Recycle. Reclaim. Empower.
Every year Flying Penguin generously hosts a Bike Drive for Key City Bike.
Check it out and stop by to make a donation!
We are so excited to announce the Key City Bike GRAND OPENING in our new location! Please join us in celebration as we officially open the doors at 204 E Vine St. in Old Town Mankato.
Saturday, May 12th from 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Stop down with the family for a day of music, fun, food and bikes!
Guided shop tours with info about volunteering and what we do at Key City Bike every half hour with our Executive Director, Acacia.
Free Bike Inspections – BYOB! Bring your own BIKE!
Music by Bee Balm Fields from 2:00- 4:00pm
Music by The Snaps – Jazz Sextet from 4:00-6:00pm
Pizza fundraiser from 4:00-5:30pm with the Bentley McGowan Wagomobile sponsored by Elaine Buhs – JBeal Real Estate Group. Enjoy a slice of pizza and a soda for $5 and all proceeds go to Key City Bike!
Thank you to our Grand Opening Sponsors!
It’s time for the Annual Member Meeting and you’re invited! This meeting is open to the public and Key City Bike Members. KCB is member-controlled and we need your voices and your votes! Join us as we recap (and celebrate!) the 2017 season and share our ideas and hopes for 2018.
Check out our Annual Report by following this link: 2017 KCB Annual Report
The meeting will take place at The Eagle’s Club Ballroom located at 708 N Riverfront Drive.
Meeting Agenda –
6:30-7:00pm Membership registration** and social
7:00 -8:00pm Voting, 2017 Accomplishments, 2018 Goals, Site Visit
We will be voting to accept two new board members;
Joe Madson, Member at Large
David Sieberg, Treasurer
There are additional open positions on the board if you are interested in getting involved. Please email toddskitchen@keycitybike.org with your letter of interest by March 21 to be considered for the voting ballot. Board meetings take place the 2nd Monday each month at 8pm.
This year, KCB Board Members and volunteers screen-printed the member t-shirts by hand to support our friends at the Mankato Makerspace. These are one of a kind t-shirts made with lots of love!
**Membership is open to everyone. Each member receives a t-shirt with their annual renewal or first time membership, as well as, a vote at the member meeting.
To become a member:
• First year – $25 one time investment
• After that – $20 annual voting membership
Becoming a member of Key City Bike means you believe in our mission to Recycle, Reclaim, Empower! Membership is one of our main sources of funding. Your support helps keep the lights on and the bikes rolling.
Key City Bike is run completely by volunteers. Sweeping, scrapping, hauling, fixing, organizing, inventory, teaching, bookkeeping, outreach, fundraising, providing customer service; you name it, at Key City Bike it’s done by a volunteer.
Why volunteer at a community bike space?
It’s an awesome way to give back to your community.
You’ll learn about bikes; maintenance, mechanic skills, bike culture and safety.
To gain experience in nonprofit work.
To support environmental sustainability.
To fulfill school or community service requirements.
To meet new friends.
Do I have to volunteer to use the shop?
Not at all! During open shop hours the shop is open to anyone who would like to use the space and tools to work on their own bike.
How do I track hours?
Once you have signed up at the shop to be a volunteer, you will log in using your telephone number and hours are tracked through our software program.
Why track hours?
Tracking volunteer hours helps Key City Bike obtain funding for grants.
Volunteer hours can be reported to employers, schools, and probation officers.
Some volunteers choose to participate in the Earn-a-Bike Program. In the Earn-a-Bike Program hours are exchanged for credits towards a refurbished bike.
Key City Bike also offers a Volunteer Purchase Program, currently being revised. Details will be shared soon!
How do I sign up to volunteer?
The first time you volunteer, just show up! We will get you signed up and put you to work. If you are under the age of 14, you will need to have a parent sign a waiver and be present with you while you volunteer. If you are 14 – 17, you will need to bring a parent for your first time to meet our Lead Volunteer and to sign a waiver. 18+ need to sign a waiver before starting to volunteer. Volunteer Orientation takes place every Wednesday at 6:00pm.
After that first time volunteering, you will use Signup.com to sign up. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.
What if I can’t volunteer for the entire shift?
General Volunteers can volunteer for any amount of time that works for them. Sign up through the link and leave a comment including the time frame you plan to volunteer. Sign up HERE.
Greeter – greet people as they enter KCB, help new volunteers get registered in our system, assure volunteers get signed in, introduce volunteers to the Lead Volunteer in the shop, give tours of the shop and direct customers looking for parts and bikes to the “retail areas”, assist with office duties (filing waivers, organizing merchandise, general cleaning, etc).
We need at least one greeter per shift. (Wednesdays 5:30-8:30pm, Saturdays 2:00 – 6:00pm). Sign up HERE.
Age Requirements: 18+ with a signed waiver
General Volunteers – assist with tasks assigned by the lead volunteer. These tasks are to keep the shop running but are also meant to empower people through learning about bikes. Tasks include scrapping, repairing retail bikes, cleaning bikes, organizing and labeling parts, etc.
We need all the general volunteers we can get! (Wednesdays 5:30-8:30pm, Saturdays 2:00 – 6:00pm). Sign up HERE.
