[SDCBC] "Bicycle Kitchen" a cool idea.

[Jim Baross]

Something that LA has that we don't... 
http://www.laweekly.com/best-of-la-2006/bicycle-built-by-you/14663/

Bicycle Built by You

Best bike shop that’s not a bike shop
By RYAN VAILLANCOURT

Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - 3:00 pm
“The Bicycle Kitchen is not a bike shop,” says 
Joshua Moody, one of the roughly 40 mechanics, or 
“cooks,” who volunteer there twice a week. It’s a 
Tuesday night around 6:30 when Moody unlocks the 
door to the Bicycle Kitchen, which is housed in a 
small storefront on Heliotrope Drive near L.A. 
City College. When the door opens, he runs 
straight into a wall of beat-up bicycle bones. 
Used bikes, some ready to ride, others mere 
frames, are packed tightly from front to back. A 
few patrons are here early and they help Moody 
and some volunteers with the nightly routine of 
unloading the bikes from the Kitchen and lining 
them up on the sidewalk. There are about 60 used 
bikes in all. “Believe it or not, we’re really running low,” says Moody.

That’s a good thing for a nonprofit organization, 
run entirely by volunteers, whose mission is to 
get drivers out of their cars and onto a bike. 
The shortage of supply means that demand is high 
and business is good. Once the Bicycle Kitchen is 
cleared out, it quickly fills back up, this time 
with people. The Kitchen opens at 6:30 on 
weeknights, and by 7:30, it can be tough to 
squeeze you and your bike into one of the 
makeshift workstations, each of which is equipped 
with a stand and easy tool access. If this sounds 
too hard-core, well, that’s how it can feel at 
first glance for timid rookie cyclists. But at 
the Bicycle Kitchen, “education is key,” says 
Moody, and the intimidation factor disintegrates as soon as you ask a question.

Keith Gretlein was a newcomer once. “I was never 
a bike guy,” says Gretlein, who was finally 
driven to bikes by the daily torment of traffic. 
Gretlein went to a few local shops but they were 
“unfriendly” experiences that left him sour and 
bikeless for weeks. “They talked down to me and 
tried to sell me something I probably didn’t 
need,” he says. Enter the Bicycle Kitchen, where 
the sales-pitch ethos that makes some bike shops 
feel like car dealerships is nonexistent.

At the Bicycle Kitchen, the volunteer workers 
hand patrons the tools — they’ll tell you how to 
fix your bike, but won’t fix it for you. Monday 
nights, dubbed “Bicycle Bitchen,” are strictly 
women only — female cooks work with other female 
riders. “Bitchen,” along with the youth-focused 
“Earn-A-Bike” program, are outreach projects at 
the Bicycle Kitchen geared toward education and 
community outreach. The only thing they’re trying 
to sell is an idea. Get a bike, learn how to fix it, and love the lifestyle.

Taking a break from the nightly bustle inside the 
Kitchen, Moody stands outside nursing a bottle of 
Perrier. He finds fulfillment in helping 
car-attached Angelenos rediscover bicycles. 
“People come in and they’re miserable,” he says, “and they make me miserable.”

“So, what keeps you coming back?” I ask.

“I came to Los Angeles to make money and I’m 
doing that,” he says, “but it’s in my nature to want to help people.”

The Bicycle Kitchen 706 Heliotrope Dr., L.A., (323) 662-2776