Hey friends! Somehow, we’re already another month into our cargo bike library pilot and excited to share some updates:
- Second MCBL Location
- July Bookings & Orientation Now Open
- Events & Support
Second MCBL Location
We are thrilled to share that we’re doing a tiny pilot expansion into the Longfellow/Cooper area! Our cargo bike library is run by volunteers (who manage communication with you all & handle the physical check in/check out of bikes) and we want to be careful to grow in ways that are logistically sustainable for them and support you all.
We’re lucky to have support from Andy Lambert at Cyclehoop (who’s been a part of making the library happen from very early on), who’s offered to manage that process for a hangar we are now able to use near Brackett Park.
We’ll have 1-2 of our library bikes at that location soon: the Lectric upright trike (a replacement is arriving very soon!) and another bike (TBD). When you go to book a bike please carefully check the location (listed behind the bike name). Any Minneapolis resident is able to book a bike from either location, but you’ll need to return the bike to the same location you picked it up from, so please keep that in mind.
Our hope is to expand into other locations throughout the city next year (if we can get funding), but we’re using this mini-expansion as an opportunity to test and grow some of our behind the scenes logistics to make sure we have a plan for how to scale sustainably.
We will likely learn a lot along the way, so thank you in advance for your patience as things may change a little month to month as we figure out what works and doesn’t.
July Bookings & Orientation Now Open!
As we shared last month, we’re planning to release bookings with our newsletter (mid month), one month at a time. If you’re already a member (you’ve been through orientation) and are looking to borrow a bike in July, head to our bikes page now and find one that fits your needs and availability! If you ever have any issues logging into your account, please reach out to us. As a reminder, bike pick up is at 1pm on Saturdays and drop off is between 6-7pm on Thursdays.
If you haven’t yet been through an orientation yet, the registration for our July orientation is now open! This orientation will be held on Saturday, July 12th from 2-3pm at the Lyndale Neighborhood Association (3537 Nicollet Ave S).
Events & Support
In addition to the Cargo Bike Show and Tell on June 1st, we also joined the Midtown Greenway Coalition’s Bike Expo (June 8th) and Joon Community’s Mutual Aid Gathering (June 15). We’re really enjoying sharing about our program with the community and have been so pleased at the excitement and support so far.
If you know of an event that we should have on our radar, please reach out to us via the contact form on our site!
As always, thank you to everyone who has supported our program – by making a financial donation, buying merch , spreading the word about our program or volunteering. If you’re interested in volunteering to support check in/out, helping at events, etc, please send us an email through our site!
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