This is the start of my blogging adventure, but I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about biking.
At the moment, my front wheel is in many pieces on the floor of my garage. A few weeks back, I noticed that my front axle was not spinning freely, and being a perfectionist, this bothered me. I took it to the local bike shop, Anthony's Cyclery, in Riverside. Anthony, the master of bike knowledge, told me I needed to take the hub apart to find the problem. I recently purchased a full bike tool kit, so I was fully prepared.
Cleaning was the next step. Grease is really greasy. It gets everywhere: all over the sink you used to clean it off and all over your hands and finger nails. My mom would never let me clean bike parts in her kitchen, but I have my own kitchen with a perpetually dirty sink, so when I was finished, the sink was just as dirty as when I started.
After all the parts were cleaned, it was obvious which one was worn down. It was the cone, which is the bottom most part to the axle. Anthony ordered two new ones for me and now I'm waiting impatiently for them to arrive. I didn't realize how much I would miss my bike, until I couldn't use it. This is the first time since I was 2 that I don't have a working bike and it's killing me; it feels like my wings are clipped.
My big goal is to bike across continents, namely all of them. My intermediate goal is to have an amazing Big Green Road Trip, and be the official bike mechanic and boyfriend, preferably in the other order. Before I do these, however, I want to know everything about bicycle repair, so starting with this repair, I am doing them all myself. Of course, I will consult with the professional on major repairs to be sure I'm on track. I also have 'Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance to guide me with tons of illustrations and tips. So far, taking the hub apart was a breeze. The tough part will be getting it all back together, as always. That will be the subject of the next post.
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