The Ongoing Impact of our Major Taylor Program
Arguably, the most rewarding part of working with the Reno Bike Project is the beautiful moments we experience while crossing paths with youth our programs have positively impacted. Whether it's seeing a student cruising on a bike we've helped them build, or bumping into them around town, these moments remind us why we do what we do. We recently received a heartfelt letter that moved many of us, sharing the story of a bike RBP provided to a child who has experienced a lot of change while navigating the foster system. The impact of something as simple as a bike can be profound and is a testament to the generosity of our community. Donations, large and small, serve as a catalyst to support situations like this.
Our MTP has had a great month of riding with groups from Eddy House, HDMS, and an evening workshop with a Desert Peach Montessori School getting their campus fleet tuned and ready for another school year. We've tallied just over 400 miles on the quarter so far, with a few months to go we're still hoping to reach our goal of 5,000 miles in 2025! We're pretty confident we'll be able to reach this goal as we will be expanding our weekly rides to two groups next quarter and have seen excellent attendance thus far. Last week, a couple of wet days gave us a chance to change gears- we planned to focus on some maintenance and repair demos inside. But to our surprise, the students were eager to saddle up, rain or shine! It turned into an unforgettable experience where they learned how to safely navigate roadways in less-than-ideal circumstances. It was a cold, wet ride-but we had a blast and they absolutely crushed it!
Reno Bike Project-League of American Bicyclists
Several RBP crew members have been hard at work preparing for a three-day seminar in San Francisco, facilitated by the League of American Bicyclists. To earn a LCI (League Cycling Instructor) certification, participants must complete a series of exams and pre-assessments, followed by an in-person seminar - which includes instruction, testing, and presenting safety topics to a group. Following their seminar attendance, Reno Bike Project will have four LCI's on staff to further support our programs and mission!
FTWN-B Night & Bicycle Repair Workshops
We are excited to offer you all a few new after-hours workshops this fall:
The first is a general Bicycle Repair Class, taught from 6 - 8:30 pm on Tuesday, November 4th at our Grove St. shop. Our lovely guest mechanic and prior RBP employee, Elijah, is going to teach everyone about the basics of bicycle repair so that you can fix your bike at home (or on the side of the road)!
Our second class is a Bicycle Shifting Repair Class, which will be taught at our Grove St. shop by RBP employee Justin Kipp. This class is still in the works, so keep an eye out on our website for more info!
These two classes are $15 for members, and $45 for non-members. Sign ups are available on our website.
We also have an upcoming FTWN-B night! This is a space for femme, trans, women, and non-binary folx, and is FREE to all community members. Our fall workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 11th from 6 - 8 pm at our Grove St. shop, and will be taught by long-time instructor Lyndsey. The November workshop will focus primarily on getting your bike ready for winter storage, but Lyndsey will be there to answer other questions as well.
You can sign up for all workshops on our website! Please come to all workshops with your bike, a water bottle, and closed-toe shoes. If you have any questions or have issues with sign ups or pricing, please reach out to [email protected].
October FutureCycle Program Update
We wrapped up our successful 2025 FutureCycle Program at the end of September! We had a total of 10 interns go through the program this year, which is 6 more than we have ever taken on in one calendar year! Our last intern, Skye, is currently finishing up the final 2 weeks of her externship at Velo Reno (and also helping out at RBP for a few hours each week).
Though there have definitely been challenges in making the program more expansive, it was an overall a success for all involved. The interns learned bicycle repair skills and were able to fix up their own bikes to ride around town during and after the program! One intern even uses their bike to deliver Uber Eats orders. All 10 interns also completed their 10-hour OSHA certification courses and their First Aid & CPR courses, and learned job skills and customer service skills from our shop and program staff. We had a couple of dedicated FutureCycle Program staff, as well as a number of other RBP employees who really stepped up to the plate. In order to fully immerse the interns into shop life and teach them all about customer service, bike mechanics, and public workstation operations, they spent most of their shifts working at Reno Bike Project. They would answer phone calls and help customers at the register, and shadow our Mechanic Educators in the mechanic station and public workstations. We could not have done it without the help of all of the whole team!
When asking the interns about their time in the program and the impact it's had on them, they said:
“My experience with this program has been incredible all around. I got to meet new faces, create and improve skills for a job setting, and develop a new found interest for bikes and the overall mechanics. I could not recommend this program enough for young people either looking for options in their life, helping out their community, or just wanting to create new experiences they will remember for a while.” - Jesse Crooks
“This program has not only changed me, but it also has kept me moving in the right direction. Without it I don't know where I would be. Before joining the Future Cycle Program, I often felt overlooked and unsure of myself. I struggled with following orders, motivation, and finding the right direction. The program gave me something that I never had before: a place to grow, learn, and feel supported. Because of these lessons and skills, I feel more prepared to contribute positively to my community and to move forward in life. ” - Skye Barbour
Though the FutureCycle Program is done for the year, we plan to bring it back again in the spring! Our program has been supported by the Community Services Agency, NevadaWorks, and DETR, and we would not be able to do this without them.
