I'm touched. Or is it "tetched?"

I'll blow my own horn for a moment:

A recent topic on 'bent rider online started with the query, "Who is your favorite bike mechanic?" Of the first eighteen or thirty responses, most people claimed that they themselves were their favorites, usually elaborating with comments along the lines of "he's cheap, readily-available, I can get him to work on my bike to my satisfaction for a couple beers and some pizza," and so on.

I was surprised to see my own name listed, although the people listing me were of no surprise. One lives here in town (he listed me as his second choice, I presume after himself...), another used to live here, and the third was one of the racers on the Team Type 2 RAAM effort last summer (and a long-time web pal).

I have to admit it was pretty cool to see myself listed as their favorite mechanic, and that I'm more popular among those responding to the thread than any other single wrench-puller. *shucks!*

I know I'm a decent mechanic--even a fairly good one. I know guys who are probably better than I am, too. I know OF folks who certainly are better.

But I try to be better. It's part of my attitude about professionalism: I figure I can always improve at the skill set, so why not do a better job each time than the time before?