Wow this was an honest well put grievance. I feel the same way; I do not consider myself a cyclist because I do not use my bike for everything, I do not ride a fixie and I am not a hipster but I would also like to build a bike from scratch but most of these places are not - How shall I put this " User friendly " .. Good luck assembling your bike

while i sympathize with your frustration, i don't understand why you'd give up on an entire community based on one organization's unwillingness to help you in the way you wanted help.

you went to the kitchen to get a frame. ok, fine. totally appropriate. i don't think the reason you didn't get one is that you were discriminated against for not fitting some preconceived mold - i think you didn't get one because you wanted to work on it on your own time. the kitchen is a community resource where they expect you to wrench on bikes in their space - as part of a community.

you went back because you needed a specific part and you were refused. again, not because you aren't the right type of bike person, but because they wanted you to work there, not take freebies home.

being carless doesn't mean you can't borrow a car, get a ride, take a cab, or a bus with your bike in pieces. you CAN get to the kitchen but you chose not to. you chose not to be a part of the community space. that's why you were rejected.

and yes, the kitchen is not the warmest place. i personally choose to work at the bike oven in highland park for that reason. the same rules apply though. they expect you to work with them.

so don't give up on everyone just because one entity didn't appreciate your desire to do it all by yourself. a community is here to support its members and you acted like an island of one.

Sorry your experience wasn't positive. I can offer what I've experienced. I've had nothing but good service and no attitude every time I've gone there. The cooks have been very helpful and I've learned a lot there.

To be fair the Bicycle Kitchen's longstanding policy is that they don't let you take parts home to work on. I think the other co-ops have this policy too.

When I first went there I didn't like the policy either. But then I realized the reason for this. The parts bins would be really picked over if people could just walk in and take stuff out for a nominal donation. It's not really fair to the people who go there and buy stand time.

I think the Kitchen used to have frames, but I think they stopped doing that because they were taking up too much space.

Incomplete bikes are also pretty easy to transport. The Kitchen is right next to the Vermont bus line as well as two Red Line train stations. Just put the frame in a trash bag, or better yet mount the wheels and handlebars and roll it.

One other thing: Maybe perceptions die hard but my girlfriend and I walk by ourselves in that neighborhood all the time. It's mostly working Latino and Korean families and doesn't strike me as being particularly dangerous.

Please move elsewhere. Los Angeles already has far too many narcissistic sociopaths with uncontrolled senses of fear and entitlement, and who lack even an iota of self-awareness.

"But, as far as being an "outsider of the community", that is just a self imposed perception, for you make the community what it is by your interaction and involvement."

I think Mike G. makes a really good point here. There is an attitude that pervades your post, and I think it might be this self-imposed perception, of always already being the outcast in every situation. And frankly, I don't want that attitude on my side in the feminist / gender wars. Your insistence in posting all of the background at the opening of your post makes it seem like you're trying to set yourself apart in some way, like this description should provide some sort of insight into or explanation of your unique situation. The thing is, I know plenty of riders like you. I know plenty of women riders like you.

Also, as a woman, I would ask you not to jump to the gender conclusion too quickly - it's not helpful. John makes some extremely good points in his comment that you should consider before screaming about how put upon you are as a woman rider. I’ve been seeing the statement that women are an indicator species for cycling a lot lately – in fact I got into a rather heated discussion on the Midnight Ridazz forum with someone about what that means and why that might be – and I think that statement is being used too often and in irresponsible ways, ways that end up reinscribing harmful social gender constructions and norms. But then there’s your irresponsible way of using that statement, which irks me even more: You use it to cap off a negative, entitled, poor-always-already-ostracized-me rant that even to me, one of the most vocal and vigilant of feminist voices on the Midnight Ridazz forum, comes off as just whining, not a useful critique.

In order to end this on a helpful note, I fully acknowledge that, as a woman, it can be more comfortable to learn to wrench in an all-woman environment, and that some of us are more comfortable relating with other women. (I’m not saying that because something about your post makes me think that’s the case.) The Bicycle Kitchen has all-women sessions Monday evenings 6:30 to 9:30. As a friend of mine who is a regular Bike Kitchen cook says, “No dicks allowed, unless you're transgendered.”

We live in the area too, don't our perceptions count? We both take the Red Line at night pretty often as well, it feels pretty safe to us.

