Because we carry our bikes inside our van, we'd rather they were not
covered in mud, grit, etc. when we load them into the van. So, we've got a
system to clean the bikes before loading that might be of interest to
anyone who transports their bikes to go offroad etc.
We have two garden pump-up sprays - a two-pint one and a five-litre one
http://www.hozelock.com/sprayers/I082.asp and
http://www.hozelock.com/sprayers/I083.asp
We fill the small spray with diluted Fenwicks caravan cleaner (but that's
because we're also caravanners - so use your favourite detergent), and the
large one with plain water.
When we get back from a ride, we give the bikes a quick hose down with the
plain water on coarse spray. This knocks off the worst of the crud. We then
wet the bikes with detergent from the small spray, leave a few minutes and
then rinse off with plain water. If there's any crud left on the bikes, we
retreat with detergent and use a soft brush to loosen the dirt before again
rinsing.
With the bikes sparkling, we spin the wheels to dry them, chamois the
frames, and give the chains and mechs a quick shot of GT85 before stowing
them in the van. This also means that we don't need to unload the bikes to
clean them if we plan another ride before we need the van for something
other than carrying bikes!
Because the garden sprays we use are hand-pumped, they provide a mini
pressure wash facility anywhere. It only takes about half the contents of
both sprays to do both our bikes.
OK, not rocket science - but it's made our lives easier and I hope it helps
someone else.