Last weekend I decided it was time for a little bike spa. Hot Wheels and I ride down to my dance class together twice a week, and in the mornings around the full moon the path is often completely flooded in places. It’s usually quite an adventure with some off-roading through the scrub grasses to catch the path again. That part is fun, but it leaves our bikes pretty muddy and gunky. So after some sloppy rides over the last couple weeks, it was time for a chain cleaning and general demudification.
These pictures would be a lot more impressive if I’d had the presence of mind to take the ‘before’ shots. Anyway – we had some fun cleaning them up and fixing the lights and attaching the new basket to Hot Wheels’ bike. He was super excited about the whole project. Now I’m debating whether I should get the fenders for his bike or wait till he grows into a 20″ bike. Poor thing – it really shouldn’t be a question. I finally figured out his basic weekly (Monday – Friday) mileage, and it’s 18 miles. That’s just the school and dance class riding, so I suppose the guy has earned himself some fenders!
You might think that all this cleaning would leave my bike chain feeling light and content. I certainly did. Perhaps it just made it hungry, though, because yesterday on my way to work, it took a bite out of my pant leg. Check it out:
How’s that for gratitude? Hmpf. And it was the left cuff – I’d pinned the right one, since that’s closest to the chain, but it still managed to get a chomp in there. My nice Anthropologie pants, too. Good thing they were on sale, because otherwise my bike would be in the doghouse.