#3, 4, 5, & 6: Bike Maintenance

The goal - 27 instances of Learning Something New From - OR - Trying Something New With - Someone Else. 

During the month of March I spent my Thursday evenings (well 2 hours of them anyway) at Cycle Sport of Media learning how to take care of my bike.

Week 1: How to change a flat tire. Sounds easy enough and truly it was but I've never had to actually change a tire before and I was nervous at the thought of having to do it on the road. I've watched many how to videos but it's not quite the same as actually doing it. I felt much better after this class. I need practice still but I least now I feel confident to try it at home.

Week 2: Gear shifting. We learned how and why gears worked and replaced our own cables. I only did the rear ones on my bike. I was so intimidated by it that I decided not to try the front during class. I had trouble getting the cable tight enough on the rear. My fingers would not cooperate. :(

Week 3: Brakes. I did mange to replace both front and rear brake cables this week. I also think I understand better how they are supposed to work. I learned that it's more than just brake pad on wheel.

Week 4: Drive train cleaning. Part of our tuition for class included a bike maintenance book. Mike Allen, our instructor, highlighted the parts we would need to know for each class. And yes, I did read the appropriate sections before each class. I was more than a little intimidated by the drive train sections. However, after reading it, listening to Mike explain things and removing, cleaning, replacing and lubricating my own chain I feel rather impressed with myself! (Even if my chain does have the easy link piece. We all watched while Mike took the sprocket set off one wheel.

Of course the trick is remembering all of what I learned.

I really enjoyed the class. It was fascinating to learn all these things but also to see the different bikes that each of us had. Mike explained and sometimes demonstrated the differences. Mike is obviously very knowledgeable about bikes. I'm sure he could have done a lot of what he showed us in his sleep. He has a ton of patience and then some.

I'm counting my 4 weeks at Cycle Sport as 4 of my 27 things. Because well, it WAS 4 different things. And also because I really do need to pick up the pace!