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Playa Bike Repair 2023 - Instagram Reel

Playa Bike Repair 2023 - Instagram Reel

July 10, 2023

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Loren Geller (@lorengeller)

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What makes a great Burning Man Bike?

What makes a great Burning Man Bike?

February 14, 2019

A great story, about bikes, bike riding, and Burning Man.  
By Melissa Williams, and the crew at Playa Bike Repair.

You can read the full expert here:
https://journal.burningman.org/2018/08/black-rock-city/survive-and-thrive/happy-together-bicycles-and-burning-man/

Or just scroll down ...


Happy Together: Bicycles and Burning Man

August 6, 2018
By Playa Bike Repair

Remember the freedom and adventure your bike gave you as a kid? Having a bicycle at Burning Man gives you those feelings x 10. Black Rock City is now more than 8 square miles, so a bike is pretty much a necessity for your overall enjoyment, unless you plan to embrace your introvert tendencies and just hang out at your camp. With more than 90% of Burners getting around by bicycle, Black Rock City is the most bike-friendly city in the world.

But a bike is more than just transportation, it’s an experience all on its own. Imagine biking across the playa, the wind in your face, dancing on your pedals to music you hear as you bike past the camps. A speck on the horizon transforms itself into an amazing piece of art as you get closer, and then finally arrive. You ride your bike around the art, seemingly the largest sculpture you’ve ever seen. At night, cruising past spectacular illuminated art and lights and mutant vehicles is an experience you won’t get elsewhere and your bike doesn’t just transport you on your journey; it enhances it.

What Kind of Bike Should You Bring?

Most importantly, you need to bring a bike that can make it through a test ride back home. It’s best to find a used bike that you can decorate and adorn with lights that you’ll clean up and store along with your gear for the next Burn. If you can’t swing a dedicated bike for the Burn, that’s okay – just be warned that the desert will be hard on your bike, so don’t bring your $4000 bike, and plan on extensive playa dust clean up and care to halt corrosive effects.

Bikes can be divided into categories: beach cruiser, hybrid, mountain, or road. The majority of bikes on the playa are beach cruisers and mountain bikes, followed by hybrids. The playa surface can be uneven, rutted, or deep and soft. Don’t bring a road bike to the playa. (In most cases, the tires are too narrow for the playa conditions). People choose cruisers because they like the style, simplicity, and sitting upright. Mountain bikes and hybrids tend to be lighter and better for long distances and heavy loads.

(Photo by Karen T. Johnson)

What to Look For

Keep in mind that playa dust is hard on cables and cable housings. Many veteran bike enthusiasts suggest it’s wise to avoid brake or gear systems that use cables. While you do not necessarily need multiple gears for the flat playa surface, if you want those gears for a nicer ride, consider minimizing the amount of cables involved. Wheels with 3 speed internal hubs offer the best of both worlds.

Shocks in general are bad. Well, they’re great on your $3,000 mountain bike, because they are real shocks. In contrast, the shocks on cheaper bikes will fill with playa dust and freeze, making them about as useless as glitter.

Don’t be fooled! Unfortunately, department and big box stores love to sell mountain bikes that look like high end bikes, with fancy gears and shocks, for about $100. Unfortunately, the components are awful, and the people assembling the bikes are either poorly trained or not trained at all; hard to tell. The vast majority of bikes we see at the repair camps are department store bikes with gears. Most of them don’t even last the week!

To summarize, you’re given a choice between:
a) New $100 beach cruiser
b) New $100 3-speed cruiser
c) Used $100 bike (cruiser, mountain or hybrid) that was at least $500 when new
d) New $100 big box or department store bike with gears, front and rear shocks (Roadmaster, Huffy, Pacific, etc.)

You take A, B, or C. Absolutely NOT “D”, as in “Department Store Bike with Gears.” In fact, we made it option “D,” so you’d remember it as a failing grade. Cheap bikes with gears are so bad, we should have made them option F. Avoid at all costs. Even if it’s free, avoid it.

Playa Bike Repair (Photo by Mika Gurovich)

Finding a Playa Bike

Re-use is best. Start looking on your local Craigslist and Burner community Facebook pages for a used cruiser or mountain bike with good tires. Also put it out to the universe that you’re looking – you’d be surprised how many people find their playa bike through word of mouth; Burners help Burners. Also ask if your local bike shop has consignment services.

