Parenting and the art of bicycle maintenance

I finally got around to it.

My bike has needed a clean for quite some time but I’ve been putting it off.

I finally decided it was time to get on with the job and so I asked James to join me in the backyard yesterday where we set about a bit of bicycle maintenance. First task was to replace a couple of spokes on Emily’s bike then we did a couple of other bits and pieces before the big cleaning job.

One of the reasons I’ve been putting off cleaning my bike is that when I do get around to it I go all out. Off comes the chain, the chain rings, the wheels, the rear cluster and all sorts of other bits and pieces. Then it’s into the degreasing fluid and out with hot soapy water.

Throughout the whole process I explained every step to James. I know that he’s only eight but I figure he’s got to start somewhere.

I talked about the special tools we used and the reason we did all the things we did. There were a few momentary lapses in concentration on his part but most of the time he was more than happy to talk about what we were doing and to help where he could.

Finally we put the bike back together and I can assure you that this morning’s ride to work was one of the sweetest ever.

It was so wonderful to spend that time with James doing ‘guy’ stuff together. He loves knowing how things work and most of the time when I asked him to figure out what each of the parts did he quickly assessed the situation and came up with the right answer.

I certainly hope that by the time he has developed the skills to do all his own bicycle maintenance he’ll let me help.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Cycling – Family – Parenting

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