2018 SMR 04

Huge spread of broken auto glass all over Bancroft in the bike lane between the trail crossing and Ygnacio.  Fortunately no damage to my tires.

The Mountain is FULL OF GREEN.

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JB will be out of town next weekend, so be sure and visit this blog for my exciting report of riding solo!

2018 SMR 03

Serious cold this morning.  Ice and frost and full winter blues.

 Not a lot of riders, not a lot of cars.

This guy was about a 9 on the Smooth Joey standard of suplesse.

At Summit we met an older guy who told us he used to really enjoy riding up Diablo but gradually it got too tough for him - I asked him what changed, expecting some health and fitness improvements and he said "No, I got a motor!"  He had a cool electric bike and had no trouble making it up The Summit Wall. 

Hey Scott - how are them new wheels you wrote about?

Excellent, thanks for asking.  Very very nice, not magic.  I knew my old wheels were getting terrible in the braking department, but I'd forgotten how nice braking on new rims could be.  I wanted to descend forever and feel that instant, smooth response.

And it was fun being part of the Women's March - but it was so crowded I just kind of walked around the outside  And it seemed like it was going to be along time before they actually started marching, so I just went home... but I was a part of it!

Bonus Post - New Wheel Build

This post documents my new wheel build.  105 hubs, DT Champion spokes, and HED Belgium tubular rims.

Building wheels is one of those really satisfying bike mechanic kind of tasks, and this build was exceptionally rewarding.

Shopped around to be frugal, but I knew what I wanted.  Here's the statistics:

The pro wheel build I got from Excel Sport Boulder a few years ago for my Klein was $600, so I saved quite a bit off of that... mostly in the hubs.

For fun, I did an interesting spoke pattern - pulling spokes all black, pushing spokes all chrome.  It's a subtle effect... the kind of thing only people who build wheels would probably notice.

My highest recommendation to Wheelbuilder.com who accommodated my unusual order for spoke blend, and allowed me to modify the order late when I realized I'd ordered long nipples by mistake.  You get a 10 on the Diablo Scott Spoke Supplier rating scale.

I've been wanting these rims for a long time - now was the time.  They're a little wider than most tubular rims, so that means better gluing and nicer riding.

No eyelets or ferrules... usually something I would want... I changed my mind.

Machined surface for rim brakes.

The contact profile is much curvier than my previous tubular rims.

Four different spoke types for my special pattern.

I don't have a tensionometer - I go by feel and sound.

One thing a craftsman does is put the valve hole pointing at the hub label - success.

When I got done, I put on the first layer of glue.  I'd always been a "baggie on the finger" kind of guy, but this time I got some glue brushes from the hardware store - I like this method a lot better - great coverage, no slop, and no mess.

Plenty of life left in the tires I took off my GL330s - but I rotated the rear and the spare.

Geez, these are pretty.

Here you can see the interesting spoke pattern.

Belgium wheels for a Belgian bike.

2018 SMR 02

Look at that fog!!!  Visibility was less than one block at the start.

Orange shoe covers more of a fashion statement than weather protection, but they did keep the condensation off my feet.

Condensation was dripping off my helmet onto my face.  But a mile or so up from The Gate and it was sunny and clear.

JB was still recovering from being sick so he turned around at Junction and I went up.  Above Junction though it started to get windy... and it got worse and worse until I gave up at Muir.

A mile and a half from The Summit, with 160 meters of elevation remaining, and I threw in the towel.