Grease Rag Ride & Wrench

Grease Rag Ride & Wrench has grown tremendously this year.  With the addition of three nights per month, we are empowering more women and transgender cyclists by teaching bike mechanics, sharing knowledge, and building community.

Because of your generous donations to the Minneapolis Presents calendar project, Grease Rag has been able to support the folks who support us and expand our network of powerful WTF cyclists.   Here are a few things we have done with our funds so far:

• We began the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) non-profit.  Our principal board members include Laura Kling, Kat McCarthy, and Jamie MacDonald.

• We hosted our biggest skill share yet, our third annual Winter Cycling Skill Share, in early November.  We offered a small stipend to our presenters and a small stipend to the graphic designer who made the flyer.

• We solidified our logo and printed reflective stickers!  You can pick one up at the next open shop night.  They’re also available for $1 donation at Sunrise Cyclery.

• We will continue to print and distribute flyers to spread the word about Grease Rag.

• We placed an advertisement in a local zine, Creative Ladies Are Powerful (C.L.A.P.), and gave a small stipend to the artist who drew the ad.  (Keep an eye out for the winter issue of the zine, Kat & Low wrote an article on winter cycling).

• We are offering reduced cost scholarships for members wanting to attend a Krav Maga self-defense and cycling skill share in December.

If you think Grease Rag is providing a vital service for the Minneapolis cycling community, you too can support us.  We are always looking for more WTF organizers.  Share your ideas and take action!

Third Annual Winter Skill Share

As part of the Hub Bike Coop's Women's Appreciation Month, Kat & Greta are hosting an introduction to hardcourt bike polo day on Saturday, October 22.

This will be an opportunity to learn about the rapidly growing sport, try riding customized polo bikes, use homemade mallets, and get a feel for how the game is played.  We'll go over rules and equipment - but most of the time will be for getting people comfortable on the bikes. We may play a few games if people are interested!

Hardcourt Bike Polo is a fairly new sport to Minnesota, and the play is similar to hockey.  Teams of 3 use mallets to pass and shoot a ball into the other team's goal.  The first team to score 5 goals wins. 

Bike polo has become a huge part of my life over the past three years.  I have been able to travel across the country and meet rad people who share the same passion I have.  It's a really unique community that is always supporting eachother.  We'd love to have more women and transgendered people involved! 

Hope to see you on the court!

Introduction to Hardcourt Bike Polo

Saturday, October 22, 2011

12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Corcoran Park - 19th Ave S at 33rd Street - Minneapolis

FREE!  Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=281387768546342

And you get to wear cool team outfits!

Babes in Bikeland is the largest alleycat for women and trans bikers in the country!  This year is the 5 year anniversary of the race and we'll be celebrating our amazing bike community in the Twin Cities on September 10th.  Pre-registration is up on the Babes in Bikeland website.

Race Details
Saturday, September 10th, 2011.
Check in starts at 4 PM at the Soap Factory to register, get your shirt, and receive your manifest.
Race begins at 6 PM sharp.
The course is just over 20 miles through your favorite Minneapolis neighborhoods.
Sisters Camelot is both the finish line of the race and location of the awards ceremony.
Awards will be around 10:30 PM.
Beer donated by New Belgium Brewery is free for racers 21+.

If you’ve never raced an alleycat before, this is the perfect first race because you’ll be with 200+ other women/trans/femme cyclists!  This race will make you feel powerful, whether or not you are competitive, whether or not you finish, whether or not you consider yourself a part of the “bike scene.”

What’s this event about?
Chelsea and Kayla met on a group bike ride and a beautiful friendship was born. Then they went to other group biking rides, races, and events and met other amazing women who biked. Beautiful friendships were growing at an exponential rate! And then they grew faster and stronger and more confident on their bikes because they had great women to ride with. And then they thought, “What if there was an event where we got a whole bunch of women together to ride bikes and create friendships at exponential rates and get faster and stronger and more confident on their bikes?!” And then Babes in Bikeland was born.

The Bicycle Film Festival is coming to town next weekend, July 21 - 24. 

Opening night, Thursday the 21st, falls on a Grease Rag night, so we decided to skip shop time and join the BFF crew on their group ride to the MIA.  We are excited to see the local film Dudey Free Zone: Women and Transgender Bike Spaces, playing in program two.  There are many familiar faces in that movie, so please join us for the FREE screening at the MIA on Thursday night. 

Other highlights on the schedule this year include a bicycle scavenger hunt on Saturday afternoon, many group rides and after parties, and a picnic on Sunday.  The rest of the films on Friday and Saturday will be playing at the St. Anthony Main movie theatre.

The Bicycle Film Festival is consistently one of my favorite summer weekends.  It's always a blast to celebrate our love of bikes and art with our community. 

So - no Grease Rag at Sunrise on July 21. Instead, join the group ride leaving from Gold Medal Park at 5pm and head to the MIA for the screening of Dudey Free Zone.

Grease Rag is this Thursday, July 7th!

(This event takes place the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month)

The Group Ride is on! Meet at the West River Road entrance to the Greenway at 6pm.  We will end up at Sunrise Cyclery (901 W. Lake St. at Bryant Ave.) around 7, and wrenching goes until 9. Sound off if you’re coming!

July 7th marks Grease Rag's TWO YEAR birthday!  It all started with Erin Durkee, a previous employee at Sunrise.  She wanted to share her knowledge and love of bicycles with other rad people.  But, it has continued to grow because of YOU!  We've spent two years learning how to fix our bikes, going on rides, and making new friends.

Thank you so much for supporting Grease Rag!  We wouldn't be here without you. 

Coming up July 21-24 is the Bicycle Film Festival!  On Thursday, July 21, we are going to join the group ride meeting up at Gold Medal Park at 5pm.  One of the films Thrusday is Dudey Free Zone: Women's and Transgender Bike Spaces that features Grease Rag, Sibley Bike Depot, and many other awesome organizations.  Join us!  More details coming soon.

greaseragmpls@gmail.com

@greaseragmpls

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