Author Archive for ubrayj02

Bike-In Theater: El Topo

Published
by
ubrayj02
on September 20, 2008
in events and movies
. 0 Comments
September 21, 2008
8:00 pmto11:00 pm


Okay, the Emmy’s are going on, but screw that - we’re celebrating Veronica’s, aka Black Woman Sidekick, Bike Oven volunteer and event planner, birthday with cupcakes, tacos, and (of course) beer.

Entry to this fiesta of gustatory and A/V delights is free, but bring a little change to pay for the beer.

We were so buzzed the last time we saw this month’s film, El Topo, that we’re not sure what it was about (but there is a sequel coming out soon!). Be prepared to shocked - nudity, girls dressed in black, seas of blood, etc. Hey, it’s an adventure!

El Topo was burned by the film’s producer, but was save through some handy back up reels. The filmmaker, Jodorosky, is on par with Werner Herzog.

Jodorsky also got stoned (literally, with rocks) for showing this movie in Mexico. He’s now living safely in France. A bunch of his films were burned by that same producer. Somebody get a fire extinguisher and follow that guy around already!

The event takes place at the Bike Oven, located at 3706 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065 at 8 p.m. on Sunday, September 21, 2008.

Franklin High Community Fair

Published
by
ubrayj02
on September 10, 2008
in advocacy, events and volunteers
. 2 Comments
September 13, 2008
5:30 am

This Saturday, February September (whoops!) 13, 2008 the Bike Oven is going to have a booth set aside at a HUGE community fair at Franklin High School.

We’re going to haul a stand, some tools, flyers, our banner, and my sorry ass down there to do the following:
(1) Teach a few mini-seminars on bike repair (how to change a flat, brake cable tension, clean your chain, etc.)
(2) Talk about bikes and hang out
(3) Fix anyone’s bike (for free) that happens to be there

Anyone want to join in the fun and man a booth with me? Call me at 310-902-5439 or email ubrayj02@yahoo.com

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Management Meeting

Published
by
ubrayj02
on August 26, 2008
in events, management meeting and volunteers
. 1 Comment
September 3, 2008
7:00 pmto10:00 pm

Yup - we’re doin’ once again. It’s meeting night, and anyone interested in how the Oven is run is welcome to come down and help us figure out how to best take care of stuff.

Last month we had a few hanging questions in the air, hopefully we’ll have some idea on how to proceed.

Big on the agenda: to cut spokes or buy new ones, our new tool board, and whether Dingo’s liver will ever forgive us for relaxing our rules when he’s here.

Spoke(n) Art Ride - Burning Man Ridazz

Published
by
ubrayj02
on July 2, 2008
in art, events and rides
. 1 Comment
July 12, 2008
6:30 pmto11:30 pm

This month’s Spoke(n) Art Ride is being developed (the ride will be a neat-o tour of art galleries but the art show at the end is being produced right now).

We’ll have more information about the whole shebang posted here, on bikeboom and on  MidnightRidazz.com when we’ve settled on the details.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Management Meeting

Published
by
ubrayj02
on July 2, 2008
in events, information, management meeting and volunteers
. 0 Comments
August 6, 2008
7:00 pm

I’m writing this post in July - so I don’t know what is going to be on the agenda. We’ll be getting together to discuss shop business, upcoming events, and any hare brained scheme anyone wants to throw out there (i.e. “Using bikes for transportation” - what a joke!).

The meeting takes place during our shop hours from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Management Meeting

Published
by
ubrayj02
on July 2, 2008
in events, information, management meeting and volunteers
. 0 Comments
July 2, 2008
7:00 pmto10:00 pm

We’re getting together this month (once again) to take care of some “bidness”, mix it with a little bit of pleasure (Dingo’s will be in the house), and we’re going to end early - because we have a bunch of bikes that need to be stripped down for parts and recycled before they form their own collective to do the same thing to us humans.

The meeting will take place during our normal shop hours, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Meeting Summary

Published
by
ubrayj02
on July 2, 2008
in information, management meeting and volunteers
. 0 Comments

This past month, we argued like all get-out about “Art” and art shows, rent going up (inflation?), and Dingo’s feelings. It’s worth a read if you’re looking for some bed-time material.

Continue reading ‘Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Meeting Summary’

Baked In the Oven Bike on Fixed Gear Gallery

Published
by
ubrayj02
on June 13, 2008
in information and press
. 5 Comments

Johnny Lam’s Nishiki Conversion

The Bike Oven gets some sweet bikes rolling through our doors every now and again, and the fixed gear pictured above is a great example.

The owner of the bike, Johnny Lam, posted pictures of his ride in the Fixed Gear Gallery, and gave us a shout out for the assitance we provided him:

Here is my first conversion (actually first time wrenching on any bike) of a Nishiki International. A buddy of mine gave this to me with missing pieces. With the kind volunteers at the Bike Oven (www.bikeoven.com), I was able to pull apart parts I didn’t need, reassembled and greased up the BB, headset, and rear hub. I even had the chance to redish my rear wheel. I’ve learned plenty from this build.

You can see the rest of Johnny’s pictures in his post on Fix Gear Gallery.

Spoke(n) Art Ride - Found Frames

Published
by
ubrayj02
on June 13, 2008
in art, events and rides
. 0 Comments
June 14, 2008
7:00 pm

Found Frames

The Spoke(n) Art bicycle ride is a free, once-a-month, bicycle tour of art galleries in North East Los Angeles.

The ride takes place on the second Saturday of each month - a special night in North East Los Angeles. Area art galleries open their doors late into the night as part of NELAart’s “Gallery Night”.

This month’s Spoke(n) Art Ride will feature the work of Stephen Roullier, aka mr.rollers - a member of the Midnight Ridazz bicycling community, and one of its most prolific and best photo documenters.

You can see more of mr.rollers photography online, on his Flickr profile page. Or visit mr.rollers gallery contributions at MidnightRidazz.com

Continue reading ‘Spoke(n) Art Ride - Found Frames’

It’s Happening As Fast As It Can

Published
by
ubrayj02
on May 23, 2008
in advocacy and volunteers
. 1 Comment

Old Shogun Rebuilt
A derelict Shogun road bike gets new life as a Single Speed at the Bike Oven

Bike Oven mechanical wunderkind, Harv, has posted a spot on summary of what it feels like in the Bike Oven these days. We are BUSY! His article is posted on the C.I.C.L.E. blog and is entitled “It’s Happening As Fast As It Can“.

As oil prices have shot up, the bike industry cannot provide what people need to use to get around town, and the result is a mad-cap version of a gold rush at the Bike Oven.

Here is what Harv has to say about the whole deal:

Here at the Bike Oven, we can barely keep up. The demand for bikes and repairs is overwhelming. People are digging up those ten-speeds and bringing them in for refurbishing (sometimes a daunting task) or conversion. But more often they want ready to ride bikes (we call them RTRs at the Oven). As fast as we can twirl the wrenches, we take the Sow’s Ear donated bikes and turn them into Silk Purses. The most popular and sought after bikes are the single speed road bike and urban commuter conversions. As a training exercise and during slow moments (rare!) we take suspensionless mountain bikes and convert them using parts that have been stripped from the hopeless cases that have been donated.

Continue reading ‘It’s Happening As Fast As It Can’