A Proper Introduction
Good morning friends of Artemis! I started this blog yesterday and just jumped in like you knew all about me. That’s silly. You don’t know me. Some of you know me. Anyway, let’s change that with a proper introduction.
My name is David Civitarese but you can call me Civi. I’m the owner of and lead service technician for Artemis Cyclery. Artemis is a mobile bicycle repair service and pop-up shop, serving South Coast Massachusetts, including Bristol and Plymouth Counties. I’m a lifelong cycling enthusiast and enjoy organizing community events that not only help people but remind them of the joys of riding bikes with friends.
I’m the founder of the New Bedford Starchasers, your friendly neighborhood cosmically inclusive bicycle gang founded in 2012. The Starchasers are a division of SCUL. We build weird and fantastic bikes we call “space ships” out of mostly repurposed materials and take them on rides that we call “missions.” Sometimes they’re silly and arbitrary, but sometimes we find ways to help our community and it always focuses on joy. One of those missions is Operation Cranksgiving, a bicycle powered food drive to collect food and supplies for people in need during the holiday season. The Starchasers are and do a lot. If you want to learn more, follow them on Instagram @newbedfordstarchasers.
I’ve been repairing and rebuilding bikes for a long time, and in 2022 I became a UBI certified professional bicycle technician. Over the years, I’ve worked in a few bicycle shops, from community repair shops to neighborhood bike shops to high-end professional adaptive shops. What I’ve discovered is that I love connecting with people over bikes, where they can take us, the ways they can be used, and how they can at once keep us connected to the world but make us feel like we’re flying through space!
Through Artemis, I look forward to building a stronger connection to my community, get more butts on bikes, and help people find their bike joy. In a future post, I’ll share some ideas on how I plan on doing that. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day.
