Relationship as Bicycle

I got to thinking that relationships are like a bicycle.  C'mon...bear with me and my metaphors.  You can't just get on and ride (well, I guess you can, but that's for a different post).  You need to learn how to ride a bike.  It takes practice, and often training wheels and even some coaching.  Then you are off and riding.  And you think that can continue forever!  But maybe the tires get low on air.  Or you roll over a nail or some glass.  And the chain gets a little squeaky.  Without attention and care, your bike won't last as long as you assumed it would.  So I can attend to my shiny schwinn bicycle...check that the tires are at the correct pressure, polish the chrome, maybe add some streamers through the spokes (now I am dating myself), even paint a racing stripe and put a basket on the front.  I might do all this because I want the bicycle to last.  Because it is important to me and I place value on that bike and the fact that it transports me to all sorts of cool places.  Or I could just keep riding it and assuming it will just go forever...until the chain breaks.  But by then it might be too late.  What kind of relationship do you want?  For me, I want to take really good care of that bike I struggled so hard to learn how to ride like a champ.  I want it to stay shiny and fast for a long, long time.