The bike shop in the garage behind the Jubilee house has been so busy. The shop is full of beaten up, worn out bikes that people have brought in to fix or just to give to me. Its really been wonderful to have a busy workplace and to feel like I'm doing something productive with my time. It had to warm up to about 40 before people woke up from their winter slumber, but now that it's really warmed up nicely, people have started coming in droves.
Every day its the same story with the bikes. They have rusty chains, rusty cables, rusty, wobbly, and dented rims, dry bearings, and maybe a few bizarre creaks here and there. But they can be made to function, more or less. Some have more serious problems, like when the bearings have fallen out completely or axles have broken in half. With a lot of perseverance, a little creativity, and some sore, skinless knuckles, most of these things can be fixed.
The most common type of problem is just a maintenance related one. That happens when people haven't known or cared enough to take care of their bikes. Mostly, people coming into the shop clean bikes with these kinds of problems. It can be a really rewarding thing, especially when it seems so hopeless before any work is done, but then the smallest signs of progress encourage us to keep up the good work. A dull, rusty rim can be made shiny if someone tries hard enough.
The other day I showed Chris how to adjust a seat so that it was tight and at the right angle. I showed Lee how to clean up cables and replace them if need be. After a couple of hours of all of us working on their bikes, some other people showed up. Predictably, their bikes had the same problems as most of the other bikes. This time, I was really busy, so I couldn't take the time to teach them how to get things to work again. So I put Chris and Lee up to the task.
Sometimes I can stop for a second and look around. I look at everyone's beaten down, worn out bike and see that really, all that it needs is some tender loving care. Then I see the sweat beading on weathered, scrunched up faces, the torn shoes, the beaten up hands, the grease-blackened jeans grunting to turn rusted out nuts and bolts. These people have been under a lot of stress, having lost jobs, homes, or maybe even families. Smiles break loose across our faces, a laugh jumbles out from behind the truing stand. Self-respect, confidence, and shock radiate from people as they find themselves put into a teaching position, made a leader. Sometimes, all we need is some tender loving care.
