Winter and spring months can be soupy. The sloppy mud conditions can either be embraced with a smile or sitting at home sad. I choose a smile! So, what does a person do when their gear is no longer vibrant colors but instead is a nasty brown?

Here are the options:

1. Throw the gear away and buy a new set – this can get costly pretty quick and is wasteful.
2. Show up to next race with gear already muddy. Psyche everyone else out about the conditions of the track.
3. I strongly DO NOT recommend throwing the gear in the washer machine right away, unless you want to make your mom or wife/significant other mad. It will also not get all of the mud out and the gear will be stained. So, it will be a lose, lose.
4. The best way to get the filthy gear clean. Lay all the gear out and power wash. Try to get all the mud out. Keep spraying until the water is no longer brown. Do not get so close that it ruins the gear. Once clean, put it in the washer machine and wash like normal.

Its hard to avoid mud this time of year and increases power washing time by a lot! Playing in the mud is way better than sitting on the couch dreaming of your bike. If you forgot how to wash a dirty bike, refer to my blog post “Dirty bike = NO GOOD”.