Packed up right the parts for a bike are pretty compact and light. I've brought frames and bikes that weren't rideable there by foot on many occasions. I don't think it's ridiculous to walk a few blocks with them or use the train or a bus to get there, especially if you can get a friend to come with you. It should really take you no longer than half an hour and it's certainly easier than riding a century.

Is this the ultimate in convenience? No, but that's just the nature of DIY and reviving an older frame that requires parts no available at most bike shops. You're doing this for the knowledge and experience. It's time well-spent, IMHO.

Wow, I guess I missed all the drama this week. I know how you feel about "fitting" in. The beauty of the bike community is that there is room for all types, even people who ride klunkers and dorky folding bikes like myself and who aren't interested in racing or looking cool. Building a bike from scratch is a daunting task. It sounds like you just need a good friend who knows what they're doing to help you instead of strangers who don't give a__.

Wow, I just read the comments to your recent blog update. There must be a lot of kids at home from school with time on their hands to write these comments. The writing styles are hilarious!

I've gone to the Bicycle Kitchen many times, sometimes they are helpful, but sometimes they are swamped and I am on my own. Some of my bicycle friends have complained about BK being a bit too "pretentious". I have never experienced that, I guess I just got lucky. I do go to the Bikerowave in West LA/Mar Vista sometimes, even though I am closer the the Kitchen. You should try it sometime, I have never had a bad experience there and most of my bicycle friends go there exclusively. They are always friendly and helpful. They have more bike stands available and a lot more space.
The Kitchen is small and that may be part of their problem. They serve a large mid-city bicycle community with limited resources. Try the Bikerowave and see if you have a different experience. Keep on biking though, you have become a real voice and presence in the LA Bicycle Community.

hello. my name is derek. i'm a cook at the kitchen. so that you are aware, the intrepid volunteer manning our PR email has been soliciting input from our community and is possibly in the process of condensing an official response.

in the meantime, i'm here now and there is a bit of a knot building up inside of me that is somewhat enhanced by the wine that my roommate has bestowed upon me. so with a handful of disclaimers (that my views do not represent those of the bicycle kitchen, that i'm at the bottom of my third cup, that i don't know if i've ever commented on a blog before, and that i come in peace) i believe i'm about to start waxing philosophic.

First off. bummer. that you had an unpleasant experience. i can offer my own apology as someone who's been around for a fair while now and bears some responsibility for trying to impart a good sense of the traditions and codes down to the newer volunteers. i may not as diligent with it as i could be so for whatever role that plays in the larger scheme of things that would result in experiences like yours, i truly apologize for it and will definitely be more mindful of how i convey those things going forward

That said, there are a few things in this post and string of comments that are somewhat inaccurate, at least in my understanding and experiences, and i'd like to set the record straight as i understand it.

Buying parts. your salty encounter notwithstanding, there's a humble reason unrelated to snobbery that we are not allowed to sell parts outright. and it's not to try to milk stand time out of people. As a non-profit, we are not allowed to use our tax-exempt status on certain goods to unfairly compete with for-profit bike shops who are subject to taxes. So when someone comes in asking for a part, if a cook sells it outright without incorporating it into something that fulfills our educational mission statement, as defined in the documents we've filed with the federal government, that cook is endangering our non-profit status, and we technically could then be shuddered. Does it happen sometimes anyways? probably. is it supposed to? no. personally, after i explain that to a person, and bearing in mind the ready availability of things like cable clamps through many other outlets like the internet and the numerous bike shops in the area, i generally feel pretty justified in sticking to it. I realize that you were not given that explanation, and I only state it to hopefully convey to anyone reading this that there's no institutional snobbery at play with that sort of thing. and yeah, it's not so that we can force people to pay for stand time as was implied elsewhere. (it’s a core part of our model that nobody is turned away for lack of funds, and this is pretty liberally applied). But at any rate, I will personally do whatever i am able to do to try to make sure to impress on any new volunteers that come in that they need to fully understand and explain that rationale to clients when that situation arises.

