Saturday, March 5, 2011

Doing the Laundry

I had an appointment with an oncologist at 4:00 yesterday.  My dermatologist thought it would be a good idea to see if I would be a candidate for a CAT scan. This would be to make sure there are no cancer cells lurking somewhere.  After looking at all of my lab work and the results of the surgery the oncologist said there was no need for a scan and that as far as melanoma is concerned I'm cancer-free.

By the time I left his office it was about 5:15.  It was beginning to get dark and it was raining.  It was a nice ride home in the rain after receiving good news.  At one particular stop light I caught a lady in an SUV staring at me.  She might have been wondering why someone would be so foolish to be out in the cold rain.  Or maybe she was noticing how dirty my jacket was.  It's been a while since I've washed it.  In fact, I looked like I rolled under a diesel truck.

This morning I met a couple of friends for breakfast at McDonald's. When I got parked a guy drove up in his pickup and started asking the usual questions about the bike.  Thinking back on it, my jacket looked pretty bad so washing it went on my to-do list.

My technique is to first take out all of the removable armor, soak the jacket in the bathtub, and use Woolite and a brush and scrub hard.  After that I give it a thorough rinsing then spray Shout stain remover on all the dirt stains on the front and scrub hard again.  Then I give it the final rinse.

There... much better.  Now it looks like I rolled under a hybrid.  Whenever I do this I usually ask myself why I don't do it more often.  Maybe it's because in a week it'll be looking dingy again. 

I'd like to know your method for doing the laundry.

God's speed.

13 comments:

  1. Hi Mike, I was just thinking about you when your post popped up!!

    That's wonderful news, congratulations and I'm sure that your on-line pals everywhere will be over the moon about the result - I certainly am!

    with respect to jacket cleaning, I've always been a fan of Nikwax motorcycle products. Have found Nikwax TX.Direct to be excellent. Link here to instructions. There may be other stuff on the market, but this is what I've stuck with.

    Congrats again on the fantastic news!

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  2. Hi Geoff,
    Thank you for thinking of me and your comment! By the way, one of the guys I had breakfast with this morning was in NZ most all of last year. He was a student there in a certain program that lasted from Feb. to December. He really likes it there.

    I just checked out Nikwax online. I'll have to check it out further, it looks like good stuff. Thanks again, Geoff!

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  3. +1 on the Nixwax stuff. Very happy with the way it works. And great news from the doc. I need to make an appointment for the one year checkup after my own little bout with cancer. Thanks for the reminder.

    Did you wave at the SUV lady?

    Richard

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  4. Hi Richard,
    Thanks for the confirmation on the Nicwax. I hope you're doing okay - it sounds like you are with your steady exercise program.

    I should have waved to the SUV lady. I generally wave to kids but not adults. :-) Take care!

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  5. I am glad to read the good news on the cancer-free! Congratulations!

    I thought motorcycle jackets were self-cleaning... That's why I ride them in the rain ;-)

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  6. Sonja,
    Thank you for your comment! I agree, that would be nice - self-cleaning riding jackets. :-)

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  7. Good to hear all is ok Mike, and you have done a great job on the jacket, looks brand new. Have you got any decent biking trips in the pipeline? I am looking forward to hearing of your adventures during the summer....it is coming by the way, I had to put my slippers on last night I had cold toes, so the cooler weather is on it's way to us.

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  8. I'm glad to hear all is well and clean too ;-)
    Need to get back on the road of adventure :-)

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  9. Roger,
    Thank you! I don't have any major bike trips planned although I ride throughout Oregon in my sales area. How about you? Looking forward to seeing more of NZ, even in the winter!

    George,
    Thank you too! Looking forward to reading about and seeing your trips on your new Tenere!

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  10. Mike: Timely post since I have been thinking about washing my winter riding jacket. It's never been washed but has had the main zipper replaced. You make it sound so simple that I think I will wash it on the first warm day.

    And apply some NikWax in hopes of restoring some water repellency.

    steve

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  11. Steve,
    I think I'm going to try Nikwax too. The waterproofing aspect is a bonus. The endorsements here and the reviews online look good. Let us know how it turns out!

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  12. Good news on the checkup.

    I have laundered my leather gear with good results as posted here:

    http://buckysride.blogspot.com/2011/01/leather-cleaning-at-home.html

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  13. Bucky,
    Thank you. Nice article! I like Lexol stuff - I use it on leather upholstery. I use the room-fan drying method too on the jacket. Your gear came out looking nice - thanks for the link!

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