No luck near home? Reno Bike Project (RBP) sells recycled bikes intended for the playa starting at $60. These bikes have at least one gear, one brake, and tight bearing surfaces. RBP also offers a full range of accessories and services, including last minute repairs for people rolling through Reno and bike assembly for people who want to ship their bike to Reno. Kiwanis Bike Program in Reno has affordable bicycles for purchase as does Black Rock Bicycles, operated by Burners. Here is a rundown of bike shops local to Black Rock City and Reno that specialize in Burner bikes and services.

Try to avoid getting a cheap-in-every-way new bike from one of the big box stores that might barely last the Burn and then end up in the landfill. Consumption and waste is hard on this planet.

Playa Bike Repair (Photo by Nathalie Criou)

You can also rent a bike for the Burn. Playa Bike Repair has rental bikes available that you reserve ahead, online, and then pick up at their camp when you arrive in Black Rock City. Besides the convenience of not having to prep, tune, pack, and then de-playa your bike, you can feel good about the fact that your rental fee helps pay for free repair service and parts – PBR repairs more than 4,000 bikes each year at Burning Man. Reserve early: the prices go up in tiers as the event approaches.

Hammer and Cyclery is another on playa rental and repair organization. They also operate “More Than a Bicycle,” a nonprofit that repairs and sends donated bikes to Gambia, Nigeria and Togo Africa to provide affordable transportation options to those in need.

Just eight miles from the playa Burner Bikes LLC rents bikes at affordable rates, but reserve ahead because they do run out. For information, email them at burnerbikesllc@icloud.com.

Essentials for Your Bike

1. Lights: Putting a light on your bicycle is crucial for safe travel after dark. (Civic Responsibility) Being a “dark wad” while you’re walking at night is mostly dangerous for you. But if you’re on a bike at night without lights, you are a hazard to everyone(walkers, bikers, and cars). At a minimum, put a light on the front of your bike and reflectors on the wheels and back. Consider adding a colored string of luminosity or two. They not only enhance the experience of others but can help friends find you and help you find your bike in the sea of them outside after Tyco plays. If you lose your bike light or the battery dies, ride with your headlamp (another mandatory item).

2. Lock: Bring a combination lock and cable and lock your bike whenever you’re not on it. It’s a sad but true reality that bikes are commonly stolen in Black Rock City, especially around the port-a-potties. You may feel like a jerk locking a bike outside a friend’s camp to stop in for a drink, but it will give you peace of mind and at the very least, the lock will stop someone from unwittingly taking the wrong bike. It’s almost impossible to get a replacement bike on the playa, so if you lose your bike, you can literally be left in the dust by your friends on bikes for the rest of the Burn. 90% of bikes stolen were not locked. Hence, the saying: “If your bike is not locked, it’s not your bike.”

A much less effective transportation option if your bike is stolen. (Photo by Jessica Pine)

3. Functionality: Test out your bike before you come to the playa. (Radical Self-Reliance) Make sure that your brakes work (or at least one) and that your tires aren’t brittle, aren’t cracked on the sidewall, and hold air. It’s a lot easier to fix your bike at home than in the middle of the desert. There are very few repair camps at Burning Man, the lines are long, and their parts are extremely limited (some don’t have any parts at all). Furthermore, while the volunteer mechanics enjoy helping people, they have neither love nor tolerance for Burners who show up on the first day with a broken bike that was obviously broken pre-Burn.

4. Extra Inner Tubes: Even if you’re not doing tricks on the Bike Course, flat tires happen and will cripple your bike. Bring extra inner tubes in your size (this is particularly key if you have a non-standard wheel size), basic tools, and know how to change your tire. Yes, you probably can get help, and yes, some of the bike repair camps could patch it and may carry tubes, but they almost always run out of the most popular tube size and don’t always carry the odd ones (that especially includes kids bikes, trikes, tandems, fat tires, etc).

5. Identification: Make it possible for your bike to be returned to you if taken, mistakenly or otherwise. Put your name, camp, playa address, and email address on a luggage tag or on paper and tape it to the bike. If it’s your own bike, use a sharpie, and write on the frame.

