Back in the Saddle...or should I say Toe Clips?

I'm not feeling particularly poetic or political today, so instead:

Yesterday I strapped my bike on the back of my car and headed into the back roads of Northampton for a free bicycle clinic sponsored by my friends, the Pedal People. Every Saturday they provide the space, the tools, and guidance for you to repair your own bike. This fact makes me do a little happy dance!

In the basement are crates and plastic tubs full of spare parts that have been pulled off discarded bikes and out of dumpsters. They are all organized for easy locating and free unless you feel compelled to make a donation that will most likely be refused. Patch kits are $2.00 a piece. Every tool you could possibly need and more, all clean, all organized, and all a blessing. The picture below is of the work bench, just a small part of the tool collection and many were outside in the hands of novice bike repair-ers at the time this photo was taken.

Myself, I needed a new back tire and tube, both of which were already in my trunk, just waiting to be put on. Below is the blown out tire after I took it off the frame. The sidewalls were completely ruined from my son riding it home with a flat. (Derned teenagers!)
I found two holes in the tube that I'll patch up next week so that I have a spare tube on -hand. I marked the holes with a pen so that next week I can get straight to work on the patches.Ah, new tire (below). Ready for the road and trails! Took me a while to get it back into the frame, until Ruthy kindly pointed out I had a spring in backwards. Doh!
Sitting all winter in a damp basement left some rust on the chain, so I needed to lube up.


Ready for the ride home!