ePlaya

Whoa.
No camps listed here yet?
Well, I have led the way before and can do it again.

First… if you don’t recognize me… it is because I have largely retired from ePlaya.
But in the years 2012, ’13, and ’14… most of our camp-members were from ePlaya, and I shall certainly not discard that connection.

We are...
Elliot’s Naked Bicycle Service, Massage Clinic, Foot Washing Salon, Body Painting Studio, and Piano Lounge.

Though, officially… only Elliot’s Bicycle Service.

Last year we were placed in the 3:00 & G Plaza, and we repaired 725 bicycles in our Main Shop.

And while we count that as success, this year we are doing a number of things differently.
For one thing, we will be in two locations!
Yes, we are setting up a “branch office”, or “satellite shop”, “franchise”, “outpost”, “sister camp”, or “spin-off” location, the better to serve a wider area of BRC.

Also, the “mother camp” will naturally be smaller, and that will be a great relief to the camp lead, who must organize stuff, and is lousy at delegating.

This theme camp thread is about the “mother camp” – Elliot’s Naked Bicycle Service (etcetera, etcetera).

The “offspring” camp is named Bicycle Repair Conflux (featuring Naked Elliot’s Original Recipe), and your humble camp lead will split his time between the two camps – probably something like 75% here and 25% there. (“Camp Founder on the bridge!”)

As always, we are open to a few new members, including Burgins, and especially skilled bicycle technicians.
And pianists.
Yes, when we say “Piano Lounge” we mean it. The magnificent 1923 Baldwin Model K Grand Piano is scheduled to return. Start taking lessons now, if not sooner.

Finally, a couple snapshots from previous years.





Building our 4,000+ square feet of shade in 2018. (The canvas carport is in addition to that.)





Bird’s eye view of camp in 2017.





Camp at night, 2016.





Front of camp in 2015.




Veteran ePlayans MaryAnimal and UnjonHarley are long-time camp-members. Here in 2018.





Yes, some of us do work in the buff, since it is so marvelously comfortable. Here with happy customer in 2014.





Philip (left) assists customer in 2018. What day was this? Tutu Tuesday!





Edward disassembling the crank to replace absolutely-chewed-up-and-crunched-apart crank bearings in a Huffy Crankbroke. Yes, we call them that for a reason. 2017.

You had it, if it were not for you, I would go on foot) though I had to check in twice because of the nuts not tightened, but I was immediately told that the bearings were not very good and could not be done for a long time

hug, meet on the playa

Greetings,

Way stoked to see this post- yes, you are the first. And while all your other services sound awesome, Repair Camps are in short supply and deeesperately needed on the playa, and the numbers swelling each year. Your bike service is hugely valued sir. And branch locations, whaaat? Totally unique angle. You can gift franchises out in coming years lol.

I'll be bringing a machine shop to the playa this year (my camp's theme), so I can't help on the staff front. But I'll be out there with a shit-ton of tooling and materials, so if ya need some equipment support or technical help at any point, hit me up.

Flint

Thank you for serving so many of your dusty friends on the playa. We came for bike repair, but couldn't leave until experiencing a massage, tarot, reiki, and a few beers. We so love you!! Lovely Luna especially. Peace.

Hey, What Time, Flint, and Charlotte!
Thank you for the kind words!

Yes, What Time, we have seen a steady deterioration in the quality of the cheap-cheap bicycles over the last four years, with ruined crank bearings now almost as common flat tires.
We finally brought enough new bearings last year.
If the service seemed slow, I apologize. But you know… none of us is there to actually work, for crying out loud. LOL

Still, we repaired a camp-record number of bicycles last year. I have heard a rumor… our mechanics are filing a grievance with The Labor Union.

As Flint mentions, the demand for bike repair is tremendous.
I saw a list a couple years ago with around 25 bike repair camps, large and small. If that number really is growing, then I salute the brave souls who rally to ease the load for the rest of us.

I do wish… more Burners could find time to learn a bit about bicycles, so they wouldn’t bring utter junkers, and so they would not blindly trust that a $69.97 bicycle will last more than two days on Playa.

Well, we are certainly better off than in my first year, 2006, when the line waiting for Borrachos y Bicicletas to open at 1 p.m. (if I remember right)… stretched all the way across the 3:00 Plaza, at least four abreast. Those good folks quit after a couple more years – it was just too much to deal with, their Hardworking Leader told me.

But I know the real cause. They neglected to bring a piano.

About us branching out….
Don’t tell anybody, but in four or five years there will be an Elliot’s Naked Bicycle Service on every corner in BRC, and The Man will be renamed The Elliot. Then, next… The World! Buwahahahah….

(Hey, don’t knock it – my mental health is definitely improving, can’t you tell?!)

A machine shop?! I’ma gonna start calling The Man… The Flint, starting right now.

Charlotte….
You just summed up the very concept behind this camp. (Except, you left out the piano.)
We are of course a bicycle camp first and foremost.
But we quickly figured out that not all camp-members can be bike techs.

A few non-techs are needed in the front office, as service writers and beverage servers, for starters. And to bring the Techs a steady stream of peeled grapes.
But we realized there is sooo much more talent and skill in the camp!

