Street Collective

09/02/2026

Meet Palmira. She's a ray of sunshine who celebrated her birthday on Monday - her first birthday "out" since finishing a ten-year stint in prison. With the help of Fresh Start Women's Center, she has secured a job, and two of the managers at work got her a bicycle for her birthday. Between this bicycle and a few buses, she can get to her job in West Des Moines each day.

She's working as a dishwasher and has big dreams to grow in her career. She has a new lease on life, and between her positive attitude and her determination, we know she can bring those dreams to fruition.

She stopped in our shop Wednesday to get her bike fixed up. Her brakes need some work, and we also got her set up with lights and a rack - plus a basket to carry the change of clothes she'll need to bring to work.

Palmira loves the Street Collective. "You're helping me help myself," she said. "I don't need a handout. I just need a boost."

Palmira gave us permission to share her story, and she said she would start following us on social media. Please radiate positivity back to Palmira by sharing birthday wishes and well wishes in the comments!

09/02/2026

Last night, Urbandale passed a new bike ordinance with several important changes thanks to advocacy from the Street Collective and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. The biggest of all? We kept motor vehicles off sidewalks and trails. The initial proposed ordinance would have allowed some e-motos - which are motor vehicles - on sidewalks and trails.

We secured a number of other changes, such as ensuring three feet of lateral passing distance when a car passes a bicycle and removing overly strict (and arguably dangerous) language regarding bike positioning on a roadway. Urbandale ultimately made so many changes to the ordinance based on our feedback that they had to bring it back for a new first reading.

Credit to the Urbandale City Council for listening to our feedback and asking for changes based on our recommendations. There is real value in having cyclists serving as city council members.

For those who read the Des Moines Register article, please note that the article defines "e-moto" incorrectly, further underscoring our point about the term being used inaccurately. The article also incorrectly asserts that Urbandale is proceeding with a wattage-only standard to determine trail and sidewalk access - the very thing we got changed.

Urbandale becomes the latest metro city to regulate devices like e-motos. Should cities collaborate more to avoid conflicting rules?

08/28/2026

Bicycling generates over $1 billion annually for Iowa's economy! 💰 A new study released by the Iowa Bicycle Coalition shows the powerful effects of cycling on Iowans' health and our economy.

Cycling is good for your health — and Iowa’s economy — according to a new impact study from the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. Matt Burkey, a spokesman for the Coralville-based organization, says the state’s bike trails have steadily grown to connect more urban centers and rural communities over th...

08/22/2026

Usually, when we receive ebikes as donations at the shop, they're essentially rolling fire hazards. Not today! Thank you, Stranger, to the gentleman who donated this pristine Rad Power Bikes Rad City 2 with less than 200 miles on it. It has the trifecta of donated ebikes: a perfectly-functional, non-recall battery; its charger; AND its keys! Size range roughly 5'3"-5'11". Come try it out at the shop, or if you fall in love easily online, head to our website and buy it before someone else does: https://street-collective-7343.myshopify.com/products/untitled-aug21_14-57-45

08/13/2026

Sometimes, the shop gets the chance to work on something unique and wonderful like this one-sided bike for Staci, one of our favorite clients. Staci's bike was a standard, run-of-the-mill cruiser, but her cerebral palsy prevented her from being able to use the right-handed shifter and brake. Bobby gave her bike the works, including a new easy-to-use friction shifter and low-normal rear derailleur to go with it; he switched all the braking to the left side, and added a new chain and brakeset to boot. Thanks to the generosity of the Des Moines community, we're able to do builds for people like Staci who wouldn't be able to otherwise afford custom work. Ride safe, Staci!