Still a little shy of target
Saturday was STP simulation, Version 2007.2.0. Unlike last week when I started from Auburn and headed South, I planned to make the BLT and head North to start. Riding partner Kevin was starting from his house in Seattle. I would back-track the official route and theoretically meet him in the middle of the gap between houses thus giving us equal mileage for the day. Planned departure was 6 a.m.
Having gotten caught up in Casino Royale the night before, I wasn’t completely packed on Saturday morning. I ended up leaving the house about 10 minutes late. Kevin was 5 minutes late leaving his place, and it worked out that we met up on Rainier Avenue just North of the Renton Airport, 14 miles from my house. My Kentucky Wind-age calculations worked out pretty well, as we crossed the Auburn City Limits on the way south at 27.25, only a quarter of a mile off of the mileage on the official route map.
We did not get any of the rain that fell here on Sunday, fortunately. We had a slight headwind all morning, which turned into a pretty nasty crosswind by noon. Still it was a pleasant ride. We worked on keeping ourselves moving, only stopping as necessary to refill bottles and grab a quick bite. We did allow ourselves a somewhat leisurely lunch in Yelm before we made the turn for home. The scenery is not all that breathtaking on this ride, in fact it can be downright ugly in places. The horses are having their babies this time of year, so we did see new foals along the route in Parkland, and again near Roy. Pierce County has chosen this timeframe to lay down fresh chip-and-seal along a few miles of Waller Road, translating into a vibration-rich riding experience, punctuated with piles of loose gravel.
We celebrated crossing mile 100 with a chocolate milkshake at Beyond the Bridge Espresso in Sumner. 10 miles later we were stopped along Valentine Road replacing yet another spoke on my less-than-functional Bontrager wheels that came on my Lemond. The total is now 4 spokes and 1 rim replacement in a year. I will go on the record here that if you are buying a new bicycle, you plan on riding more that 20 miles at a time, and you weigh more than your average sparrow, you should negotiate an upgrade of your wheels from the flashy 24 or 26 spoke numbers they put on as standard equipment. While you may be able to accelerate faster on a lighter wheel, a bike with heavier 32-36 spoke wheels will be going by you as you sit by the side of the road making repairs.
The funniest moment of the day was in Kent. As I was crossing S. 259th St. on the Interurban Trail I caught a glimpse of an approaching car on my right, heading for the Union Pacific Railroad trestle there. Like something out of a backwater USA version of an Ikea commercial, this small sedan was headed for this low bridge with 11 wooden pallets stacked on the roof. I did a quick stop and 180 degree turn to capture this picture as the driver stopped to reconsider his options. Perhaps his judgment on route is somewhat better than his judgment on freight transport, or maybe he realized he had been shorted on his “12-pallet special”.
The wind was rather strong at this point, out of the south-southwest at about 18 or so. As we headed up the valley it would be behind you for a moment, then hit you square from the side as you came out from behind the relative shelter of a warehouse lining the route. I was dreading the point where I would turn back South from Renton to do my last leg home. After leaving Kevin at 8th and Oakesdale I ground my way back down the valley, trying to stay in the drops of the handlebars to hide from the headwinds. My back was a little stiff after a day in the saddle and I could only stay low for small intervals. I ended up 10 miles shy of my mileage goal for the day. I ended the ride by pulling into the bike shop instead of home at the end. I left the bike to get spoked and tuned, and had Terri pick me up.
130 miles on the day, 2,581 year-to-date.
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June 25th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I wonder what the deal is with those spokes… Jarrett has a fancy Trek with a near-identical rim and spoke set-up (as Trek manufactures Lemond bikes, and both use Bontrager), but has only had one spoke die in the roughly three years he’s had the bike. And that included getting hit by a car!
Now, not to disparage my sweetest of hearts, but he’s a bit bulkier than you, so I don’t think it’s weight-related. Granted, you ride more in a year than the both of us combined, but even at my fattest and most-riding-est, I never broke a spoke on Splenda either. It seems something is wonky here, and I’d write a letter to Lemond personally, asking them what gives. Or give the person at the LBS who is truing your wheel the ol’ raised eyebrow.
Which isn’t to say more spokes aren’t better. Ultimately, the weight is negligible, and I feel better with twice the spokes on my beloved Fox Mulder. Also, like you said, it wouldn’t seem like you were going faster as you sat on the side of the STP road, patiently replacing spokes, as unicycles and Big Wheels passed you…