Thursday, June 24, 2010

Rest Weeks Are For Maintenance

The concept of a rest week is maintenance of the body. Just like a motor needs an oil change, the body must be cared for properly. Bikes need maintenance too. That was today's mission...

Like me, the bike has accumulated effects of the preceeding weeks of training. For the bike... it's mostly in the form of dirt! Gently spray it down...



Apply the suds...



Use the high-tech super-duper chain cleaning tool...



There a ton of contraptions for chian cleaning. I've even tried two of them. Most end up creating a bigger mess trying to add and dump the degreaser. And the chian never comes out very clean it seems. I've since wised up. And use a jar filled with citrus degreaser. SHAKE! The result.... clean chain! No fuss no mess.



I made a couple of changes to the bike over the last few weeks. Switched to the Ergon GX2 Leithbrau grips. I like the shape of the hand portion. Not sure I like the bar end part. I don't use it much. But... I'm not used to having it, so maybe I'll acclimate to it? I can certainly see the usefulness on long slogs. Nice to have another hand position, and they weight next to nothing (they're carbon). I also worried about them snagging in tight spots, but they are small enough to cause no worries. I've ordered another set sans bar end to keep on hand...



Also added a longer stem. Did the same to my road bike a few weeks ago. I think my desire for more reach is related to the change to my right elbow. Whatever reason, it's helped. Less front end wander on climbs and negligible penalty on descents. I'm really comfortable on the bike right now.

One final thing this before I wrap up this eve... mount up new tires.



More to come on these. Rested and prepared for a weekend of Texas hill country riding!

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