Furlough Friday!!!!!!

Furlough Fridays have been in the news lately. Emotions have been running high and passionate outbursts have been afoot — but here in Kalihi Valley, we've only seen FF's as an opportunity to get our neighborhood kids more actively involved in building and fixing bikes! This is a glimpse into a typical FF: love of bikes is in the air, and Kamehameha IV Road is filled with the pitter patter of little feet!




This is Storm. He is busy fixing bikes via a special tool called Funyuns. It enables him to work on bikes at 50% efficiency.




The Outside.




The Inside.




This is the Master of Everything That Rolls on Two Wheels, also known to his dawgs as Ryden. If you've got questions, Ryden has answers.




This is Matt. He's also got answers, but often he pretends not to know to keep people on their toes. He is also the manager of KVIBE.




One of our kids working on his headset. Building a headset with care is key to having buttery fork motion.




Do kids get philosophical? One of our kids ponders life while he looks wistfully off into the tire rack.




This is Joseph. He is using an extended length Phillips screwdriver to install some invisible wood screws into random places on our tool wall. Why? I have no idea. But I guess practice makes perfect.




This is Jen. She is an inspector for the Department of Health. She is inspecting a tire with a hammer. You see, nails often get stuck in tires. If she finds any, the hammer is helpful for pounding the nails.




Jay and Ryden.




Mark and Jay are students at Farrington High School. Jen is a full-blown adult, riding a very tiny bike. It can be hilarious for say, trained bears and chimpanzees to ride freakishly small bicycles, but we're not sure if that applies here.




David rocks. Pure and simple.




In one smooth move, Storm poses with a cool shaka for the camera. His friend, looks on, confused. At least he has a cool shirt.




Before Bone Thugs and Harmony, there was Caesar from Kam IV Housing. Without the harmony part.




This is Benedict! His friend, in the foreground, demonstrates how all kids aged 13-17 should arrange their hair.

Two Months

Exactly two months ago, we culled the ranks of our regular kids and pulled 5 potential volunteers. Their tasks: to help run the shop, keep it clean, return the tools to their proper places, and take responsibility for their time at KVIBE, that is, if they had a legitimate reason why they couldn't make it to "work," they'd have to call us and let us know. It started off slowly, but two exceptional volunteers made it through 2 months. In exchange for two months of volunteer work, they would receive premium BMX bikes and parts.






Auggie Ray Alvarez




and Joseph De Sagun


pose with their new bicycles! The top is a Matt Hoffman bike; the next is a Specialized. There were others on hand to witness the completion of their two months:






David, who was busy aligning his new handlebars,




Ali, who was cursing at his wheel,




A very regal-looking Remo,




Sonny,




and Michelle's feet.

We leave you with this pic which in my mind is what KVIBE is all about:






L to R: Jared, Auggie, Ryden.