Indiegogo -> Indiewentwent
It seems like just yesterday we were running around for the launch event, scrambling to prep the fundraiser, gathering the bikes, and getting ready to "go live" with everything.
The month of March then went right ahead and blasted by at Mach 3, leaving many of us wondering "how the heck is it already April?"
The arrival of April brought the end of our fundraiser. The final tally was $3,865 raised over 23 separate contributions. Personally, I am floored by that number, and so thankful to all of the backers. Again - thank you to everyone who contributed to the fundraiser. Here's a bit more about how we are going to use the money:
The (very aggressive) "goal" was $25k. That would have dusted off the operating expenses for 3 full months, including paying for rent in a nice spot downtown. However, in the ever-changing plot of The Bike Library Epic (bikepacking trip name?) there have been some twists and turns that make $3,865 pretty much exactly what we need.
See, this morning we went out to Lake Raleigh to scope out the parking lot at the base of Centennial Campus. We toured it with one of our contacts from NC State, who is heavily involved with community activation efforts at that campus. In May, we plan to place a shipping container on that lot, throw up an umbrella and a couple picnic tables, and host a little greenway shop. If you're unfamiliar with the area, here's an overhead image:
Yeah... we're pretty excited too. The header image on this article was taken from the base of rightmost pier, under the word "Creek."
In addition to renting out bikes, we'll have locally-made beverages like Jabin and The Left Hook on tap and bike accessories/CLIF bars/etc. available for purchase as well. Nice.
Who'll work the station, you ask? Well, we are talking with the faculty in the Parks & Rec department at NC State about how we can make this into an internship for the students. Incredible.
We're also planning to add Priority Bicycles to our existing State Bicycle lineup. Belt driven, internally geared goodness. Let's ride.
Your contributions will go directly to outfitting that shipping container, buying initial inventory, and setting us up to be Raleigh's first and only greenway bike rental shop. This will activate an underutilized part of Raleigh's beautiful greenway system, provide real-world startup exposure for NCSU students, and help get more people on bikes.
So, again: thank you for helping make this possible and for believing in The Bike Library. Can't wait to share more updates as we go.