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With the weather warming up in some parts of the US, it’s time to get the cobwebs off the bike, make it look all shiny and get those legs going again!  We’re actually pretty fortunate to have decent cycling weather year round here in Vegas, but usually if it gets near freezing I chicken out!  I’m actually already complaining about the heat and roasting here and it’s only in the upper 80s.  Hopefully I will acclimate fairly soon because it’s going to get hot folks.  Even if you don’t have a road bike, or don’t care about cleaning one, it’s still exciting that spring is in the air 🙂  Here’s a little tutorial on how I clean my bike and a crit race recap . . .  

First I set it up on the trainer with a towel underneath for a stable platform.

Take an old rag and wipe down the frame with some warm, soapy water.

If you have some really dirty spots I use a degreaser.  This stuff stinks really bad so spray it on the towel outside first.

Also use it on the chain if it’s really dirty.  Pedal one of your cranks backwards and hold the towel in place to wipe all the gunk off the chain.

Roll up a small towel like dental floss to get in between the cassette.  If you really want to get it clean, it works best to take the entire back wheel off, but this usually works for me.

Then once everything is clean and spiffy, it’s time to lube the chain up.  This is what I usually use . . .

As you roll the crank backwards, place about one drop in between each chain space so that it coats it fairly evenly.

It’s looking good now 🙂  Once all the lube is lightly coating the chain, go through all the gears on your bike to coat the cassette and crank.  It should shift smooth like butta’.

Hands do get a little dirty but that’s part of the fun 🙂  I usually clean my bike like this every several months or so, or when it starts to not shift so well.  Makes all the difference.

Buster was so excited he could hardly stand it 😉  gotta love bassets!

I’ve been getting in some good rides with one of my teammates and we did a nice 35 mi lake loop Saturday.

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Crit Race Recap!

I also had my second crit race on Sunday put on by Vegas Bike Racing!  I actually wasn’t too nervous for this one and just wanted to go out there and support local racing.  It was awesome because it wasn’t too far from our house and we didn’t have to travel.  It’s been really hard finding the extra time or money to travel for races which are usually anywhere from 5-7 hours each way.

Our race was supposed to start at 8:05am, but it was delayed because the Women’s Cat 3-4 were going to be combined with the Women’s Pro 1-2.  Yikes!!!  That freaked me out just a weee little bit AND it was going to be 40 minutes long.  My last crit race totaled a whopping 18 minutes, so this was definitely going to be a change.

The race started out pretty slow compared to VOS which was actually nice, but that did not last long.  I was able to hold on with the main pack for about 20 minutes and then the pro women put a fierce hammer down and dropped me in the dust.  It was also fairly windy so the head wind didn’t help with trying to catch back up.  I battled to the finish and actually ended up 3rd place!  But of course this doesn’t mean much because our cat 4 field was only like 7 or 8 women (They separate the placings by category).  I actually felt much better physically for this race and wasn’t absolutely dying at the end.  It was still a good experience and the motivational push I need to continue training and working to get better.  More intervals and climbing!!!

Here’s the course (counter clockwise):

Action shot!  I’m surprised my tongue isn’t hanging out, but this is probably before they started to push the pace ha!

Here are the stats:

• Duration- 37:00
• Miles – about 12 mi
• Avg. Speed- 18.9 mph

Always great to ride with my teammates.  Go Fluid!

Hope you had a great weekend and hopefully spring is on its way for you!

Any bike cleaning tips?