Changing My Tune Up

Today was a monumental occasion in the life of my main bike, "The Bike With No Name." He's getting his first tune-up. Hard to believe, eh? It's been a year and 6ish months since I put this guy to the test for the first time:

For comparison, here's approximately how he looks today:

Not bad, right? I've done my best to keep him up to par, and as you can see I've made some additions. I don't need to remind you of all the miles we've shared together (including the launching of my occasional Sunday Cycling Series), but let's keep it simple and say that I've more than gotten my money's worth out of the factory setup.

I've already changed brake pads and tires once. I've done regular lubrication, I've tinkered and toyed with different accessories, and I've trued my wheels more times than I can count. Some claim that cassettes and cranks are only supposed to last about 4,000 miles, and chains are only supposed to last about 1,500. I've gotten about 4,500 out of all of them. I guarantee I could get more out of all of it because I know my bike and how it handles, but it's definitely time...time for some bike shop appreciation.

I don't have the space for all the tools, nor the know-how to use all of them (yet) to do a full tune-up, so I dropped my favorite son off at Bicycle Therapy today:

There's always a disheartening feeling when you drop your car off at the shop (if you own one), like you're never going to see it again, and I felt that today. I know it doesn't make sense because he's in good hands. They're highly recommended by the Bicycle Coalition (and I get a member discount!) and they've always taken care of me, which is awesome. It's also awesome that I've got that She Beast to back me up while he's getting worked on.

So hey, cheers to (potentially) another 4,500 miles after this! And beyond. I guess I can be alright without my number one for a few days...