Was the yellow bike project a success or a waste of steel?

erri2000 · Post by **erri2000** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:09 pm

I thought that it was really great that there where so many community bicycles last year on the playa.

One thing that struck me was how many people locked theses bikes to reserve their ride, which seemed to go against why they were there in the first place.

What do you think of the experiment?

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:52 pm

Lots of people taking them home,
lots of fights over them in center camp,
lots of broken bikes left over everywhere and piled up at DPW depot.

Huge success, I hope they do it again next year !!!

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:48 pm

I'll admit it.. its been kinda haunting me.. I bent the cardinal rule twice and broke it once. My excuse was my foot problem started acting up and I wanted to see some stuff. I found one and rode around for a coupla hours using my heel to avoid aggravating "da evil toe". Thing is every time I stopped I kept my ass on the seat rather than interact with anything I saw and lose the bike. The actual breaking of the rule was more like a bending with stress crack, I left the bike in a bike rack but with NO LOCK. It was just placed in some camps PUBLIC bike rack. I did keep ONE EYE on it so I had a ride home LOL. So technically I wasn't too naughty. Not like some fuckers that went and REPAINTED the damn things and others who were locking em up. I saw ppl leaving with em strapped to their RVs, also ppl taking em into their RVs the first day the were distro'd.

If we are going to do this I think the only way it could be SUSTAINABLE for our COMMUNITY is to follow something like I heard Jello Biafra say about public transport. He ran for mayor of SF awhile back, one of the things I was keen on was having businesses in the COMMUNITY taxed fairly so PUBLIC trans could be FREE.

We would need to have 50,000 bikes.. ticket prices would go up 20 bucks. This would be SUSTAINABLE if the fund wasn't abused. A 20 dollar increase could be lowered yearly as the fund needs to adjust to actual spending.Anyone caught trying to bring a bike home should be publicly placed as a jailbird outside center camp forced to smell nothing but patchoulli and coffee for 24 hours.

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:06 pm

I like the idea and I bring extra bikes to let people use. Only one of the bikes I brought was stolen. It happened to look similar to a "green bike" but was black and I think that is why someone destroyed the lock and took it. Many people don't know about the bike program and it's guidelines. It is true that people working the gate were removing the bikes from vehicles that were taking them away.
I think the word needs to be spread better. Thats why I voted--What is the..

Toolmaker- I think you approach was fine.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:46 pm

Toolmaker wrote:Not like some fuckers that went and REPAINTED the damn things

Once again, I am a naive fish. Why do that. Isn't it just a lot less aggrivation to bring you're own damn bike than have paint and do ti out there?

Other people's kids, I tell ya.

erri2000 · Post by **erri2000** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:49 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Isn't it just a lot less aggrivation to bring you're own damn bike than have paint and do ti out there?.

And way more fun. I liked having a "One of a Kind" ride on the playa. I took sock monkey to see everything in style.

Zhust · Post by **Zhust** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:26 pm

The Good: I broke the stem off my "Spiral Bike" in a sand dune in 2007 and welcomed the presence of Yellow Bikes to take its place.

The Bad: there was constant butting of heads between people who wanted to borrow a bike (but not get stranded in the middle of nowhere) and the organizers who declared that the bikes were to always be available. Although the number actually in BRC was a lot (>1000 if I remember right) it was still too few to make it seem like they were "plentiful".

The Ugly: the bike I borrowed on the last day was beat beyond repair. I don't know how this happened. I brought a beater in 2005 and strung up the chain on a 5-speed with one-speed and no deraileur and I ended up with a really crunchy ride and many broken-chain incidents. But the Yellow Bike: holy shit. This thing was beat. Flat tire, loose stem, shot brake levers, barely functional brakes, and the shift levers were broken off and wouldn't hold in any gear. I have no idea how it got that bad.

...

So I agree it was a great success.

If I were to be part of making it happen again, I'd stick with "keep it simple" and go Ã¼ber beater style. No tires at all, just expertly-trued steel rims on Playa. (It really works. The Playa is softer than steel.) Any beater that has a shifter should be strung to low-gear â€” second, third, or largest rear sprocket and mid or smallest front sprocket: a short length of cable with a crimp strung under a cable clamp on the frame, and the deraileur's adjustments set to default to an appropriate gear. Brakes ... well, you don't get much choice with that: coaster or front or rear; caliper brakes set wide and loose to accommodate floppy and bent rims.

I don't know ... I'm just brainstorming ...

Enforcement is scarcely worth the bother â€” it's not like the bikes that come home on the big truck after BM are worth their alkaline salt anyway.

Maybe I think "Radical Self-Reliance" is in order: those who didn't plan well walk.

Hmm ... now I'm lost. What was my point?

