Fredless-
I might also add that checking your bike completely is important. During a recent overhaul, I noticed that I had cracked the plastic laminate sandwiched between the leather of my straps. Glad I did, as it freaked me out seeing a partially torn srtap with crack plastic acting as my brake and power source. Just b/c they are laminated, doesn't mean they won't fail eventually.

glad your mom didn't see this. she would have freaked.