Thanks for the ideas.
I'm going to ask for the dry lube this weekend--I've never tried that. I do wipe off the excess after lubing. But I'm nervous about the idea of wiping down the chain after every ride. I had one bike mechanic tell me not to do that--that it was more likely to push grit down into the links. He said that the chain is designed to slough off the grit with the excess grease and that Shimano recommends never wiping down a chain for this reason. Have others heard this?