“Traditionally it’s been meant for people who identify as female,” said Andrea Avena-Koenigsberger, a project volunteer and board member for the Center for Sustainable Living.
She said it also creates a nice space for gay and transgender people who identify as female.
Jeanne Smith, the owner of Bikesmiths and a project volunteer, said she thinks some women feel insecure about working on mechanical things.
Ladies Night is a chance to learn in a welcoming environment.
The Bloomington Community Bike Project began in the late 1990s as a project sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Living.
The BCBP sells refurbished bikes, and volunteers run open-shop hours during which they help people fix their bikes.
The project also provides people with tools they can borrow and parts they can use.
An earn-a-bike program lets anyone exchange volunteer hours for an old bicycle that needs some extra love and repair.
Avena-Koenigsberger said Ladies Night happened on and off for years, but it had died out.
This July, when she began volunteering at the project, she and a fellow CSL board member decided to start Ladies Night back up, she said. Her original goal was to use the time to train and recruit new volunteers.
The shop can get hectic when only a handful of volunteers are available to help crowds of people, and the environment isn’t always condusive to teaching.
Avena-Koenigsberger said she thought a more relaxed environment would make it easier to focus on teaching women the ins and outs of bicycle repair.
“I didn’t really know how to fix a bicycle,” she said, but in the last few months she said she has learned.
Fellow CSL board member Christine Glaser was involved in the project when it first began.
Glaser said the project has helped to promote bike riding and sustainability while bringing people together.
“It’s a way for different people from different parts of society to come together and do something,” she said. “From the perspective of sustainability, it’s really great that bikes can come here and don’t get discarded ... they can be refurbished.”
Glaser said the interest in bicycles has been growing in Bloomington during the years. Specially designated bicycle lanes on certain streets and the B-Line Trail have made it easier for cyclists to get around.
“This city is pretty good at promoting bike riding,” she said, but she added that Bloomington could do better. “(It) wants to become a very bicycle-friendly city.”
Bloomington citizen Dee Burt dropped in to Ladies Night Thursday night to fix an old bike, which she wants to start riding.
“I’ve never done this. I’ve never worked on a bike,” she said. She said she liked the friendliness she felt in the shop.
Smith said using bikes for transportation makes a lot of sense. She said they’re faster, healthier and more convenient than cars.
“Cars are kind of absurd,” Smith said. “Bicycles have never made me cry.”
Ladies Night convenes 6-9 p.m. Thursdays. Regular open-shop hours occur 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays, and 12-3 p.m. Saturdays at 216 N. Madison St.
