National Bike Week: Bike maintenance 101
BOSTON (WWLP) – It's National Bike Week, and there's no better time to learn some basic bike maintenance to keep yourself safe on the road.
Whether you ride a bike from your neighbor's yard sale or a top-of-the-line racing bike, basic care for your bike remains the same.
Before every ride, you'll want to check your ABCs–that stands for air, brakes, and chain. It is easiest to check these essential functions of your bike with the wheels up.
First, you will want to be sure your tires are inflated, and you can find the PSI you should be aiming for on the side of your tire. It doesn't matter what type of brakes your bike uses–what matters most is that they work. Check that out before you ride.
As for your chain, make sure it isn't sticking and keep it lubricated. You can find chain lube at your local bike shop, and keep up with this on your own.
Now that you're ready to hit the road, make sure you're wearing a well-fitting helmet–you only get one brain! On the road, you will want to ride on the same side of the road as cars and follow all the traffic laws they do. The best way to prevent an accident is by being predictable. Always signal your turns, and keep your wits about you.
For extra safety, use lights on your bike! A white light always faces forward, and a red light faces backward to show other riders and cars that you're up ahead. Use the blinking settings to save battery and catch cars' attention!
One last thing before you buckle your helmet and hit the road. Just like you would never text and drive, keep your phone away while you are biking, too. A focused cyclist is a safe cyclist.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
State Street in Belchertown closed due to downed pole, wires
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) – A portion of State Street in Belchertown is closed Sunday afternoon due to a fallen pole and wires in the road. Hydrant flushing to begin in Greenfield this week The Belchertown Fire Department shared on social media that wires and a pole are damaged due to an accident on State Street and are blocking the roadway. Police and fire crews are in the area blocking off traffic as repairs are underway. Officials said that the road will be closed until the pole and wires are repaired. Drivers in the area should use caution and take alternate routes. 22News will provide updates as more information becomes available. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
16 hours ago
- Axios
Johnson was "disappointed" by Musk's big, beautiful bill blowup
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that Elon Musk's online blowup against President Trump and his signature big, beautiful bill was disappointing but brushed off questions about the impact of the billionaire's criticism. Why it matters: Musk's grievances against the president's signature tax-and-spending package have been echoed by some GOP fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill. Senators last week strategized with Trump and other administration officials on how to cut spending further than the House-passed legislation did. Driving the news: Johnson said on ABC's "This Week" that he hasn't spoken to Musk on the phone since Monday of last week, before the Trump-Musk alliance publicly exploded on Thursday. "We were disappointed, surprised," Johnson said. "I'd had a lot of great interaction, discussion with him about the one big, beautiful bill to make sure he had accurate information because I was concerned that people were telling him things that just simply weren't true." Musk on Thursday posted that he never saw the bill, denying Trump's claim that he was familiar with the inner workings of the legislation. Johnson told ABC's Jon Karl that Musk had expressed in text messages that his primary concern was about spending in the legislation. He added that there have been "almost no calls" to GOP lawmakers' offices, despite Musk urging his 220 million followers to call their representatives over the bill. What he's saying:"I didn't go out to craft a piece of legislation to please the richest man in the world," Johnson said. "What we're trying to do is help hard-working Americans who are trying to provide for their families and make ends meet." Johnson declined to elaborate on Trump's threat to cut Musk's government contracts. "What I'm trying to do is make sure that all of this gets resolved quickly," he said. "That we get the one big, beautiful bill done and then hopefully these two titans can reconcile." Zoom out: But Trump, in a phone interview with NBC News' Kristen Welker, said he had no desire to mend his relationship with Musk following the explosive falling out. Trump also told NBC Saturday that there would be "serious consequences" if Musk started funding Democratic candidates. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) sidestepped Trump's comment when asked about it on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, saying, "We have a lot of social media drama going on between two of the most active social media individuals in the world ... back and forth on that. And I know a lot of people are focused on that."
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Why the Goodyear Blimp Hasn't Been Replaced by Drones
For the past 70 years, the Goodyear blimp has been as ubiquitous in the sports world as the national anthem. The tiremaker's small fleet of blimps have floated above football games, NASCAR races, golf tournaments and other events, providing aerial coverage to networks and signaling to fans that a sports spectacle is underway. Goodyear's relationship with television networks and event organizers is a unique and enduring sponsorship. Since 1955, when NBC asked Goodyear to provide live video coverage of the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl, the company has sent live images of games and events to television producers in return for mentions of the company's name and logo during the broadcasts. These 'blimp pops' run about once an hour and can be worth millions of dollars in ad time. ' In an age of digital inserts, screens within screens and other ways for sponsors to reach viewers, Goodyear's technology is quaint. The blimps, which are slightly longer than a Boeing 747, hover about 1,000 feet off the ground and rarely move faster than 70 miles per hour. But their ability to capture a skyline, a stadium or the flight of a golf ball down a fairway has made them an indispensable part of broadcasts. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