Age Requirements: 14+ with signed waiver from parent, if under 14 must be accompanied by a parent
Lead Volunteers – help manage and train general volunteers, assist with sales of used parts and bikes, assist community members with bicycle repairs, organizing the space (sorting tires, labeling parts, sorting bikes, etc), open and close the shop.
We need at least 1 Lead Volunteer per shift. Lead Volunteers must complete training with the Executive Director before signing up for shifts. (Wednesdays 5:30-8:30pm, Saturdays 2:00 – 6:00pm). Email or visit with Acacia, our director, if you are interested – toddsktichen@keycitybike.org
Age Requirements: 18+ with signed waiver
Earn-a-Bike Lead Volunteer – help manage Earn-a-Bike (EAB) program participants: guide EAB participants through online registration, teach scrapping skills, tire changes, chain cleaning and lubrication, proper seat height, teach bike safety and rules of the road, maintain EAB folders with participants’ progress.
We need at least 1 lead volunteer, per 3 Earn-a-Bike participants. (Tuesdays 5:30-8:30pm). Email or visit with Acacia, our director, if you are interested – toddsktichen@keycitybike.org
Age Requirements: 18+ with signed waiver
FTW Lead Volunteers – Women, transgender, femme, two-spirited, non binary identifying volunteers to lead other FTW volunteers in bike repairs and camaraderie; assist with and teach bike mechanic skills, help with programming and events, open and close the shop.
We need at least 1 lead volunteer per shift. (Mondays 5:30-8:30) Email or visit with Acacia, our director, if you are interested – toddsktichen@keycitybike.org
Age Requirements: 18+ with signed waiver
Build Night Volunteers – mechanically inclined volunteers to help repair and prep bikes for sale.
We need all the volunteers we can get! (Mondays 8:30-11:00pm) No signup needed, just show up.
Age Requirement: 21+ with a signed waiver
Key City Bike has relocated to our new space at 204 E Vine St, Mankato, MN.
As we transition to managing a much larger space, we will be open with limited hours and services – starting February 21st, 2018.
The Grand Opening is scheduled for May 12th, 2018. At that time, we will have full service and additional open days and hours.
Sunday – CLOSED
Monday – WTF Night 5:30-8:30PM An evening dedicated to creating a welcoming space just for women, trans and gender non-conforming friends to introduce the empowering realm of bike mechanics. If you do not identify as women/trans/femme/non-binary/two-spirited, we ask you do not attend this event.
Monday – Build Night** 8:30-10:30PM Build night is for repair of our retail bikes. You must be 21+ with bike repair experience to attend this event. **No build night on the second Monday of each month
Tuesday – Earn-a-Bike Night 5:30-8:30PM If you are earning a bike through our Earn-a-Bike program, this is the evening you may accumulate credit for the program. This evening is for Earn-a-Bike participants only.
Wednesday – OPEN SHOP 5:30-8:30PM Come one, come all!
Thursday – CLOSED
Friday – CLOSED
Saturday – OPEN SHOP 2:00-6:00PM Come one, come all!
Key City Bike will be celebrating Valentine’s Day by offering our bike space as a pop-up courier agency dedicated to spreading love, appreciation and community spirit by bike!
From now until Monday, February 12th at 6pm, you can order a VELOtine by following this link or by stopping into the shop located at 204 E Vine St on Wednesday, Feb. 7th between 6pm-9pm.
How it works:
1. Submit your message
2. Recipients name
3. Delivery Location
On February 14th, our crew of bike couriers will deliver your note with a smile.
The message you send your sweetheart, friend, business, or nonprofit organization should be written by you. We will have the message typewritten by Mankato writer and typewriter enthusiast, Allen Tesch on linen paper and delivered by one of our bike love couriers with a chocolate rose.
Thanks go out to Allen Tesch for generously donating his time and talent for this event. Visit his website: www.allentesch.com or find him on Instagram
Bike delivery must be within 5 miles of downtown Mankato. Minimum suggested donation of $10 per VELOtine.
Ideas for notes for those of you who aren’t quick with a pen –
I wheelie like you, will you be my Velotine?
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, let’s take a ride on a bicycle built for two.
With this note, comes one free bike ride with yours truly (redeemable in warm weather, of course)
I’m head over handlebars for you.
You really turn my crank. Will you be my Valentine?
You’re the center of my wheel.
A $5000 grant has been awarded by the Mankato Area Foundation to Key City Bike for Board Governance Training and Strategic Planning.
“We are honored to be selected as grant recipients by the Mankato Area Foundation. We expect this project to make a huge impact on our leadership team and our community. We are proud of our accomplishments over the last year, and we can only imagine the impact we will have once we are equipped with the training and knowledge that we will be gaining through this grant funding.” Acacia Wytaske, Executive Director
Learn more about the Mankato Area Foundation and read the press release here: MAF Announces Grant Recipients.
We are thrilled to announce our Executive Director, Acacia Wytaske, has been selected as one of the recipients for the 2018 Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship!
Acacia will be attending a 2 week long Professional Repair and Shop Operations class in Ashland, Oregon at United Bicycle Institute (UBI). Learn more about this scholarship and the other recipients at this link: QBP Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship.
Huge thank you to QBP, UBI and the 2018 sponsors for recognizing the dedication of our Executive Director and investing in our community!
Key City Bike is hosting Mankato’s first CRANKSGIVING!