Post by **AntiM** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:31 pm

The year before, i know someone whose bike happened to be yellow ...and it was stolen. He thinks it was mistaken for a yellow bike, but I have my doubts, he did unlock it and step away for a few moments at Center Camp.

We aren't bringing spare bikes anymore, we're pretty much maxed out on the bike rack.

cowboyangel · Post by **cowboyangel** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:49 pm

bicycle thieves should be fastened to a giant wheel on every other spoke and slowly turned round and round while listening to Pat Boone songs until they go stark raving mad and then left to rot.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:41 am

Personally, I think it was a waste of steel.
There were all the predictable problems with theft and "squatting", as well as the "what the hell it's not mine" thrashing the green bikes got. But also, I heard many people saying how great it was to have a bike to ride and how it saved them.

There's this other system, one that's completely fair and proven effective: Bring your own fucking bikes. Maybe even a spare or two in case of theft or breakdown. It amazes me how many people don't bring spares... hell, I bring spare everything! Shit breaks out there.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:09 am

cowboyangel wrote:bicycle thieves should be fastened to a giant wheel on every other spoke and slowly turned round and round while listening to Pat Boone songs until they go stark raving mad and then left to rot.

You know, I have the heavy metal Pat Boone album. He does amazing things with "Crazy Train" and a spiked collar.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:31 am

How about every one that is smart enough to bring a bike, Bring a yellow bike also..

You can pick up a bike at St Vinny De paul for a dime,repair it for an hour and spray it yellow.. When you leave the playa take "a" yellow bike with you to repair and store over..

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:47 am

Captain Goddammit wrote: There's this other system, one that's completely fair and proven effective: Bring your own fucking bikes. Maybe even a spare or two in case of theft or breakdown. It amazes me how many people don't bring spares... hell, I bring spare everything! Shit breaks out there.

That would be the concept of radical self-reliance coming up again. The problem is that concept is barely hanging on...it's definitely on life support. I hate the idea of the yellow bikes as it has the potential to turn into an entitlement...I paid $275 for a ticket, gimme a freakin geeft bike now or else I'm gonna whine and sulk about it and bitch online for days afterward about how my experience sucked.

The yellow bikes need to have a date with a high powered plasma cutter and a TIG to be recycled into an art piece somewhere. As far as if your bike breaks down...well it sucks to be you since you failed to bring a backup. Hoof it.

erri2000 · Post by **erri2000** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:59 am

Kinetic V wrote:The yellow bikes need to have a date with a high powered plasma cutter and a TIG to be recycled into an art piece somewhere.

Take all the broken bikes and build a huge human powered electrical generating unit. Just a thought.

Also there was retaliation against people that locked the bikes too. If someone locked a bike, the seat was stolen. Problem there is that then the bike became useless to most.

I would have like to seen when the seat was stolen, it would be replaced with something else, like a dildo. Or a little herbal balm on the seat before the person comes back out. Ouch! Talk about "Fire in the hole."

help · Post by **help** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:59 am

We took 5, used 5, had 1 stolen, then returned a day or two later (because it had a camp sticker clearly displayed), and left with 6 on Tuesday because it was easier than taking the extra to center camp. (We had already made 2 trips to CCamp with 4 abandoned bikes in the white-out Monday.)
The "extra bike" will be back next year, for someone like me, who came from the middle of the country, and had friends in LALA kind enough to fully rig and decorate "ELMO" for me.

What sucks: That extra bike we took Tuesday is a good bike. It obviously wasn't left intentionally by its providor. It was most likely dumped by its thief. DOOM on You, thieves! (In our camp of 20+
bikes, I know of 4 that were stolen.)

Nothing quite like taking a ride into the deep playa, dumping your bike, and hitching a dance/ride on an art car. That is where YellowBikes shine best.
____________________________

If you know better, do better.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:38 pm

Kinetic V wrote:
Captain Goddammit wrote: There's this other system, one that's completely fair and proven effective: Bring your own fucking bikes. Maybe even a spare or two in case of theft or breakdown. It amazes me how many people don't bring spares... hell, I bring spare everything! Shit breaks out there.
That would be the concept of radical self-reliance coming up again. The problem is that concept is barely hanging on...it's definitely on life support. I hate the idea of the yellow bikes as it has the potential to turn into an entitlement...I paid $275 for a ticket, gimme a freakin geeft bike now or else I'm gonna whine and sulk about it and bitch online for days afterward about how my experience sucked.

The yellow bikes need to have a date with a high powered plasma cutter and a TIG to be recycled into an art piece somewhere. As far as if your bike breaks down...well it sucks to be you since you failed to bring a backup. Hoof it.

