Bike School 2005

United Bicycle Institute

Professional Repair and
Shop Operation Class

Friday, December 9, 2005

Shop Operation and Certification Test

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Our last day in class. Many of us either were working or hoped to work in a bike shop. Some even planned to open a shop. There is so much more involved in working in a shop than doing repairs and bike assembly. The morning was spent going over many of those other tasks. Of most importance to mechanics is properly writing up a repair ticket. I've been doing it for over a year and know how important it is to diagnose all needed repairs, clearly write up the work needed on the ticket, and to accurately estimate the cost of parts and labor. After an overview from Gary, we spent some time role-playing as customers and mechanics, writing up fake service tickets.

Gary is the reluctant instructor; I sensed that he would be much happier working on a bike than talking to a class full of students. He has lots of shop experience and gradually that knowledge came out, but it seemed to be a chore to him. It was a long morning.

Many shops go out of business each year, mostly due to mis-handling of the non-mechanical aspects of running a shop. Ordering too many of the wrong type of bike, having poor customer relations, unwillingness to put in the long hours required to make a shop a success, etc.

At the end of the morning Gary and the other instructors fielded questions. I was the only one who took advantage of the opportunity to submit a question in writing beforehand. There were a few general questions from others, but there seemed to be little enthusiasm for the session. Many were anxious to take the test and be finished with the course.

After lunch I took a walk, to get some exercise and to clear my head for the test. Most people treated the test lightly, but being as competitive and uptight as I am, I worried about it and wanted to do well. The test was very difficult. We were able to use our notes, workbook, and the Sutherland's Handbook, but with 100 questions in 90 minutes, there was little time to search for answers. I had taken copious notes and cross-referenced them to the workbook. I also made a list of all the tables in the workbook. It all helped. After answering the questions I knew or could easily find, I returned to answer the more difficult ones. With 5 minutes left, I still have several unanswered questions. I finished the last question as Anna retrieved the tests.

Anna hands out class completion certificates	Class picture

After two weeks of waiting, I finally received my test scores from UBI. According to the school staff, there is a law in Oregon stating that technical/trade schools must notify students of their certification results by mail. I correctly answered 85 of the questions and received my bicycle mechanic certification; 75 was the passing grade.

After the test a few of us discussed some of the more difficult questions. It was a good learning opportunity since I got several of them wrong on the test. Some of us would be staying at least until Saturday. Erich, Joe, and I walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant to discuss the course, the test, and what we would be doing next. We went our separate ways afterwards. I wanted to take another walk through town; many shops were open on Friday night and it felt good to stroll through town, lingering at the bookstore and doing a little Christmas shopping. Later several of us went out for pizza and beer, toasting our time at bike school. Appropriately we drank Fat Tire Amber Ale on beer coasters featuring a cyclist riding into the sunset.

My return flight was scheduled to leave from Medford at 6 am on Sunday, so I wanted to ride to Medford on Saturday to avoid a long bike or taxi ride early Sunday morning. I was up early on Saturday and rode into town to get some early morning shots in the rare sunshine.

	Overlooking Ashland from the west
Ashland Home	Downtown Ashland	Rogue Valley Roasting Co.

Later I rode to the nearby UPS store in Ashland to ship some of the heavier, bulkier items that I didn't care to take with me. It had been a struggle to fit most of my gear into the suitcase/trailer on the trip down from Medford, and I had accumulated lots written material during the class.

It was a cold but lovely ride to Medford. Somehow I took a wrong turn south of Medford and rode along busy highway 99 into town. I had thought about staying in downtown Medford at the Red Lion Inn, but after cruising through town, I decided against it. Not many stores or restaurants seemed to be open and I just didn't care for the feel of the place so I pedaled on. I ended up at the Courtyard Marriott adjacent to the airport. The only "restaurant" nearby was located in the terminal, and I didn't feel like riding any further, so after checking in and luxuriating in the comfort and privacy of the room, I ventured out for a meal.

Overall impressions of UBI and Ashland—The Professional Repair and Shop Operation class was very thorough. There was a little too much lecture and not enough hands-on for my taste. Doing an exercise once is not enough to properly learn techniques. Assembling the new bike at the end was a good way to review nearly everything that we had learned, and there was sufficient time for that task. I've been working on bikes for many years, and I was anxious to work on some of the newer technologies. The best parts for me were working on hydraulic disk brakes and suspension forks.

The instructors were all very knowledgeable. Evans and Anna were excellent, both in their own way. Tim, who only taught during the first day was very experienced and knowledgeable and it would be worth checking to see if he was going to be available for a more extended period during the course. Gary knows his stuff but does not appear to have had much experience teaching, and didn't seem to have his heart into it. Maybe it was a bad week for him.

I highly recommend the school. I'm contemplating returning for the advanced workshops on suspension systems and wheel building. Ashland is a great place for riding and walking to restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, and gift/art shops. It's an expensive town. The restaurants away from the downtown area are much more affordable and less crowded. Many people get around by bike and there are bike lanes on all the major streets.

The conditions at the Cycle Hostel were very basic. Sufficient for my needs, but others might want a little more room. We were on our own throughout the week, as Murray, the owner, lived in Medford and was rarely seen. There is another hostel located below the Cycle Hostel, Ashland Commons. Rates are a little higher, but the accommodations appeared to be better. A couple of people stayed at The Manor Motel, and the rate was comparable to ours, which was $23.40/night. There are also several B&B's in town. During the winter, rates are much lower and negotiable.

There are several shuttles from the airport in Medford (around $20), and taxis (around $30). It's possible to bicycle from the Airport, mostly on the Bear Creek Greenway trail. Since the trail is not currently complete, there is a detour on roads with bike lanes (E. Barnett Rd. to N. Phoenix Rd. to Fern Valley Rd.).

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