You can always learn something new…

One of the things that I have noticed about the mountain biking community is the desire to get people from all walks of life involved in cycling. From trail building and maintenance, to general bike advocacy, the amount of volunteerism that I have witnessed is incredible. And, tonight was just another perfect example of that. This evening, Dartman, SK6, G-Spot and I volunteered to help teach kids and parents some basic bike safety and maintenance tips. I had never done this before, so I had no idea what to expect. Well, all that I can say is that I had a blast! It was cool to have kids asking questions, and helping them to understand “bike basics”. And the highlight of my evening? Yes, even I learned something new… No one ever really showed me how to change a tire, I just kind of fumbled through it on my own. Overall, I think that I pretty much caught all of the basics. But, when G-Spot did the first demo, he explained how once you got the spoon end of the lever under the bead, that you were supposed to clip the hook-end of the tire lever around a spoke. Well, that just totally blew me away! I had no idea that was what the hook was for! I had always used the hook to run around the tire after getting it started off the rim. I had always gotten the lever into place, and fumbled to hold it with one hand while I worked the second lever with my free hand. So, the kids and parents weren’t the only ones to learn something new tonight…