As physical distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 begin to relax in some countries and people return to work, the fears surrounding transportation and commuting continue to weigh on the minds of many.
Once popular options like public transit and ridesharing, such as Uber, now carry the risk of potentially exposing riders to COVID-19. The Toronto Transit Commission recently reported that even if it operated at only 30 per cent of capacity, roughly 510,000 riders, passengers would not be able to keep a safe distance from each other.
Trying to buy a bike, or to get one worked on can be a very trying experience right now. The entire world is running out of bikes under $2000. The bike industry lost a month or two of production due to the COVID19. Then as the virus hit the U.S., bike demand tripled. So every shop, every manufacturer is totally sold out. We have a couple hundred bikes on back order, and these will trickle in over the next few months. Parts are in a great shortage, $20-30 replacement tires are gone. Tubes are very scarce. Shimano is totally out of rear derailleurs for 6,7,8 and 9 speeds.
Are bike shops an essential business? In some places yes, in others no. We do not know how New Mexico defines this area. With the Governor's order broadcast just an hour ago, we are intending to stay open if we can. Please email us at info@robandcharlies.com, or call us at 505-471-9119 to confirm our status. If you do come, please follow Social Distancing guidelines and stay 6 feet from other people. We are disinfecting regularly and trying to be socially responsible. A bicycle may be the MOST socially responsible mode of transportation.
If there are people you know that would benefit from riding a bicycle but need to get in shape or are a bit intimated by a large group such as the SOBs then this is a great opportunity for them. The Basic Biking class is the same one that we did last year.
This 10 week course will be taught by Edwin Crosswhite, a League Certified Instructor (LCI #221). Edwin taught 30 years as a public school teacher and has 45 years of experience training bicyclist of all ages to improve their skills. Julie, Judy, Lynn and Ruben will be assisting him if needed.
Bike Santa Fe will host a bike maintenance class at rob and charlie's. The classes will be Thursdays 6:30 pm to 8 pm.
February 6th: Flat prevention and repair. Learn how to prevent flats and fix one. We will cover patching and replacing tubes.
February 13th: Shifters and derailleurs. How to adjust shifters and derailleurs, setting limit screws and adjusting cable tension.
February 20th: Brakes, how to adjust road caliper, V-brakes and cantilever brakes. We cover compatibility with brake levers, and briefly discuss disc brakes.
