About a month ago I put the RCUK test Independent Fabrication Club Racer away in the shed. Not much of a surprise; I do it after every ride on the machine. On this occasion, however, it was to stay in the shed unridden throughout the month of hot sunny weather that followed, the chosen steed for the guaranteed dry conditions being mostly the RCUK test RadioShack Madone.

The only departure from normal practice was the wash I gave the IndyFab prior to packing it away. It got washed, not because it was filthy – my usual precondition – but because road grime had begun to besmirch the gleaming white frame tube panels and, more distressingly, the mudguards. That said, the chain was getting a bit grungy and the bar tape needed a scrub…

So it turns out that a bike with white-finished parts needs more cleaning than most if it is not to look neglected. The ‘Shack Madone, with its satin grey finish, agitated graphics and relative lack of really shiny parts, has had one clean – for the Dragon Ride – and still looks good despite a sheen of tar spots, rubber dust and mud spots.

Payback for the effort of washing any bike comes, of course, some time after the wash. The Club Racer came out of the shed gleaming and needing nothing but a light lube to the chain and air in the tyres to be ready for the road. And, once under way, the first sensation was of just how clean, fresh and crisp it looked and felt, as it should. Even the Madone felt just that little bit sharper on the morning of the Dragon Ride than it did the day before it was cleaned and will surely feel so again after the next one; it just doesn’t obviously need a scrub as often.

So get a shiny bike; it will get cleaned more often and the sum of riding sensations will therefore be more enjoyable. You know it makes sense.