Wrapping up 2023, the Best Friend Bike Team, consisting of Emily Schaldach and Johanne Albrigtsen, hosted a Teravail Tire Clinic for FTW-NB cyclists in their community. Cycling is intimidating, there’s traffic and complicated gear and the risk of a flat and slippery corners. The confidence of a grippy new tire we can trust, paired with the knowledge to fix a problem on the road, can truly make a difference. This truth came to life on a sunny Saturday morning in Reno, Nevada where 20 cyclists gathered to learn about their bikes and roll away with confidence. As most weekend mornings should, we started with bagels and coffee, donated by the local Reno Radical Adventure Riders (RAR) chapter. After introductions and proper bagel fueling, riders split into groups where each person received a set of new tires they had requested from Teravail. Emily, Johanne, and their very gracious friend MacKenzie Foster taught each group the how-to’s of changing a tire. How do I take off a back wheel? What’s the difference between a quick release and thru-axle? How do I know the direction to put the wheel back in? Bike upside-down or right-side-up? How do I know when I need a new tire? The questions swirled and we helped one another because, as always, it takes all of us. I worked with the tubeless group, dialing in sealant refill techniques and pumping strategies. We wrestled tires, the sumo squat position a crowd favorite. I try not to pin the word empowered on anyone, but it started as a buzz and grew as the day went on. Riders proclaimed, “Wow I feel truly empowered and like I will actually know what to do if I get a flat.” Ziiiiiingggg! Ba da boom! Music to our ears! Let’s goooo! The day stretched on and our two hour time slot turned to three then four, as we learned how long it takes to teach 20 people how to put new tires on a total of 40 wheels. Our fingers were numb and we were toast, but each person rolled away, testing their new grip on the parking lot and grinning. We passed along tires, but more importantly we passed along the reminder that everyone is capable of learning. Bikes are complicated, and most of us were not told that we had the skills or capacity to do this kind of work, particularly when it involves combining finesse and strength. Each of us do have to fine tune our strategies in order to pull on a tire, we won’t get by on pure brute strength. We have to look two steps ahead, figure out what works for us, and remember those more nuanced techniques are just as valuable as a burly hand. With bagels and some confidence, we did just that. And now there are 20 more rippers in Reno who hopefully feel a bit stronger and more capable, in their tires, and dare I say, hopefully off the bike as well.
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September 2022
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