“I can’t wait to get a flat on the trail now!”
Heidi Koeman, who helped lead the clinic for Hero Kit, was awesome at teaching!
Hero Kit founder Jason Berv, created a bike repair product to empower riders through knowledge and tools. He says on the Hero Kit website, “I found myself stopping often to help people who had some mechanical difficulties with their bike. They appreciated it, and it felt good to help. A win-win, so I thought I could make a kit and instructions to empower riders to help themselves and help others, and pay it forward.” And that is exactly what happened last week in Crested Butte. 5 ladies showed up on a cold and rainy day in August to learn the basics of fixing the most common problems riders face on the trail. We were a small, brave group who huddled under the shelter in a local park with coats that Jason’s wife generously brought over for us.
Every woman walked away knowing how to fix a flat tire and a broken chain! Mission Accomplished!
Heidi Koeman and Andy Shabo of Better Rides, lead the clinic. They demonstrated how to fix a flat tire on bikes with both v-brakes and disc-brakes (it so happened that when I arrived I had a flat tire, which was a win for everyone – my tire got fixed and everyone learned). They also showed us how to fix a broken chain as well as going over all the different bike elements and answering our MANY questions. It felt like winter in the middle of August, so we quickly transitioned to hands-on learning to warm up. There is no faster way to learn something than to just do it. And then do it again. We all had the opportunity to fix a flat tire and chain, which was always something that intimidated many of us before.
Andy demonstrates basic bike maintenance.
Using the tools available in the Hero Kits, and following along with the instruction book (with pictures!) made it so simple. Five women showed up, and five women walked away empowered to help ourselves, and now others on the trail. The next day I ran into one of the participants and she was so excited, she said she couldn’t wait to get a flat on the trail! Mission accomplished.