The Bike Wash, Baby!

It's only May 9 and I've already washed all of my bikes. I washed my Trek Fuel EX 8 once this year, but it's time for another washing after our latest and greatest road trip to the WORS race in Iola. My Trek Fuel EX 7 has been washed probably three times. It's my mud and snow bike. I've ridden it several times in February, March, and April. I rode it at the Pontiac Lake race last month. I washed it before the race, after the pre-ride, and after the race. The cross bike was washed once this year. I washed it last week with the garden hose and some brushes. The drivetrain still needs a little TLC.

Everyone has a different idea of how a bike should be washed, but the following video is a good representation of a good bike wash. So, spend some time with your bike this weekend. It's amazing how much you'll appreciate it after doing so. Then, you may just want to ride.

Serious Bike Love

Springtime is here. Yes, I totally know you needed me to state the obvious. If your bike is like mine, it is sloppily shifting and sluggishly braking. The cables are grimy and loose from cyclocross season and spring road riding. It needs some serious love, much like my body after riding to Copper Harbor (43.5 miles of hilly ouch).

I rode to Copper Harbor yesterday and met my parents there for dinner and the car ride home. My body was d-e-a-d. It wasn't just any 43-mile ride, which is still quite an effort for me, but it was a hard-effort 43-mile ride because I was trying to get there before my parents did. They left Houghton an hour after I left my house, so I expected them to pass me on the road.


Di riding down Covered Road. Don't let the snow fool you - it was 50-55 degrees F and super sunny. It felt soooooooo good.

They caught up with me on Covered Road (US-41) about five miles south of Copper Harbor. I had my own SAG wagon in the form of a white Cadillac with a personal photographer following me into town. I just got new brake pads and the bike stops like a dream, which is a good thing considering the giant descent into the Harbor. I peaked at about 37 mph. Yes, brakes are good.

I met Mom and Dad in town and we did a little jaunt around town and Ft Wilkins State Park all while getting pictures. This ride concluded 50 miles for me. I do believe this is the farthest I've ever ridden.


Di beginning her descent into Copper Harbor by the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

National Bike Month isn't just a great time to do long road rides and advocate bicycle safety and awareness, but it is the perfect time of year to get your set of wheels ready for a season of heavy duty rolling. My Kona Jake the Snake is heading in for a tune-up pretty shortly and will shift and brake like the performance animal - er, bike - it is come the next Copper Harbor ride.

Motivation in New Clothes

The day comes when you just can't find the motivation to get out the door. I experience this a lot. Maybe it's a girl-thang, but I find that one thing in particular is a great motivator. NEW CLOTHES! Oh, yes. What girl can resist taking a roll around the neighborhood when she is sporting a new jersey or new shorts?

My National Bike Month motivational tip for the day? Buy some new clothes.

Second Most Important Piece of Safety Equipment

"They're the second most important piece of safety equipment." This is what one of my bike guys likes to say about sunglasses. Although, if you're like me, riding through the dark forest, your sunglasses aren't so sunny. They are lightweight glasses with interchangeable lenses. Mountain biking days call for clear lenses, road days for amber.

I like clear lenses for mountain biking because I ride in the Keweenaw forests where the trails are well protected by the sun. I like to see everything in true color rather than through tinted lenses. I use amber lenses when I hit the road. My baby blues are sensitive to light, yet I like a brighter view, so amber works perfectly. I have smoke-colored lenses that I don't use much, but they're there if I need them.

I've had stones and sand thrown at me by passing automobile tires and leading mountain bike tires. Rain has smacked against my face as have tree branches. My glasses protect my eyes from all of this. This is why glasses are the second most important piece of safety equipment.

If you can't figure out what the first most important piece of safety equipment is, click here.

Use Protection, Wear a Helmet

It's interesting how cycling helmets have so much opposition. Excuses for not wearing them are plentiful:

They don't look cool.

They don't feel right.

If I fall, the helmet will cause neck injury by rotataing my head on impact (this was part of an Australian study against laws necessitating the use of a helmet).

Helmets among cyclists are a great necessity. If you don't wear a helmet around one of us, you don't look cool, and you do look funny, and chances are we won't want to ride with you. Look cool. Wear a helmet.

Give it a week and you will wear a helmet for the rest of your life. I feel naked without my helmet and even a little scared. As a mountain biker, I've had quite a few accidents that were nothing because I wore a helmet. Hitting my head on that rock didn't take me out of commission. Click here for a great story on how my helmet either saved my life, or at least the quality of it. Since I was wearing a helmet, we'll never really know. The answer to this question should never be known.

I have never injured my neck in a fall. Sure, neck injury is possible, but if you consider how many cyclists hit their heads each year without inducing neck injury, you'll see the odds are on the helmet-wearer's side.

Here are a few tips for wearing your helmet:

Helmets come in different sizes. Choose one that fits well and has an adjustment to make it tighter or looser.

Adjust the chin strap so it is snug.

When properly adjusted, your helmet should sit squarely on your head and should not move when you shake your head from side to side or front to back.

Wear it. It may save your noggin.

Ride long enough, and a situation will arise where a helmet will save your noggin and allow you to ride another day.

Easy Steps to Properly Fit a Bicycle Helmet
Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute