My Neighbor, McGyver

My last MTB ride was on 05/26.  I haven't ridden since because I've been having some issues with my rims, wheels, and flats.  That, however, is a story for another day.  On that 05/26 ride, I was constantly being annoyed with a persistent squeaking/creaking noise that I assumed was coming from my bottom bracket.  I couldn't understand why, because not too long ago, my neighbor and I took it off, cleaned it, and determined that it was good to go.  At any rate, Craig was willing to help me look at it again today.  After giving it a quick once over, he determined that it wasn't my bottom bracket, rather it was the bearings for where the rear suspension attaches to the frame.  They were completely shot.  Luckily, Craig is somewhat of a McGyver when it comes to tools and fixing things.  He has a tool for just about any task you can imagine.  Want to clean the exhaust vent for your dryer?  He's got a tool for that.  Having trouble opening a special clamp on the reservoir tank of your car?  He's got a tool for that too.  So, I goes without saying that he has a bearing remover tool, a bearing packer tool, and assorted bearing too boot.  Before I could open my beer, he had the crank off and was whacking away with the bearing remover tool.  No sooner did I finish said beer, he had the bearing packed, the crank back on, and had fixed the problem.  I had no idea that MTB were this much work!  With my road bikes, you change a few brake pads, or maybe a chain every so often, but that's it.  If it weren't for him, I'd probably have spent a quarter of what the bike is worth in shop fees!  OK, now that that's taken care of, let's see about the leaky rims.....

Replaced bearings: