Electric Bike Building Outreach with Music
Since I was a child, I always wanted to get my hands on things. I have always been a hands on learner and I wanted to share a hands on experience with kids at Graffiti Church. We turned the Church Pantry into a workshop space and I taught the electrical and mechanical skills to build an electric bike. I am very passionate about electric bikes, and I love to share that passion with kids. It was amazing to see kids light up in discovery and experience the "Electric Bicycle Grin" as they feel the throttle launching them forward and pushing them beyond their limits! We also shared our musical passion with the kids and taught them some basic music skills.
Check out the pictures and stories below :) At the bottom of the page, I posted a video tutorial and the music we created!
I am planning on starting up an electric bike service where I help kids build community electric bikes, free for the community to use. I want the Baltimore community to experience the joy of electric bikes, and have access to explore the city! I will need to do a fundraiser to start this program, so stay tuned for a future fundraiser! I believe other bike share programs in Baltimore have not been successful because they didn't address the unique needs of the community. Bikes may get vandalized because they are seen as Big Corporate property, and also due to "Ghetto Nihilism" where the mindset creates a culture of destruction. But these obstacles can be overcome. We can work on healing the hearts and minds of Baltimore through the joy of community building electric bikes. Our electric bikes will be built by the community for the community. And we will rely on community trust. If you vandalize a bike, you hurt your own reputation, and you also hurt the rest of the community. I am working on a system to make these dreams a reality!
Thank you to Jami and Joshua for our music program! Thank you to Sarah and Pastor Charlie Brown for letting us use the Church Pantry space.
The first step was teaching kids how to mount a bicycle tire. These basic mechanical bike skills were fun to teach the kids.
The next step was soldering the battery. The kids were amazed to see liquid metal melting and hardening to form an electrical connection. Next we mounted the motor controller and throttle. The kids were impressed to see the motor whirring. It's alive!!!
Here's the E-Bike Grin on a test ride!
The kids have never experienced anything like this before! This bike will be a free community electric bike for you to use, so you can also ride it! Stay tuned for how to use it!
Even Pastor Charlie took it for a spin.
Jami led us in a few secular songs, and also some worship songs.
Joshua is holding up lyrics for the kids to singalong!
Video of us teaching kids about building the electric bike:
Music videos we recorded: Father Let Your Kingdom Come, and I'm Trading my Sorrows. I attempted to also teach them a Hawaiian Song "Simple Love Song" and "Something to Believe In" but they proved too complicated.