July Updates

Hey friends! We have some fun updates to share this month:

1. MCBL in Numbers
2. New Bike Alert: Tern HSD
3. How to Book the Lectric Trike
4. August Bookings Now Open
5. Update on Orientations
6. Looking Ahead: Winter and Grant Applications

1. MCBL in Numbers

We’ve been collecting data around the impact of our program, including metrics like the number of folks served, miles traveled, and trips completed. Here’s a status update as of July 12, 2025:

Totals

• Members who’ve completed orientation: 66 people
• Number of rentals so far: 33 rentals
• Bikes in our fleet: started with 3, now up to 6!
• Collective miles traveled: 1,790 miles
• Collective trips completed: 336 trips

Averages

• Average miles ridden per rental: 59 miles (that’s 11.8 miles/day on average!)
• Average # of trips completed (in a 5 day rental): 11.2 trips

The quantitative and qualitative data shows that our program is providing an important and highly in-demand resource to our community, through 1) the education we offer in our orientations and 2) access to the bikes themselves. Our orientations consistently sell out and we get many, many messages from folks asking if/when we can open a location in their neighborhood or city (or advice on how to start their own). The demand for bike libraries is here and we hope to see many more start up – locally and nationally.

We’re continuing to collect stories from members around what they learned, gained, and experienced through participation in our program. If you want to share a story or reflection with us, please reach out or tag us on social media (Instagram or Bluesky).

2. New Bike Alert: Tern HSD

We’re so grateful to Perennial Cycle and Tern for donating a Tern HSD to our library! This bike will be available starting in August. This is our library’s first Class 1 (no throttle) and middrive bike. It’s also at a higher price point than our other longtail bikes, so will offer a great comparison opportunity for folks who are curious to compare different types of motors and price points of bikes.

3. How to Book the Lectric Trike

As you may remember from last month’s updates, we have officially expanded into a second location near Brackett Park! That location is currently hosting our Lectric Trike (and may get a second bike soon). This bike is a great option for folks who have mobility or accessibility needs, or who haven’t been on a bike in a long time.

Due to some scheduling logistics, we don’t have the Lectric Trike set as bookable on the site right now BUT we can arrange for custom check out/check in times for that bike for the month of August.

If you’re interested in borrowing the Lectric Trike, please reach out to us & let us know what dates you’re hoping for. Please note: You do need to pick this bike up/drop it off at Brackett Park (not Lyndale).

4. August Bookings Now Open

We aim 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 August, 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.

We can be flexible with drop off on Thursdays, but please aim to book a bike for a week where you can make the pick up time at 1pm on Saturdays. This helps ensure we don’t overwhelm our volunteers who are coordinating schedules with 5-6 people each week.

5. Orientation Update

We will not be offering any group orientations in August. As of now, we have brought on almost 70 MCBL members! With just 6 bikes to share, we want to ensure everyone (who wants to) gets a chance to borrow a bike or two this year, before we close up over the winter. We’ll continue to re-evaluate where we’re at with demand each month to see if we can squeeze in one more orientation in September, but we are likely full for the year.

6. Support the MCBL

Thank you to everyone who has supported our program through one-time or recurring donations, purchasing merch, spreading the word to your friends/family/neighbors/others, and by participating as a member and sharing your experiences/ideas/feedback with us.

Our plan is to keep the program running until winter, then the bikes will get tucked away for a little hibernation, allowing our small team of volunteers to focus on planning for 2026. We are actively seeking and applying for grant funding to see if we can get funds to sustain and grow our program beyond this first pilot year. If you have ideas or suggestions for us, please reach out via the contact page on our website!