Tuesday July 3, 2007 I got a call from the Rochester Bike Shop (RBS) telling me my tune up was complete and my bike was ready to be picked up.  I called Bob to see what time he was getting off work to see if he was available to join me in picking up our bikes.  Bob wasn’t getting off until 7:00 pm which would be too late, so it looked like I was on my own. 

When I got home from work around 5:30 pm I remembered that Jonathan volunteers at the OPC on Tuesday nights.  Jonathan could drop me off at RBS on his way to the OPC and then I could just ride home.  A perfect plan for picking up my bike and also getting in a nice short weekday evening ride. 

After Jonathan dropped me off at RBS I went inside and paid for the tune up.  I could tell right away that the brakes worked much better and the whole front end felt much tighter.  Both the front and rear wheels were also much truer.  They told me it was difficult getting my rear wheel straight, they told me they did the best they could considering the amount of wear and abuse that original wheel has experienced.  When I took the bike in both front and rear brake pads showed wear, one much worse than the other.  Even though they told me only one set needed replacing I asked them to replace both sets of brake pads while they were doing the work.  When it comes to my bike I like to be a little extra cautious, I spend too much time on my bike and rely heavily on it for my safety on the many bike rides.  Overall I was very satisfied with the tune up, everything worked and felt much better. 

Once I squared my account with the RBS it was time for my ride home.  I did nice leisurely ride home.  I took our regular route and rode at a nice easy pace, I just didn’t feel like pushing it too hard this evening.  Usually when I ride by myself I tend to push myself harder than we typically ride as a group.  I’m not sure why I do this, but on this day I specifically remember deciding to ride at a nice easy pace. 

It turns out the OPC was resurfacing the parking lot and they were closed.  No one bothered to call and let Jonathan know they weren’t open, no big deal he ended up stopping for some food on the way returning home.  I ended up beating Jonathan home, so when he got back I was already home with my freshly tuned up bike.  At least by dropping me off there was some value in Jonathan’s trip that evening. 

Some how I lost the statistics from this ride, I do remember the total distance of this ride was 5.5 miles from RBS to my house.  Overall a very pleasant ride on a very nice evening the day before the 4^th of July 2007.
David Lindquist