Cheese Country Hell Week: Jun 8 - 15

[Gonzo Bob]

Wow. It's coming up fast. Hope I'll be ready. Is anyone else on the board gonna be there? It's based in Richland Center, WI about midway between La Crosse and Madison on US14. Each day is a loop ride around 100 miles (with cutoffs) from Richland Center. The website is www.hellweek.com

[Gonzo Bob]

Wooo-hooo!!! I made it! I rode every day but cut it short some days. Day 5 was only ~80 miles because we all wanted to get back by 4pm to make a trip to Mineral Point to eat dinner at a micro-brewery.

On day 7, I broke a spoke about 60 miles into the ride and limped the 20 miles back to the motel. I got a new spoke at the bike shop in Richland Center - I told the mech I needed 298mm and he said, "I got one of those".

On day 8 after about 50 miles, I broke the nipple on the spoke adjacent to the one that had broken the day before. I limped home about 35 miles. I drove home that night and took the wheel apart to rebuild and found that the bike mech had given me a 301mm spoke! So *that's* why I couldn't get that high spot out at the new spoke!

All in all a great week of riding. Great weather (no rain!), great roads (but some road construction), and great folks. A total of 790 miles in 8 days.