The Oberlin Bike Co-op is a cooperatively owned bicycle repair, rental, and education center located in Oberlin, OH. Students and community members volunteer their time and bicycle expertise to ensure that Oberlin maintains its reputation as one of the most bike-friendly communities around. The Co-op is situated in the back of the college's Keep Cottage on Main St. just across from the Oberlin Middle School.
The real value of the Co-op is the service it provides to its own community. When students leave Oberlin for the summer, a large number of bikes are inevitably left behind all over campus. Instead of throwing them out, or sending them off to be melted down and recycled, the Co-op effectively "reCycles" the bikes back into the community by renting refurbished bikes and helping others build their own with used parts.
The Co-op is staffed by knowledgable individuals ready to answer your questions or just talk shop, but the Co-op is so much more than a repair center. Those interested can join the Co-op, learn about bike maintenance, give back to the community, and build their very own bike! No experience necessary.
The Co-op is not-for-profit. Its only goals are to get as many bikes out into the community as possible, and to help educate the community about the personal rewards of biking and bike maintenence.
As a reader of the
Back Roads and Beaches Bike and Multi-Sport route blog probably knows, bikes are an awesome tool for teaching self-sufficiency, sustainability, and personal empowerment to kids. Anyone at all familiar with the Co-op knows that it's really just as much about community outreach as it is about bikes. Aside from the regular repair and education services, the co-op is featuring some special events this summer:
Ride on out to
Tappan Square after sundown (10 PM) for Saturday's Bike-In-Movie. Kid-friendly movies are projected on a big screen every week. Last Week:
Empire Records.
Sign the kids up for the Co-op's week-long Bikes & Kids Camp. Learn about biking and bike maintenance and, of course, have a ton of fun doing it. Camp will be the last week in July (27th-31st). Be sure to call soon and let them know you're interested.
For more information on these events, call the Co-op at (440) 775-5351.
Summer Hours
1 PM to 4 PM, Sun thru Fri
5 PM to 8 PM, Mon thru Thurs
7 PM to 10 PM, Sun
So remember, if you're out on the
Back Roads and Beaches route and you pop a tire, need a quick brake adjustment, or just feel like talking bikes with some friendly, like-minded folks, stop on by. And if you happen to be an avid cyclist with some spare parts lying around, put them to great use by donating to the Co-op (if they aren't open, just leave them in the concrete pit).
Location: Behind Keep Cottage (large brick house across from Oberlin Middle School), 154 Main St., Oberlin, OH 44074 Mailing Address: Wilder Hall Box 25, 135 W. Lorain St., Oberlin, OH 44074
bikecoop@oberlin.edu
Note to cyclists who were diverted over the Henderson Bridge last year: YES this is the Berry Bridge and YES it is OPEN! Cyclists riding along SR6 portion of the Back Roads and Beaches Route.
I just can’t take enough pictures of these herons although to really take a good picture of these elusive and camera-shy birds, you have to have a really good lens, good camera and a lot of photography skills. Click here for a better example of a great blue heron on the Black River. There are so many birds on the Black River that I never see anywhere else, and they always thrill me when I see them.
Paddling south toward Henderson Bridge.
There are ALWAYS people fishing for smallmouth bass along the Black River.
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