The mind is still processing the mud fest that was the True Grit yesterday. A more detailed race report to follow later in the week.
The immediate fallout was to do some maintenance on the bike before dirt started to make things creaky and cranky! I took the bike to a car wash and did a quick power rinse to get all the mud off. I don't like to power wash a bike as it tends to embed dirt in areas where it shouldn't be. Being that I was on the road and had no idea where to go, there were few options. Once rinsed it was time to get the bike to a shop and have them remove the bottom bracket and clean and re-grease it. It is a good thing I did because the bike wrench told me there was some dirt in there. I also had to replace the brake pads - the pads were almost down to metal. The chain is probably still salvageable but it will take working lube into each one of the links to make sure the lube prevents the chain from seizing.
A couple of quick pics of my clothes after the race:
Shoes caked, knee warmers caked, jersey caked, socks caked, shorts caked....note that the shorts in the picture above were turned inside out so all that mud was on the inside of my bibs!
And another one with the shorts rightside-out:
I forgot to take a picture of the bike before hosing it off but suffice it to say that it had substantially more mud on it than my clothes!
The immediate fallout was to do some maintenance on the bike before dirt started to make things creaky and cranky! I took the bike to a car wash and did a quick power rinse to get all the mud off. I don't like to power wash a bike as it tends to embed dirt in areas where it shouldn't be. Being that I was on the road and had no idea where to go, there were few options. Once rinsed it was time to get the bike to a shop and have them remove the bottom bracket and clean and re-grease it. It is a good thing I did because the bike wrench told me there was some dirt in there. I also had to replace the brake pads - the pads were almost down to metal. The chain is probably still salvageable but it will take working lube into each one of the links to make sure the lube prevents the chain from seizing.
A couple of quick pics of my clothes after the race:
And another one with the shorts rightside-out:
I forgot to take a picture of the bike before hosing it off but suffice it to say that it had substantially more mud on it than my clothes!
Ouch! I really don't like a truly gritty chamois!
ReplyDeleteIt was so wet from the continued rain that fortunately the chammy did not dry and get 'gritty' before any serious consequences! Bummed to have missed you guys on this trip. I ended up at Gooseberry Mesa (by Hurricane) and rode there for two days. Definitely make that a destination and check it out if you are anywhere near...very very worthy - will be posting some pix over the next few days. Hope you guys are still crushing it!
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