MANIFESTING THE DREAM
Hi! I'm Ethan. I am a transgender person and a community bike mechanic in Oakland, CA. I started Rad Bikes in 2009 as mechanics service inspired by affordability and the dream of skill-sharing, with a focus on catering to other queer and trans cyclist. Here is a dorky picture of me on a bike camping trip---> I started fixing bikes in 2008, and opened up Rad Bikes in 2009. I learned much of my mechanics skills by tinkering on old bikes in my friend´s garage and volunteering at Cycles of Change. In order to improve my skills, I went to Boston, MA where I enrolled in an advanced mechanics apprenticeship at a bike advocacy organization called Bikes Not Bombs. At Bikes Not Bombs, I became obsessed with simple machines, polylube, sustainable transportation, and transportation justice and wanted to combine these ideas with my anti-capitalist practices (I hope to write more about these topics eventually!). When I arrived back in Oakland, sharing my knowledge of bicycles became a fun, healthy way of providing a valuable service to my community. As a cyclist and mechanic, I often feel frustrated that the biking world caters to folks with money and overlooks the needs of low-income cyclists. Through this endeavor, I hope to be an accessible resource to those who might not otherwise ride bikes or afford repairs. <3 <3 <3 |