Hello, my project is coming to an end! In this post, I will discuss what I am going to prepare for In-Depth Night.

Progress Report

Since the last post, what I have done is I washed an entire bike. Indeed, I scrubbed every inch of it very diligently, including the frame and tires.

Video: I also started replacing the brake pads on the purple Nevada bike.

Obstacles/Frustrations

I would say the main obstacle I have now is finding enough time to work on in-depth! I need to put a lot of time in. At least I know exactly what I must/want to do. I will need to devote as much of my homework time as I can to in-depth starting now!

Mentor

I have not had another mentor meeting yet, but I have met with my mentor and I have been communicating with him. For example, I had to borrow the brushes again to clean the tires, and we talked a bit then. David remains greatly supportive of me. I think I will squeeze in at least one more mentor meeting that I already have a bit of an agenda for.

What was a highlight for you and why?

One of the highlights was certainly witnessing and participating in taking apart my mentor’s friend’s bike that day—disassembling the bike. It gave me true in-depth knowledge about each part, and it was lots of fun to see all the different parts laid out when we were done. In other words, it was both an educational and an exciting new experience for me, which is why it was a highlight for me.

What was particularly challenging and why?

I think adjusting/repairing gears is a sub-skill that is particularly challenging for me; I certainly need more practice with it! This was particularly challenging because I do not have a bike stand, so I have to turn the bike I am working on upside down, which confuses me a lot. Additionally, before this project, I had never tried adjusting gears before, so I only know how it works and I did not have hands-on experience with it yet. I remember having to bring a bike over to my mentor one weekend afternoon because I was struggling with the front derailleur. With that particular challenge, I had threaded the cable incorrectly, so if it were not for that, I probably would have been able to finish it on my own. Either way, I have had challenging experiences with adjusting gears so I need some more practice with that.

Where might this skill take you next?

This skill might take me next to a summer job at Trek! But that is only wishful thinking if I do not act. I have David’s support and he said he talked to the store manager, to who I can send an email. I think I will do that as soon as In-Depth Night is over. Apart from that, this skill will take me now to a point where I have knowledge about bikes and am handier with them, which should help and save me a deal in the future.

In-Depth Night

What elements will you capture? How is the audience going to interact with your learning centre during in-depth night?

I am going to do/perform one or two sub-skills that I am confident in so that the audience can stop and watch what I am doing and then I can hook them into my presentation. As of now, I think I will perform adjusting brakes, although I still need some more practice to feel fully confident with that. I would also like to practice more with adjusting gears before In-Depth Night so that then I may also perform that sub-skill. I could set up a little routine for myself where I continually go in a loop:

• Make brakes out of adjustment
• Adjust the brakes until they work well
• Make gears out of adjustment (front and rear derailleurs)
• Go through the procedures of adjusting the gears until they work smoothly

I could continue to do this while at the same time keeping an eye out for possible interested audience members. I could say hello, smile, and make eye contact with them and then I could start my presentation. My presentation hook line could be, “Would you like to know how to keep your bike out of the bike shop?” or something along those lines.

In my presentation will be a run-down of points on how to keep one’s bike out of the bike shop. I will have this written out already. For example, I will remark on how good brakes should look and work, and that if they do not look that way, they need to be replaced. I will be using the bike in the bike stand to point at while I explain. It can be a short presentation (of how to keep your bike out of the bike shop) before it turns into a conversation. This is where the audience will/can interact with my learning centre during In-Depth Night. If they are the curious type, they can ask me questions anytime while I am talking, for example, when I am talking about how to maintain your brakes so you can keep your bike out of the bike shop and I am saying that they need to be replaced if they look like so-and-so, they might ask, “How do you replace brakes?” Then I will take that as a cue to go down that route, explain to them, and maybe even show them how to do it. Throughout my presentation, I could give information in a very forthcoming and enthusiastic manner, until the audience member appears satisfied, and they can leave, or somebody else comes along. At that point, I can say “Thank you for checking out my learning centre, please enjoy the rest of the night!”

This is where I have come to regarding thinking about what aspect I will share with the audience during the in-person In-Depth Night on May 31st as well as how I am going to present it. I still need to do more preparing and practicing, but it should go fine! See you there!