RB: After a Muddy Ride.

Ever wonder if you were cleaning your bike in the most beneficial way after a dirty/muddy ride? 

I had my way, and thought it was harmless and no big deal to take out the garden hose and spray it down and then dry off right away with a towel. Of course I knew I was in denial, and figured while it was easy, probably wasn't a good idea in the long run.

Tonight I picked up my bike from Bike Tech in Lincoln Park, NJ, tuned up for the season to come. While there, I figured I'd ask Steve (the guy who worked on my bike, and the nephew of my Chiropractor, David Runfeldt, the mayor of Lincoln Park) what was the best way to clean it. These guys are awesome. They are all willing, excited, humble and so cool about sharing what they know about bikes.

Here were his suggestions:
All you need to keep your bicycle maintained: A couple differently sized scrub brushes, windex, Fantastic, WD-40, Pledge and rags, rags, rags...

1. Put it in the garage/basement/somewhere dry and leave to dry out.
2. Brush off dried out dirt.
3. Windex everything.
4. Fantastic on rims (to clean off that black slim), followed by windex (to take off film).

5. When chain, sprocket and derailleur need cleaning: use WD-40 and rags to wipe down/off parts. WD-40 is more of a degreaser than a lubricant. Then add chain oil.

6. Wipe down frame with Pledge.

My bike looks brand new and I'll be taking it out in the a.m. before work up into the woods behind my house and up to Ramapo Lake. (I'll post a pict of my route in the future)

Paul Rosenbiker

Rosenventure (formerly Adventureberger) Introduction

I created this blog site back in March of 2010 for two reasons. The first was to be able to comment on my friend Liz Urso's blog called Little Umbrella. At least I thought I had to create an account to do so. She is an inspiration to me for many reasons, and in reference to her blog, her talent and dedication as an artist. Week in and week out she stays committed to her craft and creates works of art with that distinctive Liznesss. She is a true artist in that she does what she feels and in a style that is her own. Love you Liz!

The second reason was born out of the first one. Now that I had a blog account, I had to name it. I love outdoor sports. Climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, trail running and recently this past winter, finally, snowboarding (I'm terrible but love it and I look forward to next season). 

Kayaking was born out of my family canoeing trips down the Delaware River up in the NY/PA region up past Port Jervis starting all the way back to the early 70's. 

Mountain biking was the rediscovery of being a kid again with the freedom of riding our bikes like we all used to. My brother and I picked it up in the mid to late 80's by osmosis from my older sister who was always setting the course for us to follow, from childhood, to the Poconos to now. Love you Kath!

Trail running/walking is always good metal therapy. It always provides any answers I have to those jumbled up thoughts I may have in my head. The workouts tend to be run/walks due to my fitness and trail difficulty level! But inevitably, by the end of a workout, I've come up with answers to my questions and give me a peaceful place to begin my next step.

While I find mountain biking to be the funnest activity of all of these, climbing is my truest passion out of all of them.   

So it only made sense to call the blog Rosenclimber. A combination of my last name and favorite outdoor sport. The original intent was to document and share my trips, achievements, discoveries, local boulder spots etc.. It was to start with documenting my 2010 climbing year of doing all the climbing routes I am capable of at the Shawangunks in NY. The idea waned and didn't go anywhere. I guess there is a time for everything, and now is the time to do this.

However, just recently I thought, why limit it to my climbing adventures. I have all these other interests as noted above, and probably don't do either one of them enough to provide enough material to keep things interesting. Therefor, now my goal is to put this blog under the umbrella of Rosenventure, due to my inclination to adventure centered sports. 

We'll see how that works out!

OK, here we go.