My hands still smell like suspension fluid.

Returning to a bike related post and something not as snarky as my last one (which according to my wife was NOT funny, but just mean. I might want to disagree, but she's usually right and I'm usually dumb...).

In addition to my excellent bike riding skills (HA), I've always prided myself in my bike mechanic skills. I tore my first bike hub apart at age 11 or so, not knowing what the hell I was doing and been at it ever since. Fucking up a bike part will teach you REALLY quick how to not do it.

I've taught myself or learned just about everything there is to do on a bike, from building wheels to rebuilding suspension parts. I did this for three reasons. One, I never wanted to pay the "shop rate" for repairs. Yep, I am cheap, but I guess that's how I can pay for expensive bike parts. Two, I don't trust a lot of people to do the work properly (this is my problem). Actually, when you go to a shop, there are a few that you really know and trust and if they were the ones working on your bike, that'd be OK, but usually that trusted person takes your beloved and hands it off to some teenager that is in his first week on the job. No thanks. Third, and most importantly, I am REALLY impatient when it comes to getting stuff fixed. If you remember back, this might not be compatible with my ability to PROcrastinate, but they're not necessarily mutually exclusive. Once I hand off a bike or part to someone, I'm wondering when it will be done on my way out of the shop.

SO, with our pending trip less than a week away, I needed to get some annual bike maintenance done. I rebuilt the rear shock over the weekend and last night I rebuilt the fork. I started at 8 pm, keeping with my ability to procrastinate. The best part of doing it at night is if I have any problems and I need to buy an additional part, I can't. Which is awesome as I'll obsess over it, think about it all night long and sleep like shit. But, I didn't have any issues and as I type this I can peer over and see my bike, reassembled and looking good, on the rack in my basement shop.

Everything on my bike is now ready for the trip. I'll take her out for one last ride tonight, making sure everything is working properly, wash it up and have it ready for Moab. I just hope that when I'm flying down a trail in Moab, my fork doesn't explode.