We strive for constant readiness in acquiring usable parts. Too many times in the past we have been unable to drag raw materials home to our laboratory due to lack of tools or insufficient transportation. Unclaimed materiel will fall into the hands of the enemy if left unattended for even a few minutes! In the future we must be prepared to take advantage of every resource at the moment of its discovery!

This is why it is important for every Rat Patrol mission to include at least one Pack Rat bicycle, in order to respond immediately to providential discovery of useful parts and unique items to help expand our fleet of bicycles.

The Rat Patrol has grown from several localized neighborhood laboratories. We are now a citywide operation, with stashes of spare parts and raw materials in several locations. One of the challenges we enjoy is making do with improvised work spaces, so that we might end up using a plastic chair as a vice, or saw for hours with a dull hacksaw blade just to avoid buying a new one. Any place there are a few cast off frames and wheels and some tools is a good location for a Rat Patrol workshop, but it helps to have some space to spread out. We have held public Build Days at several locations:

The Barberchop

When a rat buys property and members consistantly inhabit the grounds, the infestation can grow until eventually it emanates from the building and spills from garage.

Chophouse

A scholarly instution that builds bikes and debates the diverse array of philosophies within bike culture.

Bubbly Dynamics

Once the most extensive and best equipped Rat Nests. Hidden in the basement of Bubbly Dynamics, with plenty of space for experimentation and access to tools and welding equipment.

Here is the increasingly out-of-control stockpile of bikes. Good luck looking for that screwdriver!

After a visit from Fire Marshal the Rat Patrol was kicked out of Bubbly for "unsafe" practises, we're not sure why.

Cat Mafia

Between the coach house named Cat Mafia and the front apartment building, some makeshift building and repairs took place. When the welding gloves couldn't be found, Cat Mafia sacrificed thier oven mitts so that welding could continue.

Neckrat's Back Porch

This wasn't so much a build space as it was a death trap, a wooden enclosed back porch with no ventilation.

The Dive

A former bar we've commandeered for choppin' and welding, using bar stools as makeshift workbenches.

Josh's Place

Josh let us trample his backyard for a series of Build Days at his house. He's got a great basement workshop with tools and welders.

If he thought we would help lessen the bike pile in his garage he was mistaken, as many people added to it!

Rat Patrol HQ

Uptown outpost where the Rat Patrol began in a basement storage room.