Tiny Helmets Big Bikes
Check us out!
  • Home
  • Us
  • Blog: We Ride
  • FAQ
  • Our Fleet
  • Adventures
  • Getting Started
  • Contact Us

UBI pt. 2

7/21/2016

0 Comments

 
So far, bottom brackets, chains, and cassettes have been added to the week's instruction. There's been lots of hands on practice and this evening, actually took apart Oscar's hubs and cassette to overhaul. Surprisingly enough, it actually wasn't as bad as I had expected. There was some pitting in the front hub and it was all in desparate need of a good scrub and lube but everything was still usable. On my commute each morning, I had been having more and more trouble with the drivetrain skipping, leaving me unable to ride in 2/3 of my gears. Not fun in a town with real hills. Tonight's ride home was like flying! I couldn't believe how smoothly Oscar rode with just those simple maintanance skills (and lots of help from my awesome instructors). Still so much to learn and practice but I can tell that Oscar is going to be such a happy bike by the end of this class!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

United Bicycle Institute

7/19/2016

0 Comments

 
After an incredibly frustrating 18 hour long train trip, I finally made it up to Portland to take UBI's mechanic course. I had applied numerous times through their women's scholarship but decided to go ahead at sign up. The mechanic portion of the bike world has always mystified me. Although I had gotten to a point that I could do basic repairs and change flats pretty comfortably, there was still so much I felt useless at fixing. I'm excited to get a chance to get more confidence in wrenching and also build in a new set of knowledge and self-sufficiency into my bike work.

​Day one had us already overhauling hubs and I was grateful to have had Neil's help already with the Troll's hub. Today, we used our hubs to build a set of wheels! I can't believe how much I've learned already!
Picture
One day my garage will look like this, too.
Picture
Oh no! My hub broke!
Picture
The Great Spaghetti Monster.
Picture
Trued and tensioned!
Picture
This is probably the happiest moment of my life so far (you know, besides my kids...)
0 Comments

Playing dirty

7/3/2016

0 Comments

 
Summer is officially here with both kiddos out of school! We celebrated by taking both boys on our river trail ride. Big Brother was an old hat at it, already riding the route once before but this was Little Brother's first try. Although LB has been getting mch better at riding predictibly and cautiously while being a good listener, getting him in the gravel was difficult. After the first 5 miles or so, he started getting tired and frustrsted. There were some crashes and tears but mostly smiles. I have to remember to stay alert to their energy levels and patience so we can head off the major meltdowns. After all, the whole point of these adventures is to instill a lifelong love of cycling. For me, riding a bike is my stress relief so as soon as it stops being fun, it's time to reevaluate and pull out the emergency lollipops. Thankfully, by the time we were done, the boys were full of sticky smiles and happy memories (with some proud crashing stories).

​This weekend was also my kid-free time and I got in some great rides with friends.
Picture
pre-ride hams
Picture
pure freedom
Picture
perk of being short
Picture
taking a breather
Picture
our tiny family
Picture
watching mama duck's tiny family
Picture
back on the bikes. these boys make my heart full.
Picture
emergency lollipops and smiles again.
Picture
Trollop's new Carsick Designs framebag
Picture
sunday morning breakfast ride. great folks and yummy food. everything tastes better by bike.
Picture
finding more dirt to play in up in Folsom
Picture
on our way back home. legs of jello are a sign of a successful weekend!
0 Comments

    Author

    This is us. We're fun. 

    Picture

    Archives

    October 2019
    April 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    30 Day Challenge
    365 Days Of Biking
    Adventure Cycling
    Amtrak
    Big Brother
    Big Brother
    Bike Camping
    Bike Camping
    Bike Friday
    Bikes!
    Bikes!
    Bionx
    Breakfast Club
    Breezer
    Bullitt
    Car Freedom
    Car Freedom
    Carrying Kids
    Carrying Kids
    Carrying Loads
    Carrying Loads
    Cycle Truck
    Cyclofemme
    Daily Errands
    Diy
    Family Rides
    Family Rides
    Hauladay
    Isla Bike
    Kidical Mass
    Little Brother
    Little Brother
    May Is Bike Month
    Mobic
    Overnights
    Positivity
    Practical Cycle
    Sacramento River Parkway
    Safe Routes To School
    Safety
    School Commute
    Solo Kids
    Strider Bike
    Sun Shade
    The League
    Tour De Whine
    Weather
    Whimsical Cycle
    Yuba Mundo
    Yuba Mundo

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.