The Park Tool School classroom

“What will you learn there?” A friend asked when I told him I was going to spend the weekend in a two-day, 14-hour course on bike maintenance. “Is it that complicated?”

No, not really. But the fact is I struggled to strip my bike down when I tried to repaint it. I consulted two bike mechanics, researched online and watched a couple of YouTube videos. Yet there was always one more thing I needed to know before the strip down could continue. Which direction should I turn the wrench when removing the bottom bracket? Left is right, right is wrong? Nope, it’s not turning in any direction!More...

• Fenders: check
• Water bottle: check
• Ding-ding bell: check
• Front and rear reflectors: check
• Helmet: check
• Reflectors on helmet: check
• Spot reflectors on the frame: check
• Reflectors on fenders: check
• Plastic bag on seat to keep it dry: check
• Carrying bin with lid: check
• Safety triangle on bin: check
• Banged up paint job to make the bike look ghetto to deter thieves: check

Five stars for safety. No doubt you'll see many more stars if you shine a light at it in the dark.

A barely maintained bike, ready to breathe a new life

Depending on how good you are with bicycles, you could repaint a bike with your hands tied behind your back, or you’ll find out that you are not all that familiar with bicycles after all.

I wasn’t familiar with bicycles after all. All these years riding and being seen as the “bike guy”, I realized that I couldn’t take a bike apart completely. It would take me days struggling with never-before-seen tools, the wits of some of the top bike mechanics in Guelph, and numerous trips to different bike shops before I could finish repainting my bike.More...

This is a more compact system than a 2-person tandem. In addition, the main cyclist continues to cycle on essentially the same bicycle without needing to adapt to the feel of another bike. Great idea, but I wonder if they make one for adult tag-alongs?

According to BikingToronto, this arch was made of 600 abandoned or unclaimed stolen bicycles.

Mark Grieve also did a bicycle arch for the Burning Man Festival in 2007, among other bicycle-centric sculptures he created.

I stumbled upon the BIXI bike sharing system in Ottawa on our way to a friend’s graduation last year. The link goes to the Montreal site for some reason. Maybe they are meeting greater success in Montreal?

It’s $3 for the first 30 minutes, and the fare increases the longer you don’t return it. This encourages users to return the bikes more often.

With summer coming, the system should see increasing use. I wonder how’s the ride like?

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
Location: Guelph, ON
Editing software: Sony Vegas Movie Studio
Music: Losing You to You by HammockMore...

Time for a little vacationing back in Malaysia. A picture of a pedicab seem appropriate right about now.