I took my bike in for its initial tuneup last night, part of the standard procedure after buying and breaking in a new bike. The mechanic took it into the shop at the back of the store while I browsed through the bike merchandise, and rolled it back out to me ten minutes later. “Everything looks good,” he said, “except your chain was very dry and definitely needed some lubricant.” I voiced my surprise, as I thoroughly wash and lubricate my chain every couple of rides. “Well,” he replied, “I lube mine up before every ride, but I’m also just very anal.”

And it was very difficult to take him seriously after that.