Cruising on Art

Everyone is an artist and can contribute to making Black Rock City beautiful. (Radical Self-Expression) Participate in the BRC art scene by decorating your bike. Your bike can become a mobile sculpture or can show off your kooky personality. Use your imagination – anything goes as long as it’s not moop fodder. An added bonus of a unique bike is that it will be easy to find in the rows of racks (especially at night if you incorporate lights in the design) and will be easily identifiable if it does get taken, therefore, more likely to be spotted and returned to you.

Phoenicopterus Rex by Josh Zubkoff (Photo by Mika Gurovich)

Improving Your Bike

  • Get a basket, or rear rack. We prefer to carry all our belongings in a pack, because when we arrive at a camp, we can simply lock the bike, grab the pack and go. A milk crate on a rear rack is great for transporting your pack (bungees across the top make it extra secure) and for your ice runs to Arctica.
  • Put a tennis ball on your kickstand. Make a little hole in a tennis ball and put it on the end of your kickstand to keep your bike from falling over.
  • Swap out the seat. Chances are that the seat that came with your bike isn’t the most comfy. Don’t be embarrassed—your cycling friends won’t judge you on the playa. Improve your riding experience and get a cushy seat. (Tip: Fur looks really cool on a bike, but causes extreme chafing with bare legs on a seat; you might want to skip the fur on the seat.)
  • Get a bell or horn. Don’t use it to be annoying, but there are plenty of times that you want to alert someone that you are approaching or warn them. Safety first (and second and third).

Burning Man’s Community Bike Program

If you’re looking for a one way ride, Black Rock Community Transit runs and operates the Yellow Bike Program. (The bikes are actually bright green but about as yellow a green as you can get without actually being yellow). Yellow Bike builds 1,000 bicycles every year and deploys them for free use for all on the playa. You can identify the bikes by their green/yellow color and they also have “YELLOW BIKE” stenciled on them.

Yellow Bike fleet (Photo by Black Rock Community Transit)

Community bikes are meant for everyone to share and are for short rides only. Yellow Bike rides are just a one-way guarantee and must be placed in a visible, common public place where they can easily be found, and never brought into your camp or locked (your lock will be cut off). It takes a Communal Effort to keep this great program going. Here are more rules about using Yellow Bikes.

Leave No Trace

Don’t leave your bike behind when you strike your camp – a bike is a big trace. Last year 3,754 bicycles were abandoned on the playa after the Burn, causing weeks of additional work for Black Rock Community Transit and others. If your bike is in good shape but you don’t want to take it home, Hammer & Cyclery operates a donation station near the exit. There are numerous other donation stations in Lovelock, Fernley, Sparks and Reno that can reuse your bike for sale or parts, many benefiting charities. Whatever you do, don’t abandon a bike in Black Rock City.

Keep Up the Bike Love

We often hear that people have so much fun biking at Burning Man that they go home and take up biking again or become more active in their local biking community. Biking reduces your carbon footprint and can improve health and happiness. Bring the camaraderie and bike love you get from the Burn home with you to the streets, paths, and trails where you live the rest of the year.

Goldie runs Taxi Camp at the Burn and organizes free group rides in Reno. (Photo by Rob Spear)

Top photo: Sonic Runway by Rob Jensen and Warren Trezevant (Photo by Nathalie Criou)



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I was a Bike Repairman at Burning Man, by Marek Musil

I was a Bike Repairman at Burning Man, by Marek Musil

February 14, 2019

A beautiful story by PBR campmate Marek Musil, from Czech Republic.  Read about his experiences in our camp here

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Playa Bike Repair is pleased to announce our support for the following artists ...

Playa Bike Repair is pleased to announce our support for the following artists ...

July 27, 2018

PLAYA BIKE REPAIR is pleased to announce our support for the following artists; we are supplying the flat bed trailers, to transport their projects to the playa.



Artist: Jakob Lange:  
THE ORB, aka "The Disco Ball," is a reflective, 1:500,000 scale representation of the Earth that will have a diameter of 83 feet. It comes from Spain, weighs 30-tons, and requires six 45' flat bed trailers for transport.


