Technically I've been working there for a couple months, but I haven't mentioned it here. I'm working at the Michigan State University's Bike Shop on campus as a mechanic. It's a bunch of fun, learning about how to polish and fix up old and rusty frames and make them usable, if not beautiful in many cases. We operate a cool rental bike unit, where students and faculty can rent bikes for unreasonably low rates, and have them serviced by us for free. It's a great service, and it's nice to see how well-used it is on campus. Many of these bikes are abandoned at the end of the semester, and the Bike Shop gets to pick over the pile that the police impounds for rentals.
We also accept donations from folks, which we either turn into rentals or sell to support the store. Some people have gifted MSU Bikes some incredibly beautiful bikes, Like a Bianchi track frame that was entirely unridden, a Tommasini road frame (also unridden), many cool three-speeds, and most recently a Peugeot PX-10 that needed a lot of work, but has turned out very well:
Finally, we do repairs, sell parts and accessories, and generally try to support the campus bike community in activism, get-togethers, races, or whatever else on two wheels that might be going on locally. If you've yet to check it out, go down to Bessey Hall on campus - the shop is on the riverfront side. It's a great resource run by caring people.
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