Thanks to all that made this ride happen

13 July 2009

Started the day by returning to Single Track bike shop in Fruita, the owner could not fix the wheel but he told me about a company called DT Swiss (a rim and spoke manufacturer) in Grand Junction. 20 minutes later I talked to Steve at DT Swiss, he calls a local shop, tells them the type of spoke and rim I needed and says they can build a quality wheel today.

This is where the adventure starts; Grand Junction’s has the strangest street layout know to man. The streets are referenced to the distance to the Utah boarder. These are the instructions from DT Swiss to the bike shop. Take the 6&50 to 17 ½ road, turn right on 3/10 road and left on the 18. The store will be on the left. OK. An hour later and 3 stops for directions, I found the bike shop.

Alex the wheel builder met me at the door and asked if I stopped for lunch, I laughed and said “no just wanted to get a look at the city” – he knew. He had the parts ready and built the wheel in an hour. Wheel building is art and science. The tension on every spoke needs to be equal or the wheel will wobble – that’s bad. The new wheel is bigger and heavier but will get me through the trip.

By 3pm I was back to the scene of the crime. I started out riding easy trails, relearning the bike with the new wheel and working the knots out of my legs. After an hour the temp is up and the trails are still a mess. The rain has truly ruined this great area and it may take a couple of years of get it back to its famous status. Overall if I knew Fruita was so rutted I would have stayed in Moab an extra day. I’m going to ride the Kokopelli Trail in the morning and then head up the Gunnison. I don’t think the cabin has Wi Fi so I’ll have to find a coffee shop to post updates.

The streak is still alive – I will ride everyday of the trip.

Check out a the picture of the Zippy trail