A Little Cooler

Twenty-six miles through Palm Valley.  I am now convinced of the effectiveness of the Showers Pass jacket and the Planet Bike gloves.  Wore them again today in even cooler (than the two days ago) temperatures, and they worked well.  I was toasty warm.  Still went without the glove liners, and still wore only the basics under the jacket.  Also taped up all the vents on my helmet and stretched a standard acrylic sock hat over it.  Excellent.  It wasn't freezing out, but it was plenty chilly and overcast and windy out of the north.  Hey, Winter!  Bring it on!

Mi6 Rear and 2000 Miles

The rear hub has arrived.  White Industries Mi6, rear cassette, 48-hole.  ZenCog is now busy cutting the spokes, and I should be building the rear wheel over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.

Meanwhile, I'm giving some new cold-weather gear a bit of a workout.  

Wore the Showers Pass touring jacket for the first time yesterday.  It was great.  It wasn't freezing out, but it was chilly and it had been raining for several hours (stopped by the time I got on the road), and everything was wet.  Overcast and windy.  I didn't wear much under the jacket.  A thin base layer, a short-sleeved jersey, and a wool sweater vest.  The jacket worked like a champ.  I regulated air flow with the big underarm zippers and the front zipper.  Excellent.  Stayed warm without overheating.  And the fit is perfect.  No clinging, no flapping.

Also wore the new Planet Bike Borealis gloves.  I went without the liners to see how they would do. My hands were toasty.  The high neoprene cuffs even came up over the sleeve ends of my jacket.  Beautiful.  With the liners in place, these gloves must be incredibly warm.  When these wear out, I will definitely buy more.

Clicked 2000 miles on yesterday's ride.  That's two-fifths of the way to L.A.

Now I'm anxious to ride in some authentic cold weather this winter.  The jacket seems to work well as a cold weather wind shell.  I hope it keeps cold rain out as well.  And I have high hopes for the gloves in truly cold weather.  No fears for this winter.

New Front Wheel

 And away we go...

The new front wheel is complete.  Built it last night.  I have high hopes for this one.

Components:
- the formidable White Industries Mi6 40-hole front hub
- the critically acclaimed Salsa Gordo 26" rim
- Swiss DT 14 gauge spokes (black)
- brass nipples
- boiled linseed oil

The above are woven together in the standard 3-cross pattern. On paper, it sounds like a bomb-proof combination.  I'll just have to see about that under normal touring conditions.

This is the first front wheel I've ever built that involved different dishing on the non-drive side, like a traditional back wheel.  This is because of the disc rotor mount that is a part of the Mi6 hub shell.  I won't be using the disc mount for a while, not until I build up the complete bike next year.  Until then, I'll be running it with standard rim brakes on the Klein.  I hope to take it on its maiden voyage today.

Meanwhile, I'm approaching 2,000 miles on the Mity 8 since back in May when I installed it on the Klein and began recording mileage.  Not a huge number of miles, but I'm happy with the training so far.  Legs feel great.  No need to pile on major miles until next fall and spring of 2014.

Here we are lacing up the front wheel.  Careful with that axe, Eugene.

All trailing spokes in place.

Is everybody in?  Everybody is in.  All forty spokes present and accounted for, sir.

On the stand, ready to be brought up to tension.  Maybe I'll saute a little garlic while I'm at it.

Straight and true.  A couple of more rounds of 1/8 turns, and the task is complete.

The finished product, ready for action.  A thing of beauty.  Bon voyage!