How to clean your bicycle chain. Racing tip

ok i do this the easy way. i have one of those rolly thingys that you atatch to the chain and spin, but i do this once a month as well.

first off remove your chain and soak it in wd-40 in a glass jar. you can leave it in there from 1/2 hour to over night.
just a note. wd-40 is a degreaser. do not use this to oil your chain.

give the jar a few swirls for more cleaning action. like the washing machine. you can even make that sound if you like....

then you must brush the chain with a nylon brush. i use old tooth brushes as they are small and cheap. make sure you take your time and get in all the nook and crannys. do this systematicly so you don't miss a link. both sides as well. try not to let any wd-40 go down the drail. its bad for the earth.

rinse in the jar again and then pull the chain over your hand to find any stuck or binding links. these will slow you down and break on that spot.

jusst draw it back and forth, it will be apparent if a link is kinked.

dry the chain thoroughly.

i like to use a dry lube with some wax. since i clean and lube my chains alot, i use a cheap one. as long as you keep it up this is fine. a wetter wax and/or oil will do a better job, but will have more sand/dirt stick to the chain and that will be worse.

now put a rubber band and a bag over the jar and use it again until it is very dirty. this stuff cuts grease so you can reuse it. remember to dispose it at a recycling center to help out our mother earth. thanks for being green!!!

double head wind and knee pain...

the workout idea today was suppost to be a 5-6 hour ride with some hills. i have an old injury on my right knee that sufaces when i push sittting down too hard. which is exactly what i've been doing this month. i am surprized it took this long to come back.

so i did 3.5 hours instead and limped home.

here is wastch, my usual warmup routine cause its just right outside da house. another nice day huh.



jeez look at me i'm a "redneck". oh well the start of my funny bike riders tanline.

so i rode from millcreek to corner canyon. yeah yeah, i know i was just there, but there is not a whole lot of dry trails right now. anyways it was a head wind getting over there on 13th. push push in the wind at 21mph. i am getting good aero training at least.

the trail at corner caynon is still dry. i threw the fox f29 back on the vassago as the jet9 will not be ready for red rock rampage next week due to parts not come in yet.

i also filled a 3 liter water bladder and stuffed it in my pack just incase i needed more water and the extra weight is a good workout. really good!! dat is heavy.

here is the construction from the other side. saturday and nobody was working.

although i had 28 psi in the tires today i felt slower on the f29 front shock. even at lock out it still has a small amount of give to it.

uummmm, the same pic as above? i'm such a dork...

so i rode around on the single track. much fun again and i pushed it a bit harder keeping HR around 165. did a quick out and back on bst to the north as well.



then the ride back and more head wind....huh?...again? yes the wind must have changed and i had to push the same wind back home.

last night when switching forks i put on a sram x.o. short cage rear derallier. i had this one laying around just waiting to on this bike as i run it as a 2x9 and sometimes 1x9. with the new cable on there it didn't really shift as fast, but once it stretches out a bit should get me the usual click/shift that i like sram for.

the medium cage sram x.o. will go on the jet9 as a 3x9. i figure that bike will see alot of epic and long distance riding this year, so the extra front chainring will get used.





i just liked this shot. its like having a camara on my knee. hey its "kneecam"......

just as i was pulling up to big cottonwood canyon my right knee started screaming out in pain. i was spinning all ride, but i could feel it coming on from the last ride. so i skipped the hill and just rode a couple of laps on wastach with the million other cyclist. its such a parade on the weekends there.

everybody seems interested in the vassago frame and i get alot of questions.

along the road there a rodie on a very fancy TT bike went by sooo fast that i almost didn't see him. he past without even making a sound. which was puzzling me as i seemed to be flapping in the wind like a loose sail on a ship. he even had a TT helmet and lycra booties. boy he must have been really cutting the wind to do that.

the temptation to click up a couple gears and catch him was almost too much, but i behaved and nursed my knee untill time was up and i could go home.