Artist: Lu Ming
DESERT GUARD
is Mongolian steel warrior, coming all the way from China’s Gobi Desert in two containers. It is 15m high and 12 metric tons.

Artist: Michael Emery
EYE ROBOT is being built in Reno, and is 15' tall x 10' wide. The large oculus is framed handmade glass, with a rotating spotlight. It will be featured as the Center Camp Archway installation.

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Electric Bikes at Burning Man

Electric Bikes at Burning Man

July 21, 2018

Mika Gurovich took an electric bike to Burning Man, and made a sensational video about her experience.



You can watch/share it on Facebook here.






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Today is International Women's Day.

Today is International Women's Day.

April 03, 2018

Today is International Women's day. This album is a tribute to the talented women in Playa Bike Repair. The bike industry is 90% male. In contrast, PBR is nearly 50/50, and most leadership positions are held by women. Thank you for making PBR a special place.

See the full gallery here.

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Our favorite pictures from 2015

Our favorite pictures from 2015

August 09, 2016

We had an amazing time at Burning Man 2015 and we cannot wait to be in the Playa again. Here are some of our favorite pictures. Enjoy!

Playa Bike Repair red cape

All campmates

Panoramic PBR

Camp at Playa Bike Repair

Campmates

Thank you, Natalie Benesova (http://www.nataliebenesova.com) for some of these amazing pictures!

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What makes Playa Bike Repair AMAZING?!

What makes Playa Bike Repair AMAZING?!

March 23, 2016

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The Best of Burning Man - Playa Bike Repair

The Best of Burning Man - Playa Bike Repair

August 20, 2015

The story of "Playa Bike Repair," published on BurningMan.com. 

For a great read, about Burning Man, and our camp, please click here:


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The Story of Playa Bike Repair ... on Africa Burn

The Story of Playa Bike Repair ... on Africa Burn

August 02, 2014

In 2010, I met a girl named Coco at Burning Man. Coco had flown from Paris to Black Rock City, and then sauntered into our camp. I was sitting on a mattress when she arrived.

“Hi, I’m Coco,” she said. Noticing the mattress, she continued, “Is this a real mattress?”

People talk about a lot of odd things at Burning Man (i.e., art, camping, music, and sex) but as far back as I can remember no girl ever started a conversation with me by asking about my mattress. Yet, it was definitely happening now.

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How I got mugged using Craig's List

How I got mugged using Craig's List

July 26, 2014

I run a bike camp at Burning Man, called Playa Bike Repair (www.PlayaBikeRepair.com).
We need to buy a welder. So ...

11 AM, I posted an ad on Craig's list. "Wanted: MIG Welder, 220 Volt."
4 PM: Text received. "I have a Millermatic 211. My late husband left it to me, and I'm not a welder. I’d like it to go to someone who can use it. Call you at 6."
6 PM: The seller, a very nice woman, called and agreed to meet at a shopping mall in Pittsburg, CA at 8:30 pm.
8:30 PM: I let the seller know I was parked in front of Chase bank. She said she was on the way. I waited. A woman and her son got out of a car, and walked to the ATM. The boy, 7, followed, waving a toy gun. "That's kinda odd," I thought, but not the seller. A bit later, a white SUV parked nearby, and I thought it might be the seller, but no one from that car engaged me either. I sent a few more texts to the seller. No answer.
9:15 PM: I finally received a text. "Very sorry; phone died; car won't start, and I'm not comfortable inviting someone I met c/o Craig's to my home."
9:20 PM: I called, explained I'd driven an hour to get to Pittsburg I needed the welder by morning. She could take a taxi to the mall, and I’d pay for it. Or invite a friend over. Heck, invite the police over. She said she'd think about it and let me know.
9:30 PM: Text received: "788 Wedgwood, Pittsburg. Text when you are close and I'll meet you outside."
10:00 PM: I arrived at the destination; a nice, suburban neighborhood. Nothing unusual, and yet, my intuition told me something was weird. A young woman was walking a dog. I thought about asking her if she knew the people at 788 Wedgwood, prior to going inside, then decided to instead send a text to a friend, and let him/her know I was not entirely comfortable with my situation.

