Last Saturday, I rode the Cerv a few miles across the land of Walt Disney to watch Coach finish up her first half-marathon. Read about it here. The Cerv already needed a cleaning, so I figured one little sprint in the rain / sleet wouldn't hurt, since I'd clean the bike when we returned to NC. Well, that day was today.
I first removed all the victimized moving parts (here I'm halfway done) and put them through my unusually secret process for cleaning.
This involves a few methods I usually keep quiet, but will share with you loyal blog readers now. Here's how the workdesk looks as I go through The Process:
The special ingredients are the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (milk chocolate, but you can sub in some mint chocolate if you wish) and Egg Nog (in a plastic cup). Not shown is the critical spaceheater - this shop is NOT very weather-proof.
After downing the aforementioned goodies, I pretty much use a bio-degreaser, occasional alcohol (for cleaning, not drinking) and some Pro-Link chain lube. I am fascinated by Pro-Link. The stuff removes dirt and old grease as well as any dedicated degreaser I've used.
After removing sand (it was Florida) and other gunk from the Cerv, we went for a spin. 30 miles with the goal of 20mph average. You can imagine how this went, knowing my nutritional intake from above. Truthfully, I felt more comfortable and in-rhythm than on the previous 30 mile rides. The hills were not AS bad and my cadence is improving. The stats tell a tale similar to previous rides, but I chose a more challenging course this time and left my tire pressure lower than usual (since I'll probably lower pressure a bit for the Battenkill). OK, honestly I forgot to give the tires some air and came up with this excuse much later.
Stats:
Route: 5 Points straight out to Lewisville, Vineyard Loop, then back Shallowford --> Country Club to 5 points.
Time: 1:36.31
Dist: 30.55mi
Avg: 19.1mph
Up next, a slower, shorter ride on Thursday night. Anyone wanna come along?
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