First Ride

Well, the wheels lived up to expectations. While the tires may be conspicuously not Tufos, the Cane Creek wheels worked out beautifully. On a track this small, stiffness is everything, as you get slammed pretty hard going through the turns at 60+km/h. I've never had tied and soldered wheels before, but the guys here swear by them, so there's probably something to it. All I did was train with the new wheels tonight, but they're noticeably stiffer than my training wheels, and felt about on par with my 808's in terms of stiffness, but being as they're quite a bit lighter, they tend to spin up faster.

Racing on Friday, with the (slightly) bigger gears and higher speeds will be a more realistic test. First impressions are highly favorable though. More to come on that.

Some of you have expressed doubt as to the actual existence of David Butterworth, the promoter who's coordinating my racing in Europe this year. He was here for the first 3 days of racing, but had to leave this week to go manage a British team at the Amsterdam 6-day. So as proof of his existence, I submit this picture, taken by me, of a one Mr. David Butterworth, live, in person, on a bike, and on a velodrome no less.

This photo is even more rare than a photo of a leprechaun riding on Big Foot's shoulder.