Originally Posted by
ianthonyt
Wow thanks all for the warm and helpful replies! For now, it's still a surprise, her birthday isn't until July 16th, so in the meantime, I'd love to replace the pedals and give it a solid tune up. Any tips on where to post to ask someone to teach me?
I don't know about teaching you on the forums, mostly because there are already so many good references out there we can refer you to. We can certainly point you to some of those, though, and help if you run into any problems. At first glance, it looks like the bike might not need anything more than routine maintenance -- basically clean, lube, and assess/replace consumables. You'll need a few inexpensive specialized tools, but it's not rocket science. For more detail, see you in the mechanics' forum!
Or, noting you're in the East Bay, you can check out one of the many bicycle co-ops in the area for some assisted DIY. I don't personally know the current state of any of these organizations, but here are a few to check out:
The Bike Kitchen (San Francisco)
Biketopia (Berkeley)
Spokeland (Oakland)
Street Level Cycles / Waterside Workshops (Berkeley)
Missing Link (Berkeley)