Join the Collective
Free Ride Bike Recycling Cooperative
Mission
Free Ride is a collective dedicated to recycling bicycles, offering mechanical education, and promoting bicycling by helping people of all ages and backgrounds obtain, maintain, and repair bicycles.
Principles
Free Ride aims to operate without a hierarchy and to be respectful of all people.
Free Ride is supported and operated by the community of people who use it.
It is very important that all people who come to the shop are respected and encouraged to learn, regardless of their experience level or background.
All participants can benefit from Free Ride in a variety of ways, and in return should give back to the Free Ride community in some way.
Jill on a tall bike during BikeBike!2009 at The Grease Pit, Minneapolis
Organizational Structure
People can be involved with Free Ride at three levels: non-members, members and council members. This is intended to encourage people to take ownership in Free Ride, by providing an accessible way to give back in return for concrete benefits. As an individual contributes more, more benefits become open to them.
Levels of Involvement
|
Non-member:
|
||
|
|
Benefits |
Responsibilities per quarter |
|
Member |
|
-or-
|
|
Collective Council |
|
|
Members commit to volunteer four hours every three months (quarter). Many hands will make lighter the work of keeping Free Ride rolling smoothly, and build a larger, stronger community. You may pay cash for all or part of the membership requirement, at $8 per hour, but we encourage you to volunteer instead! It’s more fun, anyway.
Collective Council is the group of members that make Free Ride’s major decisions. It is made up of Members who demonstrate a significant commitment to the organization. Decisions are made through a consensus process. Council Meetings are held once a month, usually on the second Sunday at 1 pm. Location and agenda are posted in the shop and on the wiki, https://we.riseup.net/freeride_council. Please come to learn more and offer your ideas; everyone is welcome. Read also the Collective Bylaws
How to become a Member:
Come to Open Shop and ask the Greeter at the entrance to become a member. You are immediately given access to the benefits of membership. To keep your membership, you must complete your volunteer hours within one month of joining. When a new quarter starts (three months after you join), you again have one month to meet the membership requirement in order to keep your membership current. If a membership lapses, it is immediately renewed upon completion of the membership requirement.
How to join the Collective Council:
Any member who volunteers 16 hours per quarter and comes to two meetings earns membership in the collective council.
Give more, get more: Each member, including Council members, is responsible for maintaining a log of their volunteer hours and dates that they attend meetings. Credit earned through volunteering may be redeemed for used parts, class entry fees, Earn-A-Bike or other benefits. Make sure to keep a log of credits you redeem!
Free Ride Committees
There are several smaller groups that work on specific aspects of running Free Ride, and carry out the projects that make Free Ride such a great part of the local community. These committees are:
Committee |
Purpose |
Shop |
Shop organization, maintenance, stocking. |
Open Shop |
Meets ad hoc on issues related to running open shop. |
Programs |
Designs and administers youth & adult classes |
Communication |
Smooth & effective communication among free ride users, members, and council. Includes in-shop tools, online tools, public outreach, and volunteer training. |
Finance |
Organize & maintain systems to keep finances legit and provide planning information to the collective. |
Each committee has regular meetings to discuss its work. Meeting dates and agendas should be posted in the shop and on our wiki, https://we.riseup.net/freeride_council.
If they are not, visit the website or the shop to find committee contact info.