Eight months ago the Office of Campus Sustainability and the SFUO Bike Coop were approached by a student named Isabel. She had seen these cool things on the internet called Fixtations. I have to admit they are pretty nifty little inventions. Essentially a Fixtation is an outdoor bike stand with tools attached.
The first thing that popped into my mind was AWESOME! Do you know exactly how many times I have had a little problem with my bike and all I needed was a place to look it over, maybe adjust a spoke, or even inflate a tire? Well me neither but I can tell you it is lots.
It took all of about 2 minutes to convince Seamus and I that these Fixtations should be on the campus. We struck a deal, if the Bike Coop purchased the Fixations, the University would install them and put signs on them. I kind of get the impression that Isabel was a little taken aback by how quickly we agreed to the whole project. She asked if we needed some kind of report or justification. Seamus and I looked at each other and nodded no... I mean a good idea is a good idea when it is instantly recognized as a good idea. This was certainly a good idea.
So after a couple of month of arm-twisting and preparations, the Fixtations have been installed on campus. The Bike Coop even upgraded to get the stations with the built-in bike pumps. Take a look for yourself and you will see that these stations have everything you could possibly want on them to give your bike a quick tune-up. And if your bike needs more TLC then the Fixtation can provide, there are direction about how to get o the Bike Coop located at each station.
As it stands right now there are three Fixtations on the main campus and one over at the Roger Guidon campus (the SFUO was adamant that we couldn't forget about our fellow riders out there). The Fixtations have been such a hit on campus already (not even a full week since they were installed) that there is talk that the University might like to purchase a couple more.
Either way, I think this is another beautiful example of how the SFUO and the University can come together to make beautiful music. And since the Fixtations are outdoors, everyone is a winner because even non campus members can use the stations to keep their bikes running tip top.
A big thanks to the partners that made this project possible; the SFUO Bike Coop, the Graduate Students’ Association of the University of Ottawa, Canadian Union of Public Employees chapter 2626, the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa, the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa, and of course Isabel.
photo credit - jonathan rausseo