Bike Cleaning Day
I got my Trek Valencia hybrid bike out to ride and discovered that its rear brake is frozen. So I did what I'd been putting off, I cleaned it.
The weather was beautiful today with sunshine and a high temperature of 62 °F (17 °C) in the afternoon. I thought it would be a good day to ride a bicycle. Both of my bikes have sat ignored after Sunday, September 22, 2024, when I rode 25 miles on the Minuteman Bikeway, my favorite local route.
I pulled my Trek Valencia hybrid bike out of the cellar, pumped up the tires, noticed how dirty it was, and finally discovered that I couldn’t ride it because the rear brake didn’t work. It looked like the cable was frozen in the housing (corrosion, I suppose).
Since the bike was dirty and I would be ashamed to take it to my LBS in such a state, I invested the time to thoroughly clean it. (I would rather ride a bike than clean it, so I’ve been putting off the cleaning for many months.)
I like to watch the Bike Farmer on YouTube, and Andy likes Dawn Powerwash for cleaning the bicycles he’s renovating. A few months ago I had picked up a spray bottle, and I tried it today. It’s designed to cut through grease, and it did a good job, especially on my chainstays where grease collected from my chain. My bike is sparkling clean, now.
Tomorrow I’ll roll the bike down the hill to Ace Wheelworks (less than a mile away) for annual maintenance and to get the brake repaired. And if the weather is still nice, I’ll get out my Surly Disc Trucker and (I hope) take it for a ride.