Messy Ride

[goride]

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 .

[bmccasland]

But I bet the bike appreciated her warm shower.

[Bethany1]

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

[redrhodie]

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.

[PamNY]

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.

[missjean]

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


.