Protection from the elements on a roof rack?
So I recently drove ~2600 miles with my Trek on the roof of my Civic from Tucson to Wisconsin and Chicago to visit friends and family and then back to Omaha for a summer internship. I love my Thule roofrack--it was a Craigslist special ($80 for the whole setup!!).
However, the bike was exposed to the elements the whole time. We drove through quite a lot of rain and got stuck in a sudden hailstorm in New Mexico. Fortunately we were near an exit, which ended up having a big 'ol underpass that we were able to take shelter below, but that was my scariest 1/2 mile of driving ever... it was SO loud on the roof, but I wasn't worried so much about dents in the car, I was worried about MY POOR BIKE! She survived, though. :)
It ended up that the main problem was the BUGS. The amount of bug guts I scrubbed off the poor thing was so disgusting it was almost comical. Not just on the fork and the bars, but bugs splattered on the spokes, a huge moth belly-up in the cassette... it was incredible.
I'm already starting to brainstorm for the trip home (which will be shorter, but ~1400 miles, still nothing to sneeze at). Those of you who have used roof racks for lengthy trips--and there must be some of you around here--have you done anything to shield your bike? I've heard about products marketed to protect the drivetrain (something called the Chain Condom or something?), but I'd really like to protect more than that if I can. With the bikes on the roof, though, I worry about things becoming sail-like. I saw some kind of a form-fitting cover online, made of lycra or something, but that was almost $200. Could I wrap it in Saran Wrap or something?? :o Or should I just deal with the exposure again? I don't mind so much with the Trek (which is a bit beat up already anyway), but I might have a second, new bike making the trip home with me (fingers crossed), that I'd like to protect...