The first to set up a “people service” was MaryAnimal in 2015. Mary and her friend Karen ran a foot washing station.
I happened to have two sturdy reclining lawn-chairs with foot-rests, and the service was a big hit.

Next came massage, Tarot readings, body painting, and so on – whatever our camp-members had talent and desire to do. No wall-flowers in our camp!

“And the rest is history.”
Elliot’s Naked… became a “destination camp”, as they say in the tourism industry.
Thank you, Charlotte, for taking good advantage of it.

Oh… and…. Luna and her husband Al… are spearheading the second camp. Good people for sure.

2 A.M. again?! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….


photo; Luna in 2016.
Yes, she is posing with the Earth, rather than her namesake Moon. But hey... it's art!

Hi Elliot!! Do you guys only repair? or can i get a bike with you guys? im an international burner, and flying my my bike is nuts cause the airline fares. Saludos!

JavierCartaya wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:54 am

Hi Elliot!! Do you guys only repair? or can i get a bike with you guys? im an international burner, and flying my my bike is nuts cause the airline fares. Saludos!

Last year this camp left a lot of people without bicycles that they'd promised to provide, effectively ruining a lot of people's burns. I absolutely do not recommend getting a bike from them.

Name ONE!!!

Omg, please no. The other two posts in the theme camp 2019 forum are already full of that catty shit. Please post it there instead. I am amazed at the amount of vitriol burners have the other 51 weeks of the year...

Looking forward to seeing you in the dust Elliot!

We were about a half block away from you folks. I didn't need bicycle service, but I did stop for an impromptu piano song played by a lovely lady. It was fantastic! She was great! When she finished, the group of us that had gathered behind her cheered and applauded, to which she turned around in total surprise and had the best smile. Loved it. Thank you!

I'm on my way out the door to an appointment, but quickly:
There is some stuff going on here that I don't understand yet.
At least one post has been quarantined by moderators while we sort it out.

And, probably related to this... there is stuff that I need to explain, about fund-raising and Loaner bikes.
In a nut-shell, we no longer have a fund-raising program.

JavierCartaya:
Terribly sorry, but we no longer have Loaner bikes, except for a dozen or so people by prior arrangement from last year.

And to all: Thanks for the kind words and support!

I hope I don't need your actual services this year, but I'm looking forward to stopping by and saying hello!

I am a bit confused. While I'm glad you are no longer offering "donor bikes" (honestly they're just re-branded rental bikes), I'm curious as to why I'm met with censorship and negativity while being honest about an experience with this camp. It was unfortunate and played a huge role on my entire burn. Is this a forum for praise only? I know this is a great bike repair camp, I've heard that from many, which is why I chose to donate and receive a bike from them. It was a bike I did not receive and I think it's entirely fair to speak up about that when I see someone else asking if this camp provides bikes.

WrenchMonkey, you're 100% correct. Elliot has been on the playa with bikes for somewhere around 10 years. He transports an entire camp along with dozens of bikes to the playa. In addition, he pays out of his pocket a lot of money for virtually every repair part bikes will need. In every year but this past one, he has been extremely trustworthy and reliable in bringing bikes for all that were promised. Real mechanical issues hit him hard and he was not able to bring all bikes that were promised.

Elliot has returned most if not all of the money collected for those bikes. Again, this is being done out of his pocket. I know him personally and trust that every last dime will be returned.

I understand the HUGE problem is not the money, but rather you were depending on having that bike to ride around the playa and it just wasn't there for you. That is a major failure and a disastrous headache. It could ruin the burn for you. I sincerely hope it didn't and you made something work for you.

The loaning of bikes or using them as a perk for a donation needs to be reassessed. I'm sure there will be a new plan for the upcoming year.

It's not for me to apologize, but I am truly sorry that you had this mess to deal with when you arrived in BRC. You didn't deserve this problem that was no fault of yours.

I will send a message to Elliot and ask him to message you to confirm some resolution is being done for you.

Sham....

That is awesome. Thanks for fixing people's bicycles. I have never needed bicycle repair because I do all my own work, but that is a seriously magical gift. I hope to stop by and say hi this year!

Sham wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 20, 2019 4:21 pm

Elliot has returned most if not all of the money collected for those bikes. Again, this is being done out of his pocket. I know him personally and trust that every last dime will be returned.

I understand the HUGE problem is not the money, but rather you were depending on having that bike to ride around the playa and it just wasn't there for you. That is a major failure and a disastrous headache. It could ruin the burn for you. I sincerely hope it didn't and you made something work for you.

The loaning of bikes or using them as a perk for a donation needs to be reassessed. I'm sure there will be a new plan for the upcoming year.

I was one of the people left stranded without a bicycle for the 2018 burn. I initially donated for a loaner perk bike based on his reputation on ePlaya. Based on my interactions with him, he does seem to be a genuine person, and I noticed his camp wasn't completely built (so I believe the mechanical issues). It took several months and some email reminders, but Elliot fully refunded me.

I'd suggest a less-critical perk, something that people wouldn't rely on. Not having a bike contributed to me flaking out on my Burn Perimeter shifts.

What's the (2) location(s) this year?