Got the bike back from the shop yesterday so we were able to celebrate World Carfree Day by bike today. The bike is all tuned up and has a couple minor changes. The back tire is now a stylish solid black. Hearing my whining about the color change, Mr. Familyride suggested I order a redwall to replace it and save the black one as a spare. It sounds a bit extravagant, so I’m going to stop whining and see if the black tire grows on me. I also got a replacement double kickstand (Pletscher, again). The old one bent a while back rendering it mostly useless. I’ll try to take it easier on the new one.
Apparently when I dropped my bike off, it wasn’t only moments away from exploding, it also had a dry chain. Shame on me. Hoping to remedy that, I think I’ll attend one of the Seattle Public Library upcoming Bike Maintenance classes, part of a series of Urban Self-Reliance workshops. They’re also offering several Introduction to Bike Commuting classes.
Yesterday’s miles: 3.9 miles
Today’s miles: 8.4 miles
September cumulative: 152.0 miles
Days missed: 5
Family Ride 
It’s worth it to match the tires. You are a stylish woman and you deserve to have a totally stylish bike. Get the reds, or look for two new celeste tires! The red does make the letters pop.
Arg, you’re blowing my mind–celeste tires! More decisions! OK, I have some thinking and clicking around to do…
Maddie,
I’d love it if you’d consider taking a repair class at Bike Works.
The ABC (Adult Basics Class) is a great one for those basics like greasing and cleaning your chain and also the serious and mysterious stuff, like what’s going on in side your hub and how do you set up brakes? Even better, there is a focus on empowerment through vocabulary and hands-on wrenching experience.
The whole of our Adult and Volunteer Repair Programs are designed to be empowering, safe, non-judgmental spaces for adults to give repair a try, and where not-knowing is not a shameful thing but a lucky opportunity!
And we often have ice cream.
Davey, you already had me sold on ABC :) I think I need to ease into things with a nearby two-hour class, but as soon as I can manage the time away from kiddos, I’m taking the six-week course! And ice cream–woo hoo!