I had a rather disappointing conclusion to my first wheel building attempt. It appears that the spokes I laced the wheel with where a mix bag of 14 and 15 gauge spokes but all 14 gauge nipples. Just as I just about got the wheel to final tension, random nipples started popping off with a loud PING bending the rim like a pretzel. John had given me the spokes out of the shops stock not knowing it was a mixed bag, he was very apologetic about the situation. It was a real bumber because I was doing a great job on the whole thing up to the last second. I guess I will start over next week.
I wound up riding the ridge with Levi on Saturday. I gave up on selling the I9 wheels and put the Ventana back together for the ride. I have been down on that bike lately because I haven’t ridden it in so long. After an hour of riding and some suspension/tire adjustments, I was totally hooked on the ride again. That bike can attain some unbelievable speeds. It was super windy out at the ridge Saturday which made for unusual conditions. The top level of dirt was very dry but the soil an inch or so deep was slimy. That made for some sketchy cornering. Total ride time a little over three hours, tackling every climb and tech descent the ridge has to offer.
I went to the ridge again on Sunday and road with Matt and Levi. I don’t get to ride with Matt very often in the winter so it was a good time. The trails were in great condition but our recent spring-like temperatures made a retreat today. Ride time was just shy of 2 hours which was plenty for me. For anyone counting that’s five hours of running for Levi this weekend, at a likely 8 mile an hour average, my boy laid down over forty miles this weekend and he was still off the wall full of energy when we got home today.
Tara’s contractions seem to have retreated like our spring weather. She may make it too her due date after all.
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