Ommmmmm Ommmmmm

The current issue of Newsweek (dated May 16, 2005, though today is actually the 10th) has a short bit in its TipSheet section under Sports titled The Zen of Bike Repair. I quote: "After a long winter, your bike is more out of shape than you are. You can pay $25 to $140 for a professional tune-up, or you can do it yourself at home." It goes on to give a few pretty useless tips and recommend going to a bike shop if you see large patches of rust, worn-down brake pads or gears that don't shift smoothly. It also recommends a couple of websites; Totalbike.com and bikewebsite.com. To those, I'd add Park Tool's Bike Repair and Maintenance site but of course they're local so I would like them. I don't know that I've ever seen an article, even a short one, touting the Zen of bicycle maintenance in the mainstream press and it's kind of nice to see it, though I don't think loads of people are going to be out buying pedal wrenches anytime soon. Bicycles' ease of maintenance is one of their attractions and in an era when you can hardly work on a car, bikes do give an outlet for your mechanical urges.