Gran Fondo Leavenworth 2017: Ride Report

GFL 2017 was terrific.  A great day to be out riding. Sunny and warm all the way! (GFL 2016: report.)

The beginning was a "neutral start" (its not a race, of course). We rode out to Eagle Creek road (112), with Jake driving a moto. This was followed by a steady ride up to the start of gravel at Van Creek (NS 7520).  At that point all was well. I was warmed up and feeling relaxed and enjoying the day.  Segment #1 finished (12 miles).

On the gravel, I found a good gear and just relaxed. As the climb steepened, the group spread out. I kept at it - the sensations were good. Frequently, I found solid sand at the side of the road that was smooth and seemed to roll better than the middle of the road on the car tracks. Once at the top, I slowed a little to eat two rice cakes and drink a bottle. There were a couple of patches of snow, one of which I had to run through. All continued to be well. Segment #2 finished (18 miles done; about 3,000 ft climbed, from about 1,044 ft. to 4,100 ft.).

The downhill was fast and quite smooth. Two riders went went by me, one at tremendous speed. Wow! I went by the first aid station. No stopping. I had lost my empty bottle on the way down (bummer) and my other bottle was 1/2 full.  Segment #3 finished (25 miles done).

I kept riding. Shortly after eating another rice cake and finishing my second bottle, Brig Seidel and, I think, David Visser came up to me.  The three of us worked together, taking 30 sec. turns. We turned right at Ardinvoir and went down the valley on 19 toward Entait.  We were making good progress and were getting closer and closer to a group head of us.  Just as we made contact with that group, a group of four or five riders came up to us.  So, as a group of 12 or so we arrived at Entait. Segment #4 finished (39 miles done).

Brig Seidel gives a lively and fun account of this ride from Ardinvoir to Entail - and, indeed, for the whole tremendous ride!

I drank a bottle of water. Filled my bottle with water and put a small bottle of Gatorade into my pocket. And, I took off along 97.  Shortly thereafter the group of 12 or so re-formed on 97. At this point, I was extremely happy since I wouldn't be fighting the wind alone and I was in a group of riders which, of course, is awesome!

But, alas, stuff happens. As we were riding on 97, I noticed a good number of rocks. Some were fairly big. All were ugly. We were, being polite riders, pointing them out to each other. Last year I recalled seeing them too.

While I was acutely alert to the danger, I somehow managed to run over a rock on my back wheel.  I didn't see the rock. But, I did feel and hear it. Where did that come from?  There was a tremendous bang and the tire was flat almost immediately. Bad luck or what!

My guess was that I had slashed the tire and that my day was over at about mile 43. I stopped peddling and kept my hands off the breaks. The riders went by me and off into the distance.  Fortunately, I was able to control the bike and not cause anyone near me too much trouble.

I stopped, got out a tube, blew up the tire. That worked. I noticed that the wheel was still true.  That was good.  Just as I was finishing up, a group of three riders went by me.  I jumped back on the bike and started riding hard. After about five minutes or so I got up to the group. This fairly short effort was by far the hardest all day. And, all was well again because I was able to comfortably ride with this group, taking turns along 97.

We got to Swakane Rd. and I started big climb #2 - the infamous Swakane Canyon; my first time up.  I tried to get into a solid pace. The terrain was highly varied, from hard rocky rocks, to sandy bits and pieces, to loose rocky rocks, with flat sections and ups and downs. I found it quite hard to get into a rhythm. And, I found myself grinding on some of the steep pitches and lallygagging on the flatter parts. I felt good but where was my rhythm?  I have a lot more to learn about riding that kind of road.

I made good progress. I got to the aid station and filled my bottle, and I kept going.  I had passed perhaps five people on the way up and I was passed by one rider.  Then, towards to the top I went by Brig. I checked in and he said that he was "good."  From the aid station onward, I found it extremely difficult to keep the momentum going - each up and down seemed to sap energy and there were a couple of short climbs that seemed very, very steep.  Anyway, I made it to mile 64 or so (big climb #2, segment #6, about 3,000 ft done, from about 730 ft to 4,000 ft.).

I started riding downhill. Not knowing what was ahead, I rode conservatively. Yet, I went around a corner and my front wheel came out from under me! I was on the ground on my right side before I knew what had happened. Bummer.

I think I landed on my shoulder first, then my head took some energy (thank you helmet). I think my hands were still on the bars when I landed, since both brake handles were messed up. I got up and checked things out.  My arm and shoulder seemed to be scrapped and the bone below my ribcage was throbbing.  Generally, the muscles on my side sore but my legs, back, head, hands (thank you gloves), and left side were okay.  My jersey was not ripped and generally, all and all, I felt pretty good.  So, I banged the brake handles back into place and continued.

