Bike maintenance is the name of the game this week!!!

I (like Alex) decided I really should learn how to fix a bit about bike maintenance - just in case I got a puncture.. although I have been cycling for over a year (generally on my own and in remote places!!!)... Lady Luck has been smiling on me I think :-). I did learn how to take my wheels off (so I could get the bike in my Fiat 500) by watching YouTube .. but I wanted a more 'hands on' experience.
So I booked an evening course at The Greystoke Cycle Cafe (2.5 hrs.. although we were there over 3hrs for £24) - well worth it!!
Just looked on their photo albums and much to my dismay found 4 photos of me - talking in each one and with a dark patch on my top where I'd spilt my tea and washed it off so as not to get a stain!!! Oh dear..

The guy who took it (Steve Woods) was really informative and could answer anything and everything we asked... I was amazed how badly people maintain (or don't) their bikes... I didn't feel alone!! One of the bike's rear brake wasn't even connected - much to the amusement of the lady in the picture (it was her son's bike!). There were a huge array of bikes there - from a mountain bike with disc brakes to a very old bike with no gears, no quick release wheels... and very little tread on the tyres! We worked in pairs and managed to remove the wheels and change the inners, check pressures of tyres, check wear of chains and a bit about indexing. 

Steve used my bike for demonstration purposes, he told us all about Presta & Schrader valves - he thought at first mine was a Schrader valve with a cap on it till he removed it and discovered it was a Woods Valve with a spring loaded valve... that went flying across the room at great force!! They're not often seen in this country but used in countries like Finland and Holland... which could explain things as the place I bought my bike at is run by a Dutch family.  Only trouble with this was I didn't have my pump with me and we discovered that a Track Pump (which is great about £20, easy to use and shows the exact pressure of the tyre) would not work on my Woods Valve!!!! Steve wouldn't let me go home with a flat tyre.. so gave me a new inner too.. Not his night actually as he discovered another girl had a thorn in her mountain bike tyre (which he removed) .. this was blocking up the hole and her tyre then developed a slow puncture... so he gave her a new inner too!!

The really strange thing about the evening though was that Steve was just back from Cuba!!! He lives over there in the Winter and takes people on Adventure Holidays - amazing coincidence!  He told me about a place in Trinidad (Cuba) called 'The Steps' or 'The Stairs' where there is amazing music and that nearby is a club called 'Caves'.. which literally is a labyrinth of underground caves!  His bike trips sound amazing and are based on a historical tour of the South of the Island... may have to look it up if I stay over there longer than the week... although somehow I don't another cycling trip will be foremost on my mind!!  He did put my mind at ease about snakes though.. I had a fear of them whilst cycling through the Sugar Fields.. I kept thinking I'd ride over one and get it stuck in my spokes!! Yuk!! He assured me that the only snakes over there are Boa Constrictors (very reassuring!!) but apparently they rely on vibrations to know something is coming to pounce on and squash.. but they would also know that we were not what they were looking for (on bikes) and head in the opposite direction as fast as they could!! Phew!!

The thing that wasn't so good about the night was that I did something very strange to my knee (I've had 2 operations on it about 15 years ago for torn anterior cruciate ligament and cartilage) - I'd never quite experienced such a strange feeling with it.. and all I did was stand up!! It was really grinding and a sort of gruanchy feeling inside .. next day it was swollen and painful - this got worse by Friday and was like a balloon!!

So my Easter Holidays (which were meant to be 50% helping Lisa with her new house and seeing Jonas) and 50% cycling, walking etc, ended up being 100% decorating, cleaning, (seeing beautiful baby Jonas) and making curtains!! So, so frustrating... the weather was perfect for getting out on my bike - and I haven't dared book any classes at the gym!!!!  What I have done though is make an appointment with a Sports Physiotherapist for a full asssessment next friday - she teaches Pilates at DW Fitness and has been helping me sort my events there.  I figure it's better getting it sorted this year rather than next!! The assessment only costs £37 for 40 minutes - if I can come out of it with a way forward I'll be happy.. and be money well spent :-)

Finally yesterday.. a very sad day - couldn't help think about Trudy all day and how much I really miss her.. I ended up taking some tulips to her grave and sat there on the grass talking to her.. hard to believe she's been gone for 2 years now - she'll always live on in my heart ..
I raised a glass of red wine to her last night it seemed a fitting tribute (and one I did last year too) - Cheers Trudy...