Classes

Classes are a significant and reliable source of income for the Bike Kitchen. They're also a great way to learn teaching skills while helping to inspire self-sufficiency in newer cyclists.

Teaching

This space is for people to add their thoughts on subjects to teach, and pointers on how to teach them. i got nothin.

Class sales

Online: Most of our allotted class spots are sold through Brown Paper Tickets and we encourage members to sign up for a class this way whenever possible. CC's and Paypal are accepted through this site. The link to purchase a spot in an upcoming class is always available on the BK website.

In-shop purchase protocol: We do now offer the option to sign up in the shop, using a check or cash as payment. Patrons must pay for the class at the time of sign-up. They also must purchase a membership at that time if they are not already a member (The sliding scale for payment of our classes is below). If you sign a patron up for a class in the shop, please do the following before you leave the shop:

1. Go to the class page on www.brownpapertickets.com and check to see if there are still spots available for the class before selling a spot int he shop. The link to the curent class can be found on the Programs page of the BK website. 2. Go into Freehub and add the service "class" to their profile, and select "paid". Enter the class month and title in the description/text box. If this is not done then we have no real record of the member signing up for the class.

3. Send and email out the Yahoo group with "ED:" in the subject line, letting the person who is running the class know so that they can reduce the number of spots available online. This will prevent us from being overbooked and will allow the BK to provide focused attention to all students.

Class Fees (sliding scale): $40-$90 for members, $80-$130 for non-members (If a patron is not currently a member, they must pay within the $80-$130 scale. This includes a one year membership)

Setting up a class

Because we are in a period of transition for the Bike Kitchen, there tends to be a good deal of confusion around the topic of setting up a class. Like the shop, we have lots of resources lying around, but it's not always clear how to use those resources effectively. So, this is the basic timeline for teaching a class.

1. Volunteer to teach an upcoming class, whether at the mechanic's meetings or on the email list.
2. Check scheduling with the group, in order to make sure that your desired timeslot is available Rigel 17:40, 12 August 2008 (EDT)I will have a calendar up for this sort of thing soon, i hope
3. Set up ticketing on Brown Paper Tickets - The IT Coordinator (rigelc at-gmail-dot-com) can help you with this if you do not already know the login/password, and here is a brownpapertickets instructions page.
   • Unless you really want to have a go at writing your own copy for the class description, please feel free to browse the older class descriptions and use them in whole or in part, for your own.
4. Take the BPT link for your class, and email it to the following people, preferably with descriptions, and ask them politely to include them on the appropriate websites:
   • The bikekitchen website administrator (or IT coordinator)
   • calendar@sfbike.org
   • info@bikekitchen.org - jack, our guy who does the email, keeps a list of people who wish to be updated about new classes and whatnot, and we love him for it, even though he will soon enough be replaced by a soulless unfeeling robot.
5. Success!