In just a few months, FCCB volunteer Everett Lancaster has gone from first-timer to shop regular, and has made a lot of friends and learned a lot of bike skills in the process.  Everett breezed through his eight volunteer hours to earn a Sweat Equity Membership, and then kept coming back to give more of his time to our community.  He’s found a new bike (A Norco cruiser) for himself and fixed a few dozen bikes for others.  Everett has confidence in the bike shop and eagerly picks up new and more challenging repair tasks each time he visits the shop.  We’re glad to have him as a part of our community!

For all these reasons, FCCB recognizes Everett Lancaster as an Extraordinary Volunteer for February 2019.  Thank you, Everett!

Here’s a short interview with Everett, so our members and readers can get to know him better:

FCCB: What’s the best part about volunteering at FCCB?
Everett: This is the best thing that ever happened to me in life. I have good teachers like Nate (Pinney) and Russ (Hisle), and Alan (Tucker) – you’ve taught me things I never thought I could learn. I’m glad to be working with the community members here.

FCCB: Why do you ride? What’s your favorite ride/route?
Everett: My favorite route? – from home to Fall City, it’s simple and easy. Riding bikes is a miracle thing I’ve always done, I’ve always been riding bikes.

FCCB: What’s the most interesting skill you’ve learned while volunteering with FCCB?
Everett: Rebuilding axles, cranks, and how to properly use a workstand – where to clamp the bike on the seatpost.

FCCB: Tell us about your bike – do you have a favorite bike now, or perhaps one from your past?
Everett: The bike I have now is a ‘69 classic beach cruiser – black and white and blue. I’m also a ‘69. I recently got the bike for Valentine’s Day.

FCCB: What can FCCB do better to serve you and others?
Everett: We’re already improving, we’re doing really well and I’ve seen a lot of bikes go out the door and back out onto the street with new rider.

FCCB: Anything else you’d like to add?
Everett: Bikes are a great thing to have, but you have to take care of them. If you take care of your bike, your bike can help take care of you. It can be frustrating to work on your bike sometimes, but the people at FCCB are there to help me learn how to solve new bike problems.

Shane Dolleris has been a regular presence at the FCCB Logan Street shop for many months (years?) and has been a devoted volunteer who’s always willing to pitch in with shop tasks large and small. Shane is good at identifying and tackling tasks that have gone overlooked, and often suggests new ideas for improvements and then executes them! He recently volunteered himself to take down a pile of scrap bikes and salvage parts from them.

Shane built his aluminum road bike from a bare frame using parts and supplies from FCCB, and we’ve all learned a lot about parts compatibility while working to get Shane’s bike completed.  It’s something of a right-of-passage among our volunteer mechanics to struggle with seemingly-similar but ultimately incompatible bottom bracket standards (e.g. Shimano’s Hollowtech II vs. FSA MegaExo – see images), and Shane has patiently worked his way through the puzzle of assembling, testing, disassembling, swapping, reassembling, and then doing it all over again while trying to put a bike together from salvaged parts.

We asked Shane to answer a few questions so our readers can get to know him better:

FCCB: What’s the best part about volunteering at FCCB?
Shane: Being a part of a community that is passionate about cycling; that’s the best part!

FCCB: Why do you ride? What’s your favorite ride/route?
Shane: Fitness, freedom; and money (note: Shane rides his bike as part of his job!). The whole stretch of River Road; it never gets old.

FCCB: What’s the most interesting skill you’ve learned while volunteering with FCCB?
Shane: Paying attention to the fine adjustments, it makes a mile of difference.

FCCB: Tell us about your bike – do you have a favorite bike now, or perhaps one from your past?
Shane: My bike is a Schwinn Fastback 9 speed road bike, with a super light double butted frame and a carbon fiber fork. I bought it from FCCB for my birthday; got it for a steal. Thanks, John (FCCB Co-Founder John Krueger).

FCCB: What can FCCB do better to serve you and others?
Shane: FCCB is a great service to the community already. Letting the whole city know about this great shop would only be better!