bike cleaning...

it's been a little while since i've cleaned my bike... it wasn't terribly dirty, but it had some dust and bugs on it. it seems the longer you leave the bugs on the bike, the harder they are to clean... i was kind of torn cleaning the bike since i'll be out riding it tomorrow - maybe it's wasted time. since we're going to a trials event, we'll most likely be riding our bikes off road and onto a dirt/gravel road. means more dust and probably another cleaning. oh well...

so i stripped down the bike, put it on the lift and cleaned away. took a couple hours. i started with the tires, scrubbing the whitewalls - boy were they dirty. then i cleaned the rims and the spokes. then onto the bike. after wetting down the bike, i usually spray on some s100, wash the bike and then hose the s100 off the bike. i've turned to using our leaf blower to dry the bike - it works pretty well and helps get the water out of all the nooks and crannies. then comes waxing - this usually takes the longest. but once i'm done, the bike looks pretty good. after today's cleaning, i decided to leave the bike stripped down, put the saddlebags and solo seat back on, but i'll leave the passenger seat, tour-pak and windshield off. give me a stripped down look for a while...

as i go through the process of cleaning, i ask myself why i do this. why do i take so much time and effort cleaning my bike?? i mean it's not like i'm going to be putting it into a show... i could actually be out riding instead of cleaning. and after i clean it and go riding, the bike is only going to get dirty. i know several guys who keep their bikes minimally clean - they keep the bugs and dust off, wash it once a year whether it needs it or not. why can't i be like that?? i guess i just like the look of a clean bike. makes me feel good as i'm going down the road on my clean bike. so i guess it's worth the time and effort i put into the bike...

as a side note, i do have to mention that i didn't make my wife happy cleaning my bike today. she was out running kids here and there and running errands. i think she expected me to do more yard/house work after mowing the lawn and edging. when she got home, i was just finishing cleaning my bike. yeah, she was not too happy with me. so i decided to clean the gutters on the house as well as wash some of the outside windows. she was going to clean the windows, but i decided i better do them. i tried to do a couple other things, but i think i still need to do more to get on her good side... i'm thinking about skipping the ride tomorrow and maybe doing more around the house. damn, i don't know what to do...