Great news, we have a location

We have an agreement with Corsham School to site a container on their premises near the Springfield centre.  All we need to do now is to get a 20-30ft container transported to the school, get our stuff out of storage and into the container and we are back up and running.  It's probably a lot harder than it sounds but I think that sometime in June we should be back on line - just in time for the Tour de France.
We will probably have an art project to paint the container so that it blends in with the surroundings.  I have also thought of erecting solar panels to charge batteries (and electric bikes) that would provide lighting and mains power via an inverter.  Edgar thought of installing a wood burner for the winter months however, a recent meeting with the Community Campus liaison officer has provided the opportunity to work in the Campus during the winter months using the container for Storage.

Music, rides and thoughts of Spindles to come

An email on Friday from the Pound Arts asked us whether we could service some bikes that belonged to that nights performer, Richard Durrant and his mate Sean.  By chance we had tickets for that nights show as seeing a world class classical guitarist who cycles to his gigs is not to be missed.  I dropped in at the pound and arranged a bike service that would be done on the Saturday.  The performance was great.
The following morning we found a couple of broken spokes on Richard's bike.  He is towing a trailer with all the stage gear on it (40kg+) and the bike wheels were not made for that kind of punishment.  We fitted some new spokes and tuned the gears and brakes on both bikes.  Good to go. You can watch Richard's blog below where we get a credit.
  

or follow him on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Richard-Durrant/132278903555391

That day we went for a ride and stopped at Holt cafe for a meal.  It was rather an unusual way to spend a Saturday for us.  In fact its been years since I've sat in the sun on a Saturday drinking lattes as Spindles is always busy.  We returned to the Pound which was hosting a repair cafe and a bike had been brought in to be brought back to life. Just keeping our hand in.

We had a metting with Corsham school this week which is keen to host Spindles.  We surveyed a good site that they had identified which is outside of the school perimeter fence but on school grounds near the Springfield centre.  All we need is a container and an art project to turn it into thing of beauty.  This is the kind of situation that is made for Kevin McCloud or a least Corsham's answer to Kevin.

We have also been contacted my Wiltshire Council's community support who would like to see us and an other school in Corsham that would like to borrow our delivery bike.  We have never been so popular.

Spindles moved into Storage, appearance at Repair Cafe At the Pound, what's next?

Packing away was not easy 

It has been a sad experience over the last few days to pack spindles stuff away into boxes and put it into storage.  All the bikes bar two were sold thanks mostly to ebay and the customer bikes were picked up.  The stock can neatly be stacked while the work benches fold and the shelving comes apart.

It was an opportunity to rationalise and a lot of the old reclaimed stock was re-evaluated and scrapped. Even the obligatory soft porn free calendar from our wholesaler, an object of ironic mirth,  was surplus to requirements especially since it was left under a leaking roof.

An empty room replaces Spindles Bike shop

 There was nobody around today , the wind whipped through the open doors pushing the curtains around, finding its way through the condemned building.  The knitting group was meeting for the last time as were the retired dancers.
What remains are empty rooms.  What will be in June is rubble, ground down to make a base for the car park.  


Next week Spindles will be at the Repair Cafe at the Pound Arts Centre.  It will be a kind of reunion as we spent 2 years at the Pound.  We may resume our spot at the back through the peacock gates and keep our hand in.  

We are currently considering a number of options, some of which include erecting temporary buildings.  This will take time to evaluate the respective potential of each opportunity and fully understand the pros and cons.  We want to get a more permanent place so that we can do more interesting activities.  For now, Spindles is safely packed away.

Spindles In Storage

Bikes ready to return

Spindles Film

Here's our film that shows a little of what we do including our Saturday workshop, the work we do for Sustrans and our occasional rides.  I would like to do some evening rides when the world cup is on as the roads should be clear.


The sound track is great. See also http://www.everydaylifeonashoestring.com/2014/05/like-bicycle-without-wheels.html for a write up on the last day.