I set up the Bianchi in the garage for a long overdue cleaning, as it had been a couple of weeks since I rode it in the rain and sleet. It was 20 degrees outside, warmer in the garage, although I did have the door open. With the bike on the stand and materials at the ready, it was time to clean.
Now Simple Green is, according to the manufacturer, an “effective, non-toxic, non-flammable, biodegradable, non-abrasive, environmentally safer all purpose cleanser.” Say THAT fast three times. As you might have already guessed, all of these features are delivered in a bright green liquid. Except when you use the lemon scented Simple Green, which is, in fact, yellow. Go figure.
I spray some right from the bottle on the running gear, and mix some with water to put in the chain cleaner and to generally wash down the bike. The first problem on this day was that my Simple Green, which I kept in the garage, was frozen solid in the bottle. No problem, just bring it into the kitchen, let it sit in a sink half full of hot water for a few minutes and voila! Liquid. Yes, I put it in the kitchen sink. You might be a redneck if your wife says,
“Honey, would you move that
You get the picture.
It was during the process of cleaning the chain that I noticed that the water/Simple Green mixture had quickly turned into a slushy semi-solid. Who could have seen that coming? There was no way I was going to get that off with the shop wipes. Soooo…. the bike, the stand, and aforementioned materials (including my Simple Green), were laboriously carted into the basement where I could finish the process.
The Bianchi is now clean and back in its spot hanging on the garage wall, waiting for riding season to start. In the meantime, I’ll store the cleaner in the basement. Simple Green freezes, after all.
1 comment:
And a Simple good plan.
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