And, wouldn't you know, I almost ate it on the next corner.  What was going on?  It took a few more minutes, but I figured it out - my front tire was soft! I couldn't turn because it didn't have much air in it. Bummer.  I pumped up my tire (alas, I lost my other cylinder of compressed air somehow).

I continued. At about this point Brig passed me, saying "I'm on your left.  Hmm. Actually, I'm on your right. Everything okay?"  I said "yup - just great!"

I continued. I think I realized that this was not going work. Yet, I also wanted to save the day and ride as best as possible.  However, I found it extremely hard to control the bike and I started to use my back brake - which wasn't working so well since I sensed a big bump on the rim! More on that later.

It was disappointing to see riders zoom past me. And, I felt envious. Still, I wasn't banged up too bad and I was coasting. That would have to be good enough.

So, anyways, I stopped several times to pump up the tire. I got out of the twisty downhill part and onto some better quality smooth gravel when, alas, I got a flat on my back tire. So, I stopped and replaced the back tube with my second (and final) tube and I pumped up my font tire again.

Jake stopped with his moto and asked if I needed anything.  I said "nah - everything is great!" Which, to be honest, was more or less true! At this point, I decided: Let's call it a ride and get back to the finish safely.

So, from about mile 66 to finish at mile 80 I road, basically, on a flat front tire. I thought about stopping to patch my second tube. I brought a patch kit but decided that perhaps limping back slowly and stopping from time to time to pump up the tire would work okay. Alas, it would have been better to stop and patch the tube and then continue. I think I would have given myself more style points for stopping and patching. Patching the tube would probably, actually, have been quite enjoyable in the nice weather. A woulda, shoulda, coulda situation. (Over the last 14 miles or so, Brig was about 40 minutes faster than me!  Here are the results.)

All in all that was great day!  Glad to be alive. And, glad to have worked the circumstances as best I could. My fitness was good and I felt good on the bike and it was wonderful being out in the countryside near Leavenworth with all the other riders. I enjoyed the snow, the little streams here and there, the sounds and smells of Swakane Canyon. I particularly enjoyed riding with Brig and David down to Entait. I'm lucky to be able to participate with such skilled and fit riders.

So what did that rock do to my back wheel? Have a look.

Gran Fondo Leavenworth rim damage. I hit a rock at about mile 43.

From the outside it deformed the rim inwardly (see left side of the figure).  With the tire off, notice how the rock crushed the rim downwards such that there is no longer a shelf for the bead of the tire to fit to the rim (see right side of figure). No wonder the tire lost air quickly - the integrity of the interface between the tire bead and the rim was completely destroyed by the rock. No bending that back into place.

Interestingly, too, that the damage is right beside the valve hole, a coincidence, I assume.  The Compass Bon Jon Pass tire does not seem to have been damaged!

With Gran Fondo Ellensburg coming up, I need a new wheel.  I had a rim. So, following Roger Musson's superb book, I build a new wheel. I kept everything the same except for the new rim. The spokes should be fine. They had been worn into the hub so, according to Roger, no need to mess with them.

To do this I taped the new rim to the old rim. I then went around, moving the spokes from the old rim the new one, carefully oiling the spoke holes and the ends of the spokes.

New wheel for Gran Fondo Ellensburg. Good-bye old friend; hello new friend. Note: Those circles on the green tape tell me where the valve hole is which is always a good thing to know.  

To the left in the figure, you can see that I have one more spoke to move over to the new rim. Thank you Roger Musson for this excellent technique. The spokes won't even know they are connected to a new rim, which can only be a good thing!

Once the new rim was laced I got out my nipple driver and got to work.  I focussed really hard on radial trueness by being as precise as possible with the nipple driver and my spoke wrench.  Based on prior experience with these spokes and rim, once the nipple driver disengaged I loosened the spoke one full turn. That enabled me to lace all the spokes while also keeping them relatively loose which makes dishing the wheel and everything else easier.

The wheel turned out great. I've pre-compressed the spokes and tried really hard to avoid spoke wind-up. But, we will see. When I ride the wheel there shouldn't be any pings. But, we will see.

I need to get some new tape. And, I'll get a new valve stem. Then, I'll be ready to give the wheel a whirl. First I'll ride a short distance slowly.  Then, I'll jump up and down on the bike for while. I'll ride a few miles and work my way up to some very hard braking on gravel. Hopefully, the wheel will react like the old one - solid.  More to come ...

Good to be building wheels. Good to be learning how to ride. Good to be alive. And, looking forward to Gran Fondo Ellensburg.

Thank you Vicious Cycle for a great ride at GFL and, generally, for all the bicycle awesomeness!!