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Pam lubes your bod and your bike
Last weekend's mountain bike mud-fest at Granogue found racers and bikes encrusted in mud with derailleurs snapping like Fox News commentators since the '08 election results.
In previous years, the race has taken me just over 2 hours to complete. This year, impeded by mud laden with leaves, sticks, rocks, and I swear body parts, I completed 1 lap in the time time it usually takes to do 2. Seeing the carnage of broken derailleurs, snapped frames, and mud-laden shorts, I decided to DNF after a lap. Besides, I had registered to ride my bike, not push it unsuccessfully around a mud pit.
As racers encouraged each other during this death march, I learned two very important tricks which have eluded me during 20 years of riding.
- On races where you will encounter more mud than usual, spray your chain with PAM cooking oil. This will help shed mud and keep your drive train from snapping like a Saltine. Spraying your frame also helps keep it mud-free which comes in handy when you're pushing the extra weight up a slippery climb. Thanks to the guy next to me in the bike wash line for this tip. I can attest to its validity because his bike looked great compared to the others.
- When your bike collects mud rendering it unridable and you forced to push it through the peanut butter, try rolling it backward every few feet. This helps dislodge the mud and lets you move forward.
- Ride to the left or right of the trail center to avoid the over-used center which will have become a dangerous rut after a lap of racing.
- Don't wipe the mud out of your eye with a mud-covered glove. Yes, I did. Doh.
If you find yourself stuck in a mud pit of a race, placate yourself by remembering that many people pay hundreds of dollars at fancy spas for the luxury of laying around in mud. You only paid $30 for the race.
For more info: Talk to people at races and eavesdrop on conversations of people who have cleaner equipment than you.
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