What makes me sad.. is that youre right. I don't think anyone has come by to give us numbers as to how many of the thousands of bikes made it back OK and in working order. (what 2000 bikes if memory serves). I hear they were "donated" and I too saw some of what jay saw, bike beaten so badly after only a week one had to wonder just WTF ppl were doing with em.

Its a toss up between radical inclusion and radical self reliance. How much do we want to TRY to include other folks that may not have the means to bring a bike vs. How many people with lesser income get to come and ride a bike and get a much better experience. I wasn't really expecting a bike and was happy to spend alot of time in camp, hell camp was soo much fun I could have spent the entire week in a 2 block radius and had just as much fun. But it was really nice to have a bike since I wasn't able to afford to ship one to Reno.. good thing actually since alot of shit I bought and planned to store in Reno wound up being stolen and some stuff given away since I wound up stranded by a junkie/thief.

I'm torn.. as much as BM is just "a camping trip" I see alot of potential for us to figure out a way to survive if the shit hits the fan. We have all seen our "broke" gov't handle major shit like Katrina etc etc.. We may have BM year round if things keep going the way they are. Its just sad that we probably won't be able to trust participants to take care of the bike OR bring their own. I think it was Badger in another thread that noticed a group of folks expecting their camp to be made for them. WTF .. I'm just glad there were more fucked up people than me out there. At least I got my tent pitched and helped build the domes.

Radical Self Reliance is very important, ya gotta have the ability to haul your own shit and bring your own shit.. or be prepared to do without. Do not rely on anyone to provice you with transport. If you can't afford to rent a ride and bring a bike if you NEED a bike you probably shouldn't be there.

For me.. next time out there will be minimalist all the way. Like UnJohn and others say.. Less Camp = More Fun. While co-op community stuff is great to have I would have had a much better time of it if I would have had alot LESS shit with me. I brought WAYY too much food, and WAYY too much medical gear and clothing. My camelbak and what I had strapped on it was what I lived out of. I will bring more lara bars though, and keep some more electrolyte powder packs. I also plan on using single things like lip goop for other things like the nose. Why carry something else when one item works for many things.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 9:05 pm

I hate to admit it, but I did think about stealing one of the green bikes on the way out (I could have easily gotten away with it in my rig) just because it'd be a hell of a future collectible! I thought about it all week, in fact.

And honestly, I almost wish I had!

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:12 pm

A good natured Fuck You to you Captain Goddamit.
Rules are guidelines for wise men and for obedience by fools.

Tiahaar · Post by **Tiahaar** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:16 pm

Ha Captain, you're better off without...my story is that I did bring home 4 beat-up (not yellow) bikes that the camp across from me abandoned, 3 little kids bmx and one cruiser. I hoped to make one good bike out of the 3 mini bmx (and seriously...how many adults are buying these tiny bikes and expecting to ride them out there...the cranks are like only 5" long, 4" on one of them and there were no kids in this camp). The cruiser was a heap...the thing had been ridden with loose parts till the bearings fell out of the crank and then the threads themselves were worn off the crank and the wheel bearings were like gravel. The frame was nice, looked nearly new. Yeah I've restored all 4 with new bearings/tires and such, might keep 2 and give the others to kids here. It was way more work and expense than it was worth for the 'free' bikes, even though the campers were happy to give them up to me to haul home.

The green bike program needs a 'green bike repair depot'. Most riders wouldn't or couldn't tune them up, the bikes were newly assembled and bound to need tuning and tightening shortly after first use...since this didn't happen they rattled apart. I agree with ya'all who are saying...bring yer own (playa-ready) bike.

erri2000 · Post by **erri2000** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:41 am

Captain Goddammit wrote:I hate to admit it, but I did think about stealing one of the green bikes on the way out (I could have easily gotten away with it in my rig) just because it'd be a hell of a future collectible! I thought about it all week, in fact.
And honestly, I almost wish I had!

I am glad I didn't steal one. But I would not have cared if anyone else had. I stowed one away on Sunday, but couldn't do it.

It would have been a great piece of memorabilia.

What about making it OK to steal a Yellow bike if you see it!

STEAL THIS BIKE (patent pending trademark required in some states... copyright)

But just don't be sneaky about it. Like if you see a yellow bike and no one is on it, OPEN game and no one can say anything. Just can't take one while someone is sitting on it.

Thoughts.

I liked the project I would hate to see it go away. Come on what is wrong with free bicycles anyway?

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:32 pm

I dont get it -

Such an awesome gift - being totally beaten to shit by a bunch of asshats. I am sure that 95% of the people that rode them were good natured and simply rode them as they were supposed to be ridden, and left for the next user.

But, now if even 50 people are malicious and ride just 4-5 bikes a day - thats a potential exposure of 1000 bikes+ in only 5 days.

