Join Our Camp: Bikes, Wrenches, and Questionable Playa Decisions
Got a bike? Ever fixed a bike? Ever wanted to fix a bike while covered in dust, laughing with strangers from six continents?
Congratulations — you might already be overqualified.
We’re a Burning Man camp dedicated to helping burners repair their own bikes. We don’t run a full service bike shop. We don’t do drop-offs. We assist, teach, guide, encourage, and hand you the right wrench while you fix it yourself.
And yes — we usually have a couple of open slots for new campers.
What We Actually Do
We help fellow burners:
- Fix flat tires at the worst possible moment
- Adjust brakes that mysteriously stopped braking
- Lube or replace rusty “playafied” chains
- Diagnose “this bike was totally fine at home” problems
- Fix and teach just enough bike repair to survive the rest of the week
The magic part? They do the work. We assist, explain, laugh, and celebrate wildly when the bike successfully pedals away again.
Why This Is Awesome (and Very Burning Man)
This camp is basically a rolling, dusty embodiment of the 10 Principles:
- Gifting – We give parts, time, knowledge, and encouragement
- Participation – Everyone gets hands-on (literally)
- Radical Self-Reliance – Burners learn to fix their own ride
- Communal Effort – Problems are solved together
- Immediacy – The bike needs to work now, not tomorrow
Plus:
- You’ll meet amazing people from all over the world
- You’ll learn new bike fix tricks from other camp members
- You’ll feel absurdly proud watching someone pedal away smiling
“But I’m Not a Bike Mechanic…”
Perfect. Neither are most of us.
Most of our campers are just:
- People who like and ride bikes
- People who fix their own bikes
- People who learned some bike repair because something broke once
If you do have real-world bike mechanic experience?
🔥 Huge bonus. We love you already. 🔥
But it’s absolutely not required.
If you can put a tube into a tire without panic — you’re our people.
Camp Vibe
- Laid-back
- No drama
- No ego
- Plenty of laughter
- High tolerance for dust and bad jokes
We like to work, we like to help, and we like to have fun doing it. If something breaks, we fix it. If someone’s stressed, we calm them down. If a repair turns into a teaching moment… even better.
Infrastructure
- Tent city – large covered and lighted tent camping area with sides and a vinyl floor
- Power – solar power with batteries + quiet generator (rarely needed)
- Private Shower with evaporation pond
- Kitchen – with stoves, tables for food prep, sink and a picnic table
- RV, Trailer and Van camping
- Great Chill Space, Bar, Kegs
Should You Join?
You’ll probably fit right in if you:
- Like helping people
- Like learning from others
- Like bikes (even when they betray you)
- Want a camp that contributes something real to the city
We usually have a couple of spots open for new campers, and we genuinely enjoy welcoming fresh faces.
If this sounds like your kind of dusty, grease-stained, joy-filled contribution to Burning Man — come ride with us.
Contact us at: info at thebikegods.com
