Try racing series to wrap up your cycling season

OK, so you've spent the whole summer riding recreationally and before the warm weather retreats entirely, you're wondering what it would feel like to try racing. Well, you've got some great chances to test those waters in the near future.

The Athletes By Design Cycle Club is once again sponsoring the fifth annual Fall Fling racing series. The series consists of four full days of racing and includes events perfect for beginning cyclists. Sept. 29 is an Individual Time Trial in Maple Park; Sept. 30 is the first of two days of criterium racing in Lombard; Oct. 6 is a rural road race in Westlake Village (just west of Rockford); and Oct. 7 wraps up the series with the final criterium back in Lombard.

Cash prizes await top finishers, and cyclists can either sign up for individual races, or save money by registering for all four before Sept. 24.

As a member of ABD, I'm always amazed at how well our organization manages to pull together and put on top-notch races throughout the year. The commitment of our members is mind-boggling! For information, visit www.abdcycling.com.

A wrench in the works: Have you ever crashed your bike, or hit such a large pothole or curb that your bike wheel ended up resembling a potato chip? Ever heard the aggravating snap sound as a spoke breaks?

Whether these incidents have happened to you yet or not, carrying a spoke wrench on your bike can prove to be a salvation. A spoke wrench can be purchased at your local bike shop and allows you to tighten or loosen spokes without removing your tire. The first time I attempted this procedure, I was amazed at how easy it was to reshape a mildly bent wheel.

While you'll most likely want to have a bike shop refine your work later, the following process should get you home. First try opening up the brake calipers to see if you can keep the rim from rubbing. If it still rubs when spun, start the repair by identifying the most severely distorted area of the rim. The goal is to pull that section back to the center using the spokes.

By simply tightening the spokes that connect to the opposite side of the wheel hub and loosening the spokes that connect to the same side as the distortion, the wheel will work its way back toward true. Turn the spokes one-quarter turn for each adjustment and try to always work with at least three of the spokes in the bent area. Repeat this procedure for any other distorted areas.