow Red Sparks: http://www.yellowredsparks.com/
Sunny War: http://www.sunnywar.com/
Edith Crash: http://edithcrash.com/
Haunted Summer: https://www.facebook.com/HauntedSummermusic
Shannon Lay: http://shannonlay.bandcamp.com/releases

PLUS
KUCI DJ Fifi LaRoux and DJ Calypsso!

Message SolArt Radio if you are interested in being a vendor!

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The Bicycle Tree cumple diez años de edad este año! Para celebrar, estamos haciendo equipo con SolArt Radio para un día de música en vivo, comida y vendedores locales! Todo esto se llevará a cabo en el patio y estacionamiento detrás de nuestra tienda, y la entrada es totalmente gratis, gracias a nuestros patrocinadores!

Estamos sorprendidos por los músicos que vienen a traer la vida al aire!

Yellow Red Sparks: http://www.yellowredsparks.com/
Sunny War: http://www.sunnywar.com/
Edith Crash: http://edithcrash.com/
Haunted Summer: https://www.facebook.com/HauntedSummermusic
Shannon Lay: http://shannonlay.bandcamp.com/releases

y más
También KUCI DJ Fifi Laroux y DJ Calypsso.

Santa Ana bicyclist killed in hit-and-run at Warner and Pacific

From BikinginLA: Santa Ana bike rider killed in late night hit-and-run

This is the second bicyclist fatality in Santa Ana this year. This particular fatality — a hit-and-run — happened just a block away from the most recent Luces Vivas location. (Luces Vivas is a bike safety outreach program run by our dear friends at Santa Anta Active Streets and participated in by many The Bicycle Tree volunteers, where we give away free bike lights and helmets.)

Days like today are hard for bike activists. It can feel like we’re not doing enough, that the changes we’ve seen are just too little too late. Despair is tempting right about now. But despair is a luxury we can’t afford if we’re going to realize our dream of an Orange County where tragedies like this are inconceivable, instead of all-too-frequent.

Of course, our sadness is nothing compared to the grief that must be felt by the family and friends of the victim. We wish them our wholehearted condolences. 

If you have any information that could help lead to justice for the cowardly monster responsible for this crime, please contact Cpl. Matt Wharton at (714) 245-8209.

Patio Sale, Saturday March 12th, 8am to noon at the shop!

Back at it again with the patio sale! Lotsa cheap bikes for sale! (As low as $5!)

2 Year Anniversary of the Shop!

Two years ago, on January 25, 2016, we opened our shop. Here's a photo from our opening day party:

Here in 2016, we celebrated our anniversary with a volunteer party!

Our ten year anniversary as an organization is coming up soon. We have only just begun (to party)!

2016 Generosity Fundraiser

Help us continue our work making bicycling accessible, affordable, safe, and fun! Support our 2016 Fundraiser on Generosity!

The Bicycle Tree started nearly ten years ago, holding open bike repair workshops out of houses and parking lots. Almost two years ago, through the financial support of community members like you, we were finally able to open our own location in Santa Ana on January 25th of 2014 — Orange County's first and only non-profit community bike center.
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Here are a few of our achievements over these first two years:

• We've donated 74 refurbished bikes and accessories to assistance programs here in Santa Ana, providing mobility for those who need it
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• We've had 72 participants in our Wrench and Ride program, in which participants learn about bikes, bike safety, and maintenance over the course of several weeks. At the end of the program, the participants get to keep the bikes they've been working on, as well as a helmet, a lock, and bike lights
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• We've had thousands of repair visits to our do-it-together bike repair hours, during which our workstands, tools, and equipment, as well as the assistance of our volunteer mechanics, are made available
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• We've had 80 classes about bike maintenance and bike safety
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• We've hosted almost 100 group bike rides throughout Santa Ana and neighboring cities
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• We've participated in a variety of other special events, including speaker events, movie screenings, bike swap meets, Noche de Altares, open streets events, and bike valets
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• We've served as a founding member organization of Santa Ana Active Streets, a bike and pedestrian advocacy coalition. With our partners, we’ve seen tremendous improvements in bike infrastructure and safety awareness in Santa Ana

Most of what The Bicycle Tree does for the community is offered for free or low cost. Our work depends on the contributions of our volunteers and financial supporters.
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By donating, you can help The Bicycle Tree and our community continue to thrive for the coming year and beyond. Visit our campaign on Generosity here. Every cent you donate will help us continue our work in making Orange County a better place to be a bicyclist.

Noche de Altares 2015

It was our honor to take part in Noche de Altares here in Santa Ana, CA, on November 7th, 2015. Our volunteers spent weeks working together to create our altar to commemorate fallen cyclists. We’re dreaming of a Santa Ana where an altar like this wouldn’t be necessary.  Note: our friends from Ghost Bike were there as well, and images 7 and 8 are from their altar. The last four images are courtesy of Pam Lee.