Thursday, July 13, 2000

Today we rode from Watertown WI to Germantown WI, a distance of 39 miles. For the first time in the state of Wisconsin, we had a tail wind. It was very nice to have a wind helping us on our way instead of hindering us. The first portion of the ride was over an area that was fairly level. The last portion of the ride was up and down one hill after another. At one point we planned to turn to the right on a side road for a mile. As we made the turn, we suddenly were going up a long and rather steep hill. Before we could get the bicycle into the correct gear, we were at a dead stop. We turned around, went back to the corner, turned right and continued on the original road for another mile when we again turned right on a road that did not have such a large hill.

We are visiting our daughter, Barbara and husband Scott, in Germantown. Upon our arrival, I immediately removed the rear wheel, removed the tire and the rim strip and began the job of moving the spokes to the new wheel rim which was delivered to my daughters house. Examination of the old rim showed that the rim had split along the spoke line at the valve stem hole. The split was not visible until the rim strip was removed. After all the spokes were removed, my daughter and I took the bike to a local bicycle shop where they will tighten, center and true the wheel. We expect to get the bicycle back from the shop tomorrow. I am also replacing all the chain on the bicycle and all the rear wheel sprockets.