Believe me, I am no animal. I am almost 50 years old and trying to get back into shape. However, I do ride is some very, very wet weather....

As for cleaning, I am simply wiping the chain with a clean rag - no solvents or "cleaners" invloved. I find 5 minutes with a rag and the chain is very clean. Then I add lube (Tri-flow) to every pin on the inside of the chain. I then let is sit overnigt before the next ride to work.

I measured the chain wear by removing the chain from the bike and measuring across 50 inches (50" *0.50% = 1/4" of stretch). I find mesuring over 50 inches to be more accurate then measuring over 12 inches.