The first day they were there it was owesome - bikes for all at center camp - a sea of green in fact. 12 hours later they were all gone and sequestered many times in a camp or hidden. When i noticed they were locked up i grabbed the trusty bolt cutters and started freeing the green bikes, but my bolt cutters gave out after only 10 -12 cuts (cheap wally world brand)

Another case in point - We were at the tower looking thing on the esplanade and 0900. A green bike is laying there and my buddy picks it up. Someone starts screaming at him (it was in fact a yellow...Green bike) and insisted "it was theirs - they rode it over....blah blah..." They almost went to blows over it, and my buddy simply said get bent or something to that effect and we rode off.

Asinine if you ask me, i like the idea and am willing to give the originator of this yellow bike program RFID chips that can go inside the tires and sound a detector at the gate upon exodus. They are 12 cents each and a detector is 250 bones. Well worth it if you ask me.

emotion_sickness · Post by **emotion_sickness** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:24 pm

motskyroonmatick wrote:I like the idea and I bring extra bikes to let people use. Only one of the bikes I brought was stolen. It happened to look similar to a "green bike" but was black and I think that is why someone destroyed the lock and took it. Many people don't know about the bike program and it's guidelines. It is true that people working the gate were removing the bikes from vehicles that were taking them away.
I think the word needs to be spread better. Thats why I voted--What is the..

Toolmaker- I think you approach was fine.

lol...that would have been the one i was using...not only did i feel like crap for losing a bike that did not even belong to me, but there was no way that bike could have been mistaken for a yellow bike...how many yellow bikes did you see that were black, with a cupholder, a bell, and white & yellow road construction reflectors? it was parked under a torch in a relatively well-lit area, so no mistaking the color scheme...and locked up too with a pair of real handcuffs so whoever took it had to either bust some spokes out of the wheel, happened to have a handcuff key, or just picked it up and carried it off.

and while i did get a small amount of use from the yellow bikes, i saw WAY too many abuses of them, one guy riding one back to camp, holding/towing another one along with him (maybe as a backup in case someone took the one he was riding?) numerous yellow bikes without seats or pedals (maybe they just broke or maybe they were deliberately taken apart to keep others from using them), people taking them into their camp to hide them, people locking them to the rack at center camp and playa info...

the fact that almost all the yellow bikes i came across were unusable still would not have been a problem if the art car drivers/owners would have been a bit more hospitable and open to letting people hitch a ride, but as the week went on it seemed like every art car i came upon was "full", hosting a "private tour" or were just plain turning away strangers. one night i got stranded at the opulent temple and had to hoof it back to the other side of the city, and the next day i was still so exhausted i had no desire to even leave camp and see the sights.

i had planned to bring my own bike, but there was no way to cram anything else into my tiny convertible mustang, so i had to leave a perfectly good playa-ready bike at home. next year i think i'm renting a trailer and bringing two bright pink horribly tacky bikes and heavy duty combo locks, just in case one gets swiped; sad to think that among a community supposedly so open and giving something as simple and commonplace as a bike would need to be rendered totally unusable in order to keep people from stealing it.

how many vendors were lined up along the highway with trucks loaded with used bikes to sell? why didn't you bike thieves just pick one of those up on your way in? and if you couldn't afford the $$ or the space to get one of those, why didn't you JUST ASK SOMEONE TO BORROW ONE and then have the common courtesy to bring it back to its owner when you were done with it?

there is absolutely no excuse for stealing a bike (or anything else for that matter, on a non-bike-related note, someone tried to steal shit out of my backpack while it was still on my body!), it goes against all the morals and values that we all should stand for, and karma will no doubt come and kick your ass for it in the end.

ok ok sorry for the rant...all in all, i think the yellow bike program is a very thoughtful and useful program, and helps a lot of people out. there will always be jackasses who take advantage of a generous offering just because thats the way they are and they think its ok. even if we had 50,000 bikes and just handed you one as you came through the gates, there would still be thefts, people would still trash them and steal them, simply because these people will always exist in a community so large. like i said before, next year im bringing two bikes...you're more than welcome to BORROW one, as long as you realize borrow does not equate to steal.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:27 pm

Tiahaar wrote: The green bike program needs a 'green bike repair depot'. Most riders wouldn't or couldn't tune them up, the bikes were newly assembled and bound to need tuning and tightening shortly after first use...since this didn't happen they rattled apart.

Well... I did used to do exactly that, except it was for any bike. There were three bike repair camps, one at 3 and Esplanade (ByB), one at Center Camp, and my old bike-repair camp at 9 and Esplanade, the former Johnny & the Playa Cruizers.
But... predictably... there was too much work! After 5 years we all simply gave up.

And hell, even Mr. Goodwrench couldn't fix what happened to a lot of those green bikes!