As for the culture... The kitchen I see is very very different from the one that i see described in places above. While reiterating my disclaimer about acting alone here, let me give you my situation. I ride a hybrid commutery kind of thing with plenty of gears and brakes and ride it because i love the feeling of shooting down a hill, it makes me feel healthier, and i feel a responsibility to do what i can to preserve some green shit for my future grandkids to gawp at. when i first started biking in LA a few years ago, i had scrounged up a dilapidated old mountain bike that i didn't know anything about and rode it around trying not to shift gears too much because the chain would fall off and i didn’t know why. A friend told me about the kitchen and I came in and got the low down and was really stoked on the way that it was organized. I learned how to calibrate my derailleur and it made my life on a bike a whole lot easier. I was so impressed by my experience that I started volunteering and though being obviously very new to the mechanical aspect of bikes, (i didn't even know what a fixed gear bike was), everyone was super supportive and i started to get familiar. i learned something every time i came in and now a couple of years have gone by and i'm teaching basic wrenching workshops. and though i've been going in for a bit now, i’m still learning every day and it still never gets old to see people take pleasure and pride in the very simple act of empowering themselves to ride. fuck a fashion statement. if people are into their cool looking wheels or some brand of handlebars or something, that's fine. i don't care and don't think less of them. nice parts are nice. but coolness is not part of the equation for myself or any of the cooks whom i have gotten to know over the years. what the kitchen gave to me and what i personally enjoy being able to give back through it, is

ha. i got so verbose that it cut me off. the meat was yet to come. i'll try to keep it brief but i really wanted to get to the idea of customer service in a completely volunteer run space...

So i don't disagree that even a space that's run completely by volunteers should try to be friendly. (i'd also argue that the kitchen is full of friendly folks and most of the interactions i've had end with people being stoked on their experience). but we are often somewhat understaffed. we may or may not have been when you were around, but there's a general weariness that can come hand in hand with that at times. which isn't an excuse for anything, but you write: "I guess I just hope that maybe this community can acknowledge that there is a segment of the community that’s like me. And while we’re small right now, aren’t we the exact segment that you want to build? Except when we come to the table, you treat us poorly. What gives?", it defnintely makes me feel the need to try to offer an alternative possibility, which is that there is definitely no systemic predjudice at the kitchen against any certain 'type' of cyclist and that the experiences you had are not patterns of a larger system. While things can certainly be improved, it does seem to me unfair to not take the idea that the place is completely staffed by people who do it not for the pay but for the love of cycling or the environment or the community or, fuck it, pretty pink handlebar grips. whatever it is, it warrants a closer inspection than taking a sample of two experiences and extrapolation a whole community off of it.

and speaking of community, i'll leave on this. there is no bicycle president. no club that you get a pass to. the bicycle "community" is an abstract that i have no more control over than you do. when you publicly draw conclusions based on a limited experience (i.e. that the kitchen has a "behavior and mindset" that results in "women and men who will never get on a bike"), you're doing something that has the potential to shape the language as much or more than any one of the volunteers who simply goes down there on our free time to try to get people familiar with their bikes. The kitchen is not some trendy place where snobby hipsters go to look down their noses at people. the volunteers range from 16 to 60 (seriously, there are some retired folks that come by and kick some serious ass). occupationally they range from doctors to actors to accountants to lawyers to architects to school teachers and tons of other things. same with the clientele. there are definitely kids with bikes from urban outfitters that roll through. there are also day laborers, weekend cruisers, health nuts, bike newbies. and there are plenty of working professionals like yourself that come through and i don't think it's a stretch to say the vast majority of them have a positive experience. Go check out yelp or do some other research if you don't believe me. There are definitely rough edges at the kitchen, but from everything i've seen, it's a place built on lots of love for all things bike. It's understandable to have a bad customer service experience and be salty about it, but when you start painting a little crappy communication as an symptom that points to a larger disease of snobbery or even gender discrimination it makes me defensive.

so yeah. i should disclaimer again that i don't speak for the kitchen. which is a little bit of a copout i guess, and i'm sorry to the folks there if this ruffles anyone. but that's my take on that. if you ever decide to come in again hopefully you'll have a better time of it. if you come in on most sundays between noon and 3, that's usually when i'm around and i'll do what i can to customer service the shit out of the situation.

and yeah. sorry for taking up so much space. i'd make a bad blogger. hopefully this is all read with the due respect and everything. the more that bikes are in the communal consciousness, the better to me. which is why i'm happy and humbled to be a small part of a place that's been enabling all parts of the cycling community to get rolling for the better part of a decade.

p.s. if you or anyone reading this wants to help improve the service at the kitchen, we're always happy to have more volunteers to staff the shifts, and we're pretty much a direct democracy, which means all cooks have a say in what goes on. plus it's fucking fun. sometimes hectic. yeah. the end.