I probably should have checked my brake pads before I nearly ran into the side of a moving car at the corner shopping center the other day.
When the snow and freezing temperatures hit the Pacific Northwest this winter, the street and highway departments answered the challenge by dumping tons of sand on the pavement.
No one has come along to sweep away that accumulated sand, except for me and my bike rims.
Every wet ride that I take, miniscule grains of grit attach themselves to the rim and have been steadily wearing down my brake pads everytime I come to a stop. I've been dialing the brake adjusters tighter, but I've nearly run out of shoe.
The last time I changed the pads was back around Labor Day; so this is just seven months of basically off-season riding. I removed the chain about a month ago to give it a good soaking, and I probably should have checked my brake pads at that time.
A warning to those who kick up sand on wet days as they ride at the edge of the road — check those brake pads. A replacement set costs about $10 at your local bike store.
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