Lori: I love your last post! I'm a "mature" (cough, cough) woman, so the lady card works for me, too...sadly, it's usually due to my age and ignorance rather than any great charms. OMG...I was laughing when I read your line about the rear tire. I'll WILLINGLY change the front tire 10x if it means don't have to mess with the back one. I guess I do have one other advantage, though...I play the "dumb gringa" card whenever I've done something jaw-droppingly stupid (in other words, I don't have to act). Mexicans are very, very kind people and it helps when I start out with, "Obviously, I'm not from around here..."

HillRider: While you're right that REI's courses can't help me here, I do travel back every so often, so it's good to know for the future. The suggestion is excellent because bare-bones basic is exactly what I need. I'm very trainable, but I hate scrambling to catch up on Part I when others are already at Part III (or in my case, the difference between "X" tool and "Y").

Again, thanks!