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5/13/19

We have ten semi trailers in this camp. Ten. Semis. Full of bikes and camp supplies. They never end up in a caravan all together, but that idea just blows my mind. And we’re just one camp! I guess there are more than a thousand camps heading to Burning Man this year.

Still, to do Stars And Bikes this year, we need several more empty trailers and containers so that we can receive, sort, and remove more than a thousand bikes from the Playa. Last year we asked our supplier for four empty trailers. He said no.

That was a surprise. It was too close to Burning Man for him to find us those trailers. We rented the four we needed from another supplier at a much higher cost and we were able to process the bikes and get rid of the extra trailers in just a couple months.

This year, in March, we started asking for extra trailers. Our guy said to call back in a month. 31 days later I reached out again. Didn’t hear back. Two weeks later I sent an email. No response. Two more weeks and I reached out with a text. Nothing. Now we’re less than three months from Burning Man and we don’t have the trailers we need. We can’t operate Stars And Bikes without these.

Also, Happy birthday to my sister!



5/21/19

Still worrying about trailers. We’ve got another guy. WAY more expensive, but all inclusive.

My life basically consists of thinking of fantastical things, giggling, bringing those things to life, and then becoming bored with them. Once upon a time, imagining all of our comrades clad in red jumpsuits was a nearly impossible dream. Now it’s just a thing to check off the list during prep. (Even though it’s still awesome.)

Today’s dream is red shipping containers emblazoned with HAMMER AND CYCLERY and our logo.

This new guy also sells shipping containers.

Still hoping to hear back from our original trailer guy. I don’t want to have to raise more money and split our storage into different places. That will turn bike processing into a headache.



5/26/19

I finally got an email from our trailer guy. More accurately, I got an email from someone on his staff. They want to know if we’re going to Burning Man this year. Not a good sign. Still, it’s good to know that they’re not out of business.



5/30/19

Finally finished reviewing all of my notes from last year. Not that I’ve been doing this continually since Sept 3 of last year but it is a several week process that causes me to review the entirety of our operations.

The printed pages show the battle plan that I carry each day and how much on-the-fly adaptation is required. The little red notebook is for the things that I will want to do differently next year.





6/12/19

The new shower is done! Almost. The testing is complete. Everything works. Now we just need to build the stalls. But we should have two showers running hot water by Playa time.





6/16/19

Got an email from the Cycling Club of Central Pekham (near London) requesting permission to use our logo and imagery on their promotional materials and website.

How flattering is that!?

I politely declined. If our "name" became associated with a commercial endeavor (or even just a non-Burning Man event), it could jeopardize our Placement. Still, it would be cool to see our logo on a legit cycling jersey.



6/17/19

Amelia is getting a Hammer And Cyclery tattoo! This is even better than a cycling jersey!

Design is in the works. Does anybody know a good tattoo artist in Minneapolis?



6/18/19

Our 100 custom Sun Revolutions are arriving in LA this week! Can’t wait to see these. But they're over a month late. When the hell are we going to build these?



6/25/19
10:20am

Got attacked by dogs last night. Two of them. Very sweet, but they came running out of their fence gate and charged right at us (Elizabeth and Brie (our dog)). In the moment I could not tell if it was violence or playing, but there was lots of barking, hair everywhere, and Elizabeth was screaming the whole time.

I know you’re not supposed to get in between fighting dogs, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let them hurt each other (which didn’t happen). So it turned into three dogs and Seth rolling around in the grass while Elizabeth loudly shouted “No!” at us. We all ignored her.

I couldn’t get my hands on any two of them at the same time, so eventually I picked up one of the stranger dogs and hoped Brie and the other stranger dog would be okay until I got rid of this first dog. The dog I nabbed was probably a 40 pound pitbull and he/she immediately gave up. Like being held was WAY better than playing with other dogs.

I carried it back to its yard and closed it behind the gate. I turned around to rush back into the fray only to find the little dog standing at my feet looking up at me like it was his/her turn to be picked up. I scooped up the little dog (MAYBE seven pounds) and put him/her behind the gate as well. ELizabeth and Brie were nowhere to be seen.

Somewhere in the melee my glasses had come off and even I was shocked at how blind I was. I went back to where I thought the wrestling match had occurred and crawled around on the ground like a guy in a sitcom, feeling for my glasses. I really couldn't see the ground.

When I finally happened upon them I found the lenses had gotten scratched. I’ll need a new pair. But it immediately occurred to me that I have survived I don’t know how many years (and just as many Burns) with no backup glasses and that it wouldn’t take much to be in real trouble in Black Rock City.

Time to get a second pair.

Also, I took two days off to finish the postcards and a new banner. As a graphic artist, I would starve.










6/26/19

Incredible stress dream last night. It was the first day of setup. Half the shade was up, but we didn’t have any more. In the dream this meant that we couldn’t build the camp. Then someone asked where the shower equipment was and I realized we had forgotten to load the shower.

I was so shaken, I woke up. And I was so glad to be awake. And this stuff is not even the most terrible stuff that has happened to us. (Charley’s unscheduled flight to Reno was probably the worst.)

Banh mi for Build a Burner Bike tonight!



3:25pm

Sent another text to our trailer rental guy. Got an immediate response (finally). No trailers. Looks like we're buying. Ugh.

Seven weeks to Burning Man and no Stars And Bikes trailers. This is really going to hurt the budget.



8:43pm

Stars And Bikes got Placed!!!

After four years of applying, we finally got an official address set aside for us! Hopefully this will make life significantly easier than the Saturday night / Sunday morning scramble after the gate opens.



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Hammer And Cyclery and Re-Cycle, Inc share no official affiliations with Burning Man or Black Rock City, LLC.

2017





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Cleaning your bike after Burning Man

Mix up a solution of water and vinegar (half and half) and use a spray bottle to apply the mixture to your Playa bike (and anything else you want to use next year...or next week, like your lock). ...





HAMMER AND CYCLERY
(Playa address announced in July)
Open Daily 10:30am-5:30pm
Saturday Aug 29 - Monday Sept 7, 2020

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