Always Check Your Equipment
Always check your bike before using it, wise words indeed and you can substitute the bike for just about anything, car, chainsaw, climbing equipment etc.
Having got my motivation back a bit, Thanks to Bikeradar.com, I have been out pretty much every day for the last week and have so far racked up a little over 100 miles. A downside to this new found vigour is a slight lack of maintenance, working hard, family life and trying to fit a ride in each day means that a thorough wash and going over with spanners etc after each ride has to give way to a weekly schedule with a quick once-over before a ride.
Looking forward to the 2012 BTT Benidorm, I started to check the bike, all was well until it came to the wheels and more specifically the Shimano loose bearing hubs. They had been serviced, by me, a couple of times over the last few years and adjusted regularly but after 4000km with me and an unknown amount with the previous owner they were starting to cry “enough”.
When I got back into mountain biking a few years ago the answer to this question was a resounding NO. The saddle on my old bike was very much of the racing variety whereas my body shape was more comfort-oriented. Managing for a few months with the old seat seemed appropriate as this new found enthusiasm for cycling may have subsided as quickly as it appeared and being a Yorkshire man I’m not in the habit of frittering away the pennies.