Changing Brakes

Today, I've learned something new. For the first time, I've changed the brakes of my bike myself.

It was more than time. The rubber was so far gone that I could hear the metal scratch the rim of my wheels. So, after having heard this sound for a week or two, I finally enter my local bicycle shop. "I need new brakes." - "How many?" - "Four" - "That's 7.95 EUR." Before I can think, I'm out of the shop again, my new brakes in hand. I had secretly hoped that the nice man behind the counter would actually install them just as other nice men had done before, but now I'm too embarrassed to return. And heck, it can't be that difficult, can it?

I can assure you, it isn't. You basically unscrew the old brake, put the new one in the same way and adjust its position. All in all, the operation might have taken me half an hour - probably three times as long as the average bicycle mechanic, but that's not what counts.

What counts is the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. And understanding that sometimes your fear of a problem is larger than the problem itself.

I have learned something new.