[SaddleBags]

In the mid-Atlantic, as well as other parts of the US, the past few weekend races have been bone dry dust bowls. This ongoing rain will change that. Rain in forecasted for the next several days, including race days.
I'm doing 2 races with ~2 hours between. I anticipate the 1st race will result in my bike covered in mud/dirt, etc.

I'll bring a 5 gal bucket and some brushes and towels. I'm not sure of the water availability so I'll bring a gallon jug too. I also have a pit bike that can be used if the primary bike is too caked up. I'll pack the bike stand too for easier setup.

What are some tips on cleaning the bike between races?

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[truckin]

SaddleBags-

Did you have to clean your bike in the end? We raced yesterday after rain pretty much straight from late Tuesday until early Saturday, and the course wasn't muddy at all. Tacky with good traction, actually, and no need to clean the bike afterward!

[SaddleBags]

Hey Truckin
I took a brush to the chain and deraileurs between races and that did the trick. The rain let up in the morning but the coarse was still pretty muddy (alot of singletrack). I gave it a thorough cleaning that night as it was caked up.

[truckin]

Gotcha- we were luckier with our conditions, having had a beautiful but cool day Saturday to dry the course out a little, then similar conditions to continue the process early Sunday.

I'll be up in VB over Thanksgiving and Christmas, so perhaps I'll see you out there at some point...

Keith

[jfmckenna]

Get yourself one of those insecticide pump up sprayers and fill it with water. It squirts like a 30 foot stream so it will wash of a bike nicely. Some soap and a toilet brush will clean her right up.

[somnambulant]

Get yourself one of those insecticide pump up sprayers and fill it with water. It squirts like a 30 foot stream so it will wash of a bike nicely. Some soap and a toilet brush will clean her right up.

+1

I saw someone with one of these last weekend and thought it was genius. I'm definitely going to pick one up. I also have one of these (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442281475&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302694071&bmUID=1193863760628) which works pretty well on the cassette/chain/der pulleys. The "pick" section is particularly good for scraping gunge out of the pulleys.

[jfmckenna]

Funny thing is about the insecticide canister is I was mulling over how to clean my bike after a messy race when my Dad suggested the idea so I can't take credit for it :) The Zefal brush looks like a good brush for 9 bucks.