Messy Ride

I know many of you ride/commute by bike all winter long, and I am inspired by your bravery. Even though we have had a relatively mild winter with little snow, yesterday was only my second outdoor ride this year. It was way outside of my comfort zone. I did manage 25 miles on my hybrid on a paved trail, mostly wet with large puddles, but miles 5-7, and the same miles on the reverse were slush, ice and snow covered (almost lost my courage on the return, knowing the conditions over the next 2 miles). I never had to get off the bike to navigate it, though, so the ride was a confidence builder :). The winds were around 20 mph, with some pretty strong cross-winds, so I was glad to be on my heavier bike. When I got home, the bike looked absolutely terrible, and we have our outdoor water turned off and pipes drained to prevent freezing. The whole bike looked like picture 1 below, so it definitely needed more than a wipe-down. Picture 2 was my solution. Then I had to scrub the tub :(.

But I bet the bike appreciated her warm shower. ;)

Glad you made it outside!

My outside hoses have never worked right and getting pressure is nearly impossible in the winter. The joys of having an older house I guess. I had to rinse mine a couple of weeks ago and it took forever. Wish I had thought of the bathtub :)

Good job! I usually have enough water left in my bottle to quick rinse the crud off. More important than that is keeping the chain lubed, so I wipe it dry and add some right away. It only takes a few minutes.

Good thinking!

I live in an apartment building, and the outside water might or might not be working -- plus, there isn't a hose so I have to take a bucket downstairs and bring the wet bike back up on the elevator (because I can never get it completely dry).

To wash the bike indoors, I stick a pan under the bike and dump water on the critical parts. Usually makes a mess, but my floors usually need mopping so it all works out in the end.

Wow, that doesn't sound like an easy ride at all! Good for you for pushing through. The bath tub pic is cute.


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I've cleaned my bike in the tub a couple of times this winter. Our tub is big enough my bike just fits with both wheels on. We have separate showers and never use the tub for bathing, so like Pam's floors the tub usually needs the cleaning it gets after the bike is done. The tile floor in the bathroom is a nice place for the bike to hang out while it dries, too.