Bicycle Repair Man!

Ghiry was so excited to be taking a ride that he didn't even notice Sadie in the truck when he bounded into the back set. It wasn't until we had reached Edmonton that he calmed down enough to realize that her rear tire was hanging over the back of his seat. "Um, Mom, where are we going and why is Sadie in the truck?", he asked. I explained that Sadie had a check up with Bicycle Repair Man tonight and we were taking her to his shop. Though not highly amused to be sharing his space with "the bike", Ghiry was tickled that it wasn't him who had a check up tonight.

Super cute Bicycle Man leaning against a tree in the yard. I couldn't resist! 

While Keith (aka Raving Bike Fiend, Bicycle Repair Man, etc.) popped Sadie up on the stand for her check up, Ghiry headed off to hang with Dani. He reports that he had a wonderful walk up and down the street, enjoyed a cool drink, sniffed the heck out of the back yard, got more hugs than he's had in his life, and generally enjoyed himself immensely. I've been instructed (by Ghiry) that he is not to be left behind on future trips to RBF Cycles. Fortunately, they are super dog friendly so I think I may oblige as long as I'm not heading off on a ride from there.

The concern this evening for me was the state of Sadie's tires, rims, and rear breaks. We have only 2.5 weeks until THE RIDE and I'd had a flat tire on Sunday's ride. My concern was that if it was time to change the tires, let's check the rims to see where they are at before heading out to buy new tires. Keith assured me that although it is probably time to change at least the rear rim, Sadie is just fine for THE RIDE. And despite the flat yesterday, tires are made of 2 layers and I've only got nicks and tiny cuts in the outer layer of the tires so I should be fine. Oh, you can be sure I've got spare tubes on hand just in case! The only real repair Sadie required as a new set of rear break pads. For 23, and having ridden over 1500 km in the past year, she is holding up amazingly well.

Even though I've been cycling for 32 years, sometimes I feel pretty bike dumb. It's like when you buy a car or a computer or a fancy new phone - you aren't necessarily the one fixing it and so, might know little about it. I'm making it a point to change that this year (and going forward). I may never become Bicycle Repair Gurl but at least I'll know enough about Sadie (and all of my bikes to come) that I can talk sensibly about them and know how to check for worn parts.

Repairs completed, Keith was kind enough to give Sadie a quick wash & rinse. Um, yeah, maybe we were riding in the rain during the Community Garden Tour on Sunday, maybe. Sparkly clean and ready to stop on a dime, Sadie and I were both relieved that she only required minor work tonight. Keith is keeping an eye out for some wheels for later in the season and I'm now considering a paint job or a paint touch up for Sadie. Perhaps it is Veronica who needs a new color...

Packed up and heading home, Ghiry already misses his friends at RBF Cycles & Sadie sends out a huge THANK YOU to Keith (she says he's the best Bicycle Repair Man she knows). RBF Cycles is the official repair shop for Sadie, sponsoring her in THE RIDE by providing her tune ups, check ups, and general repairs.

You can sponsor Sadie as well with a donation to The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. She will really appreciate it!

Bike School

Apparently Sadie amuses herself online while I am at work. How do I know? 2 days ago she phoned to let me know that she had found a course that she wanted to sign up for:  Bike Repair 201: Shifting, Gearing, Chains & Derailleurs - held at Bikeworks South in Edmonton.

"Oooookay... why?", I asked her.

Sadie informed me that she had gone for the past 23 years not understanding the workings of her own gears, shifters, chain, AND derailleurs and that she felt it was high time she learned.

"Great!", I said and signed us up. Fortunately there was a special 2 for 1 special - the human is $20, the bike is free.

Arriving at Bikeworks South (my second visit here), we were greeted by Keith - our instructor - and 5 other students. If you ever want to take a bike repair course, these are the ones to take. They are affordable, in depth, and the instructor is fantastic.

Sadie quickly hopped onto a bike stand while the humans made introductions.

This was a 3 hour course complete with front & rear derailleur history & functional repair information. Keith (alter ego: Bicycle Repair Man) of Raving Bike Fiend is insanely knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful (except when he is busy breaking your bike!).

After the history lesson on derailleurs was done, we moved on to "How to Tune Your Derailleurs" with a splash of "Cable House Replacement" thrown in when it was determined that the derailleur cable, on the mountain bike we were learning on, was worn and preventing proper shifting.

 

Next up: Bicycle Repair Man breaks our bikes! I think that is known as "repairs in reverse"  The point being to take a functioning derailleur and cause it not to function properly so that it could be fixed - how fun! Keith went from bike to bike, loosening cables, adjusting derailleurs, etc so that we could tune our own bikes. Sadie giggled as her rear derailleur wire was disconnected (it tickled) but sat fairly still as I attempted to reconnect it, adjust the tension, and get her gears changing smoothly. I got a bit perplexed when I had Sadie all back together again but her gears weren't changing smoothly. I'd click the gear shifts while turning the pedals but nothing was happening. Sadie sat on the bike rack, humming to herself, fully aware that I had forgotten to let out the tension before re-connecting the wire. A quick reminder from BRM and I was on my way to disconnecting, letting out the tension, reconnecting, and re-turning Sadie's rear derailleur. Perfect, she was switching gears like a dream. Now on to the front. 

Sadie's front derailleur tends to ride a bit high above the gears, allowing for her chain to hop off to the outside of the gears - a trick she performed beautifully on the last 5 km of The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer last summer. I was not amused. Now, the trick with the front derailleur is to get it lined up parallel with the gears and adjust it so that at each shift, the chain barely kisses the derailleur. Sadie's chain was snuggled up close to the front derailleur and dancing on it as I pedaled. No wonder she makes such a racket! A few turns of the screws and her derailleur was neatly in place, no dancing allowed. Once everything was in place and Sadie was shifting cleanly, I can honestly say I felt quite proud. It isn't nearly as hard as I had imagined, tuning up your own bike! Now if I can find a decent bike stand for my garage...

See the rest of the class pictures here.