Washing your bike is the only effective way to get rid of the salty deposits and is similar to washing your car - with one BIG exception...you don't want to blast off the grit and grime with a high-pressure hose. You want to use TLC, just as you would when you wash your Ferrari, should you be fortunate enough to own one.

Get two large buckets, one for soapy suds, tthe other for clear rinse water. If you have a garden hose handy you can skip the rinse bucket - but use low pressure ONLY.

If there's an adjustable tip on your hose, set it to a fan type, low-pressure spray or lightly place your thumb over the end to create a light, misty spray pattern. Any more pressure than this will drive water into the bearings whether they are sealed or not!  While you see pro mechanics blasting the bikes at the Giro or Tour with pressure washers, keep in mind those bikes get overhauled quite often and their moving parts, like bottom brackets and headsets are replaced frequently courtesy of component sponsors. If you want your bike to last and your mechanic to like you, avoid high-pressure sprays!

If you don't have a workstand like Lorenzo's in the photo, find a way to hang your bike up outside with the wheels removed. Use an old hub or even a screwdriver through the rear dropouts to support the chain. You can also purchase various gizmos to clamp into the dropouts for this purpose - Larry's fave is the French-made VAR. Wash the bike with plenty of soapy suds (dish soap works just fine) applied with a sponge or brush. Eventually you'll want a selection of brushes to fit better into your bike's nooks and crannies, separate ones for the cleaner bits like the frame and others for the drivetrain and wheels.

Start at the top and work downwards, finishing under the bottom bracket. Make sure this area is clean so your cables will run smoothly under there, especially if you use sugary drink mixes; they can drip down and "glue" the cables in place, making for sticky shifting! While washing you can eyeball the bike, looking for any problems such as frayed cables, cracks in the frame, loose spokes, etc.

Once everything has been soaped up and the grit & grime loosened, GENTLY rinse everything from top to bottom, either with the hose or a large sponge soaked in clean water and squeezed over the bike.

Finish by toweling off to dry, using a terry-cloth towel moistened with spray furniture polish to leave a clean, waxy surface. If you have access to compressed air you can CAREFULLY and GENTLY blow the water off before you wipe things down, otherwise, put the wheels back on and leave the bike to dry for awhile in the sun.

Next time we'll cover cleaning and care of the drivetrain and provide some web links for specific cleaning products.

 

Fresh tomatoes are everywhere this time of year but who wants to slave over the stove? This dish requires no cooking other than boiling the pasta! We can't remember where we first enjoyed this recipe but it's amazingly good. 

1 lb dried pasta 

Salt and pepper to taste