I was thinking about whom I might text, when I was interrupted by a knock on the passenger window. It was the dog walker. Her blond hair was pulled behind her head, in a ponytail. 25. Very Cute. She invited me to step outside, so I did. Once I was on her side of the car, I noticed a leash in her hand, which lead to a pit bull. Not so cute.

Woman: "Loren?"
Me: "Yes."
Woman: "Sorry, I wanted to check you out before taking you to my house. I mean, it's Craig's list and all. My kids are there. My house is actually two blocks away, up the street." She was extremely nice, and very pleasant. But her pit bull growled at me, and I stepped away.
Loren: "Sorry. "I'm afraid of dogs. That breed in particular."
Woman: "Oh, he's harmless. He's a shelter dog. I mean, someone left him at my house. Anyway, my house is ahead. Park behind my car, at the stop sign." I got back in my car, and drove toward the stop sign. The seller followed on foot, walking with her pit bull.

At that moment, I had a flashback, to when I was 17, and walking in Amsterdam. In that instance, I walked off my map, and asked a woman for directions. The woman replied, "It's not safe here. Walk with me." Eventually she led me into a dead end alley, pushed me into a doorway, and held a 6" knife to my throat. I'd been lead into a trap. A man demanded my wallet. I handed it over, and they fled (with an empty wallet cause I'm good like that...)

Back in Pittsburg ...

When I reached the seller's car, rather than park behind it, I slowed and looked in my rear view mirror. I'd been in the 'hood nearly 30 minutes and hadn't seen a single car. But at that moment, two cars rounded the corner, at the same time, and were approaching me from the rear. Odd, I thought. I rolled thru the stop, as if I'd seen neither her car nor the stop, and turned left. A third car was approaching from the front. It was a trap. I was going to get mugged. Or worse. Maybe a lot worse.

I shifted my VW into gear. I dogged the oncoming car, then made a bunch of quick turns, hoping to lose the the front car before it could make a u-turn, and the rear cars before they rounded the corner. It didn't work. When I looked in my rear mirror, and all three cars were chasing me at 85+ mph. I continued to make random turns, praying none of them lead to a dead end. (There were many).

When we hit the main drag, we were doing 100+ mph. I passed through at least 20 intersections, and no one slowed, even at the red lights. If anything we went a little faster thru each one, with me hoping to attract the attention of the police, and the thieves hoping for something else. In my left mirror, I could see the white SUV, presumably the same one that I'd seen at the bank (where I got the cash, and they confirmed I was alone.)

At the next straight away, I called 911 and my phone went into a weird mode. The screen turned an ugly gray. Like the "sad mac" error of yesterday. Unbelievable. Maybe I already died? I had a dream once that there were lots of phones in heaven but none of them worked. I restarted, and re-dialed.

"Three cars are chasing me at top speed."
"Are they still chasing you?"
"Yes!"
"Don't stop."
"Well, um, okay."
"Where are you?"
I read the dispatcher the names of intersections as they flew past, then said, "I have an iPhone. Would you like me to give you my log in?"
"We don't have that technology." I was puzzled. I'd tracked stolen phones. How could 911 not see mine?

Then, as rapidly as the cars appeared, they vanished. 911 was still on the phone. The operator suggested I drive to the police station, so I did. Twenty minutes later, an officer questioned me.

Cop: ""You were set up."
Loren: "She seemed really nice. Perhaps I was being paranoid?"
Cop: "No, they planned to rob you."
Loren: "How can you be sure?
Cop: "We get reports exactly like yours all the time. Especially Craig's list. You did the right thing."
Loren: "Really? I always use Craig's list. No problem."
Cop: "Well, you're lucky. This time, you could have been shot."
Loren: "Do you want the address? Or phone numbers?"
Cop: "All fake. Forget it. Don't use Craig's List."

A bit later, I received a text from the seller. "What.was.that.about?"
I didn't answer.

And I still need a MIG 220V Welder

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Advice for Theme Camp Managers (new and seasoned).

Advice for Theme Camp Managers (new and seasoned).

February 23, 2014

Playa Bike Repair was recently asked to participate in a forum about Theme Camps.  Afterward, we were asked to put our advice in an email, so that it could be forwarded to the participants.  This is what I wrote ...

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