Local cycling enthusiasts hope to create a more welcoming, fun and less intimidating atmosphere for new riders wishing to learn basic bicycle maintenance.
"Bike shops for years have had a reputation for being less than welcoming to people who are new," said Anne Duggan, volunteer for the Iowa City Bike Library. "I think our bike shops in Iowa City and the area are all quite welcoming. Many of them have women staff, but people just get intimidated."
And now the Iowa City Bike Library will offer a series of informational sessions, Wheely Fun Shop Nights, to anyone wanting to learn the skills to fix and maintain their bikes in a women-led, well-equipped space from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month. The semimonthly sessions will focus on a specific topic led by "roll models" — local female mechanics and cycling enthusiasts.
"When you get into the adult bicycles with multiple chain rings, lots of gears and disc brakes, things seem really complicated," said Duggan, who also is the Wheely Fun Night coordinator. "So we're just trying to give people a chance to just learn whatever they want to learn about their bicycle."
The Bike Library — which just celebrated 10 years in early May — is a volunteer-run community bike project that repairs donated bikes and checks them out to the public.
Duggan, 60, who also is an adjunct professor for the University of Iowa School of Journalism, said she came back into cycling about seven years ago and now is a year-round cyclist.
"I definitely prefer to bike downtown for any errands or appointments," she said. "I do all of my shopping by bicycle. I like to just see what I can do by bicycle."
Participants will be able to work on their own bikes at the library's shop during the session, as well.
"The Bike Library has a wonderfully equipped shop space," Duggan said. "We have four work benches and then six stands that you can put bicycles on. So then people can just bring in their own bikes. They can watch somebody else work on something but then they can work on their own bikes."
The topics will all be good things to know and do that new riders may not have learned yet, she added.
"It's a wonderful space that people can work in and then when you've got somebody patiently explaining how to do things, it makes a huge difference," Duggan said. "We're looking to get as many people on bicycles as we can and to be comfortable with their bicycles."