Late yesterday afternoon Dave finished up with the wheels and tweaking of details. He put on a Maxxis Ardent on thje rear and an Onza DH on the front for me to try. He made suspension adjustments. He told me to ride 20 miles on the wheels which would seat the spokes then he would check truing and roundness. He gave me the killer route which caused trepidation as I would be riding Western Civ, Last Frontier, and climbing Drano out. I prefer to ride it the other way as it is more downhill, or gravity is the engine versus my legs and lungs. I thought about the ride as I fell asleep.
Today I rolled up to Library on Dry Creek road around 9 as I wanted to be way ahead of the spring break tourist traffic plugging 179. And maybe I would be ahead of the hikers. The drive was flowing but the hiker count on Chuck Wagon and Mescal were high. Once on Aerie I was almost always alone. I pedaled Dry Creek rd to Lizzardhead trail which kinda parallels the road. Once on the dirt the bike shone. It is fast and entirely comfortable. My riding style on the 5 Spot carried over. A Turner bike ride. Jimmy weighed the bike on the shop scale which read 29 lbs, the same as the Spot. Wide carbon rims and 2.4 tires. The bike jets w/ seems like little pedal effort.
Hey, the Turner jersey blouses after uphills. I have a few cans towards a Six pack.
I am very pleased w/ spending retirement savings for this bike. I first rode my DW 5 Spot back in the spring of 2010. My first ride was here w/ Gonzo. I remember riding Breezy wash and the way the bike handled the rocks significantly better than the TNT Spot. The performance jump between the DW Spot and the RFX was not as great because both suspensions are DW link. The wheel diameter is 27.5″, not much bigger than 26″ but produces a notable easier ride over the chunks. It carves tighter leaned over turns.
Watched the Zags Drub 3rd seeded Utah to advance to the sweet 16. Powerful performance.
Tomorrow is Old mans ride.
Beaverhead is not as crowded as 89B.