Work Space, The Final Frontier

Since the dawn of time man has been drawing lines across the earth, borders, if you will, that separate one space from another. Walls and fences that say Hey, this is my space, and in here I don't need any pants on! This quest rages onward in modern day in many different avenues. Be it a place to park your car or a little piece of the internet where you can blather away, we are all working to find that space for each part of our lives. For the cyclist, no space is more important than “Work Space”. A place to cram all those wonderful machines, tools and broken parts we wouldn't dare throw away. “Work Space” can take many different forms; from the bike stand in your bedroom and the sock drawer full of tools to the dedicated bay of your garage. My first workspace was in the garage of my parent’s house. From there I moved into a little apartment on 16^th street where my only bike had its place in the living room up against the bookshelf with a cardboard box of tools under the bed.

Over the years I have fought for many a work space. I have defended my humble plot from many threats, such as the wife who wanted to store my bikes in the crawl space or piled on top of the lawn mower in the tiny aluminum shed in the back yard. My wife and I and our four bikes just moved into a new house with a basement. The basement is small but it’s all mine. Perfecting the space is an ongoing process that may take years. I installed pegboard and shelves and lighting so far and with some effort I think I will be able to squeeze a few more bikes down there.

Cycle Jerk HQ

Here are a few tips if you have a space like mine:

Use the rafters
If you have an old house like mine you probably have a low ceiling with exposed beams. This is a perfect place to hang brushes, pumps and larger items.

Glass Jars
If you nail the lids of jelly jars into the rafters or under the stairs you can screw the jars up into them making perfect place for screws and bolts and all the small things that clutter up your workspace.

Custom Shaped Pegboard
You don't need a 4x6 section of wall for pegboard to be useful. Use whatever spare wall space you have and cut pegboard to fit it.