Public shop hours are moving to Saturday 4-6PM until further notice.

This applies to our residential backyard shop on Hickory St just off the bike lane.  Now the community rides can dovetail with shop sessions, which can help when bicycle problems are discovered during a community ride.  We do anticipate having expanded shop hours once we obtain a non-residential shop space.  If you have any leads on potential permanent shop space, please email info@qcbs.org as we’d love to have your input.

As always, when in doubt, check back at the QCBS Repair Shop page to find out when shop hours occur, as they are subject to change.

How about a nice, mostly shady run through the DCTA Rail Trail canopy of trees?  Come take a relaxing ride with us on the DCTA Rail Trail, all the way to the end in Corinth and back, for a total of ~14 miles.  If that’s too far for you, let us know, and you can turn around at Loop 288.  

We’ve moved the ride start times to 11AM during the summer, and now we can eat lunch or work at the new Saturday public shop day right after the ride.  That’s right, shop days are moving to Saturday from 3-5PM, permanently.

Thanks to everyone who came out (200+!!) and made our May 17 event a huge success.  Querencia raised over $1500, which we very much need for tools, parts, and a permanent shop space.

We couldn’t have done this without community support, volunteer support, and the below sponsors.  

• Thanks to Dan’s Silverleaf for letting us host the event at one of our favorite Denton spots.  
• Thanks to Little Guys Movers for letting us use their spacious office for bike valet storage.  
• Thanks to Bicycle Path, Bluebonnet Bikes, Bullseye Bikes, and Denton PD bike patrol for the raffle baskets of practical bike swag.  
• Thanks to Circa 77, Banter Coffee, Recycled Books, Jupiter House, The Cupboard, and Sonic for gift certificates and coupons.
• Thanks to Squid Ink Kollective for our beautiful screen-printed shirts and posters.  
• Thanks to Margaret McMillan for the design we used for the posters and shirts.  We’ll showcase her work in a separate post.  
• Thanks to the bands that played; the lineup was fantastic: Chris Flemmons, The Slow Burners, Boxcar Bandits, Sarah Jaffe.  

George Neal won this for a buck!

Load trailers, nap, ride to benefit.

crème brûlée, rice crispie HUGE CUBES, cookies, brownies, etc

early prep

And is there really a better finale than Sarah Jaffe’s champagne jam?  Uh, no.

Per the below post about the benefit show this Sunday at Dan’s Silverleaf, open shop day and the collective council meeting are both cancelled.  Both activities will resume next week at the normal times.

Since somebody just stole the benefit show poster from my (and the shop’s) front yard, that must mean somebody loves it, right?

See y’all at Dan’s Silverleaf!

We are so happy about getting our 501c3 tax-exempt status from the IRS that we need YOU to help us celebrate.  What better way is there to end a semester, or what better followup to graduation?

For those of you who rise early on Mondays, fear not, we’re opening doors at 7PM @ DAN’S SILVERLEAF.  Chris Flemmons of the mighty Baptist Generals plays at 8PM, which is a rare treat.  The Slow Burners play at 9PM, Boxcar Bandits at 10PM, and Sarah Jaffe at 11PM.  You could pay a bunch of money to see Sarah at Austin City Limits, or you could catch her here for a mere $5 (if you bike to the show).  

Other highlights are free bike valet parking, free bikes raffled away, cheap tires and parts, raffled parts from local bike shops, and bake sale goods.  We’ll have new silkscreened QCBS shirts and posters, and we should have a few bikes for sale.  

All of the proceeds will help us buy tools, tires, tubes, chains, workstands, and hopefully a permanent residence (aka not a backyard).

We’re happy to report a few things about shop days:

1. They’re growing.  There has been a steady stream of new folks seeking repair education every weekend.  
2. We bought our first complete professional Park Tool set.  It’s not quite everything under the sun, but it’s a good start.
3. We have work tables to set tools and parts on.  One for each stand!  Oh the luxury. 
4. We’ve spent a lot of recent time organizing the bicycle inventory.  Now we have general sections for junk/art, need much work, need little work, and complete.  Complete bikes can end up as Green Bikes, bikes for sale (TBA), or to give to children through outreach to local schools.  
5. We have tons of work to do: disassembly, repair, inventory organization, newcomer greeting, etc.  If you’re interested, stop by on Sundays from 4-6:30 PM.  900 block of Hickory, behind the house with bicycle wheels hanging from the front porch. 

This photo shows exactly what we love to see at a Querencia community ride (first saturday every month).  People helping people learning how to repair bikes.  This was probably 8 miles into a 10 mile trip through beautiful West Denton country, near the airport.

Justin, John, Sunny. FreeSpirit townie flat repair.

Join the Denton community at this year’s annual Redbud Festival, this Saturday, 10am-4pm @ Denton Civic Center Park. It’s free. 

Participating Denton locals and organizations:

• Peace Kitchen Vegan Food
• Querencia Community Bike Shop
• Kids Crafts from What’s Your Tree
• Cardo’s Organic Sprout Farm: herbs and vegetables
• Life Botanica: native and edible landscapes
• Native Plant Society of Texas: plant sale

Ride your bike, and bring your friends and family. We’d love to see you there!

DCTA Public Meeting
Fred Moore High School Gym
815 Cross Timber St
Denton, TX 76205

Near the intersection of Robertson St. and Morse St.

Tuesday, 6:30 PM, Denton County Transit Authority is holding a public hearing regarding the A-Train, the commuter rail line that is coming to Denton next year! The A-Train will connect DART Rail in Carrollton to Lewisville and Denton, and it will follow the path of the Rail Trail.

For those that don’t know, the Rail Trail is a walking and cycling path converted from an old railroad line that connects downtown Denton (4 blocks from the Square, 2 blocks from Dan’s, and 1 block from Rubbergloves Rehearsal Studio) with the shopping centers on Loop 288 (Target, Best Buy, Kroger, etc.) and continues on to Corinth, passing NCTC’s campus and running to Swisher Road. It is a scenic route that runs through wooded areas on the south side of Denton and Corinth.

Just think, in 2010 you’ll be able to cycle to the train station a few blocks off the Square and catch a train to downtown Dallas, Lower Greenville, the Arts District, or the Airport. Students will be able to get from UNT Denton to UNT Dallas without driving and catch up on some studying on the way.

Come out and learn more about the DCTA and the A Train, and what the impact to the Rail Trail will be. Be sure to bring your questions about the commuter rail and the cycling path.

Google maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=815+cross+timber+st&sll=33.206485,-97.126849&sspn=0.003429,0.005338&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=17

The meeting announcement:
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_DCTA_shares_0306.b2c0482.html

The Rail Trail:
http://www.cityofdenton.com/pages/parksrailtrail.cfm

Due to the super exciting music event this weekend, NX35, we’ll be canceling our standard collective council meeting at Banter this Sunday.  NX35 will have bands playing at Banter and all the venues downtown, so stop by and support these friends of Querencia.  It’s a beautifully bike-able event, with daytime panels at the civic center and music every day and night. 

Shop will tentatively be open, so look for the wheels hanging on the fence and porch at the Hickory shop location, which will indicate if shop day is on. 

Enjoy any of the following which apply to you:

• NX35
• spring break
• any old reason to ride
• SXSW
• cookies
• hummus