The Bloomington Community Bike Project post open hours, FINALLY.

 After a long period of transitioning during which it seemed that the The Bloomington Community Bike Project hardly ever opened the shop to the public, it seems that they are once again opening the shop door to the community.

Over the past year I have repeatedly reached out to The Bloomington Community Bike Project by donating parts and at one point I designed some flyers for them free of charge as well. I really like the idea that I thought the BCBP supposedly stands for, a volunteer ran bike garage/co-op. Over the past 10 years I have donated bikes and parts and gotten a number of parts from The Bloomington Community Bike Project and up until the past few years it was always a fun and pleasant experience. Recently however that was no longer the case in my experiences in dealing with The Bloomington Community Bike Project. The shop itself became more exclusive and privatized in my opinion. It no longer seemed casual and relaxing but more like a "normal business". Every time I went there to find parts the shop was "closed to the public" and was for "volunteers only", even though their web site stated that the shop would be open during those hours. As my own unique bicycle oriented business grew I was hoping to volunteer my time and skills to something local like The Bloomington Community Bike Project, but when I went to ask about volunteering I was met by a rather dour expression and felt as if my asking about volunteering my time was an inconvenience for the young lady that had shown up late to open the shop and was moping around in the shadows of it's interior. She shoved a bike at me and offered no further advice or assistance. I no longer feel welcomed there by the people who are key holding "volunteers". The Bloomington Community Bike Project used to be a cool spot to hang out with friends and work on or build bikes, now it seems like they focus more on selling bikes to the community. Don't let my shitty experience ruin it for you, go check them out. If the are actually going to open there doors to the community once again.

The Bloomington Community Bike Project

The Bloomington Community Bike Project