Maintenance

I finally gathered up the courage to take my beloved bike to a bike shop to get some maintenance. Until lately, I've always dismissed professional bicycle maintenance with a train of thought that's not too well thought out, something like "bah, I can do that myself". But I can't. I don't know how to adjust the crank hub bearings so they are adjusted optimally. I can't adjust the spokes and straighten out the rims. I'm not up to date with the latest advancements in bicycle technology.

But professional bike repairmen are, and possibly, it's not inconsiderably expensive to use their services. The guy I left my bike with seemed very professional and knowledgeable, and promised to service my bike for 80 €, including decent new brake pads, which cost about 10 € a pair. And he told me that the bulge in my front tire was a result of not installing the tires properly. Which was done by me. He also told me that I was lucky that the inner tube hadn't gotten out and exploded. Yikes. Somehow I hadn't really considered that happening, but I guess it might have been unpleasant, had it happened it at 40 km/h or more.

I don't seem to be able to exercise on weekday evenings, but I've run to work twice this week. The distance from my home to my workplace is only about 1.7 km, sadly, but I've circled around the neighbourhood to get more exercise. I think I've dropped a couple of kilograms from my weight in the last couple of weeks, which I think should make climbing up hills easier. Hopefully. Or actually, not easier, but faster. I'd rather maintain the level of pain but get it over with quicker.

And also, a colleague challenged me to a Cooper test next Tuesday, so of course I've had that in mind. The last time I've ran a Cooper test was in college, about 15 years ago. I've no idea how to divide my strength. Should I just go at full blast from the beginning? Well, we'll see next week, but anything less than 5000 metres is a disappointment, I suppose.

BTW, to make this blog slightly less boring, here's a picture for your entertainment. It represents the route I ran to work last Tuesday:



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