The wheels that came on the Gunnar were a little sketchy. The front hub liked to vibrate apart and I did not trust the rear. So I traded in the old ones and had some nice shinny wheels built (at Klunk). The new wheels consist of black Salsa Delgato Cross 32 hole rims, Deore XT hubs, DT Swiss spokes and black brass nipples. I had the wheels built with 3-cross lacing with a nice pattern with alternating pairs of black and silver spokes. These wheels, while not particularly light, should stand up to some abuse. I also switched to a 32mm Ritchey Speed Max Cross kevlar front tire. The 32mm version is much more suited to hard packed gravel and dirt than the 35mm. The 32mm seems to have more cornering grip and turns more predictably due to the round shoulders.

Update: I rode the 19.2 mile route this morning. It was windy (again) with strong gusts. The headwind was tough, but the tailwind was very helpful. Still, I only managed 1:10, 16.5 MPH; 1 minute and .1 MPH slower than the first attempt. At least I’m consistent.

Date: 2006.03.16
Time: 9:00 am
Conditions: 55°F, very windy
Mileage: 19.2
Time: 1:10
Average Speed: 16.5 MPH

Instead of moving my speedometer from one bike to the other, I’ve been using a GPS receiver on the Gunnar and leaving the speedometer on the M2. I use a Garmin etrex Legend along with Terrabrowser to map and store ride telemetry (how often do you get to use that word?). Terrabrowser is the best OS X software I have found for plotting Garmin GPS data. It is more than a little buggy, and the current version has not been updated in about a year. So, I’m still looking for something better, maybe Garmin will offer something…

Eric and I took this route this morning, before the thunderstorms and hail. The weather was nice, in the high 60s, the trail was wet, and the wind was strong. Trail traffic was pretty light, and those who were using the trail seemed mostly aware of others using the trail. We averaged 14.8 MPH over 25.2 miles; uphill and into a headwind both ways.

Tip: Don’t draft too closely on wet gravel trails. Small rocks and sticks can achieve higher altitudes than you might expect.

So, today I rode my Gunnar from my house to a nearby trail junction, a 19.2 mile round trip. The route is approximately one mile on public roads and the rest on gravel trails. Five miles of the route is on fresh (very soft) gravel, while the remainder is on hard packed gravel. I was able to average 16.6 MPH, completing the route in 1:09.

I have set a goal of one hour for the route. I think is should be attainable in a relatively short period. I plan on riding this route at least once per week along with my other daily rides. I’ll post progress reports along with monthly mileage.

Date: 2006.03.08
Time: 4:00 pm
Conditions: 65°F, wet, windy
Mileage: 19.2
Time: 1:09
Average Speed: 16.6 MPH