Day 4: Marinette to Escanaba

We entered into Michigan on Day 4 (Thursday), destination Escanaba, riding on M-35. This was probably the longest stretch of unpleasant road--unpleasant because the shoulder was relatively narrow and the traffic was relatively heavy, with many trucks. The view was nice, though, as the road runs along Green Bay the whole way.

The big event for Day 4 was Jon's broken spoke. He had warned me that he was having spoke problems before we left, including a rather alarming incident in which a spoke broke as he was changing a tire. That's really really not supposed to happen in a healthy wheel. I chose to hope for the best. Alas! The wheel really wasn't healthy, and a spoke broke for no obvious reason.

So there we were along M-35, trying to save the trip. We first tried one of Jon's spare spokes, but I was too stupid to force the spoke through the other spokes; I chickened out when it become necessary to bend the spoke into a pretzel. So then I pulled out my secret weapon: a Fiberfix kevlar (except they're not allowed to call it "Kevlar", so they have to call it "aramid fiber"--so let's call it Kevlar-like) emergency spoke. I had never used one, but I carried two, just in case. These are really slick deals. You don't even need to take the wheel off. Just attach the threaded end to the spoke nipple, and thread the braided cord through the hub hole, attaching it to the clamp at the nipple. Then screw the clamp assembly into the nipple, twisting the fiber spoke as you go. It becomes twangy tight and functions exactly like a spoke.

But here's a word of warning: It's really really easy to tighten. Indeed, it's easy to overtighten, and it's easy to figure that because it's just string, it needs to be REALLY tight to substitute for a metal spoke. Big wrongness. I broke the first Fiberfix by overtightening it. On the next try, I got it a little tight, and then started truing the wheel, pulling the wobble back to the middle. It helps to have a little wheel-truing experience (and a spoke wrench), so that you can adjust the spokes around the Fiberfix.

With the second attempt, the wheel was more true than it had been before the spoke broke. Probably stronger, since I eased the tension on the some of the neighboring spokes, which were seriously overtight. The repair easily got Jon to Escanaba. It suspect it might have finished the trip, except I was worried about the other spokes.

So in Escanaba, we went to Mr. Bike bike shop. Seemed like a nice place. Friendly people, lots of Treks. We decided that the safe bet would be a new wheel. I told Jon that it would probably cost $100. So when Mr. Bike said he could sell Jon one for $50, GREAT!

Note to self: Trust your first guess. Wheels don't cost $50. The spokes alone, even cheap ones, would cost about $20. The rim, even a cheap one, another $20. The hub, even a cheap one, another $20. We're already up to $60. There's no way a wheel will cost $50.

And, indeed, Mr. Bike's $50 wheel turned into a $150 one when it came time to fork over the dough. He swapped a wheel off an existing bike. So he needed to take its tire off. Charged Jon for it. Then he needed to put Jon's tire on. Charged Jon for it. Then he replaced the useless spoke protector. Charged Jon for it. And, of course, since he needed to have Trek ship up another wheel to replace the one he swapped off, he charged Jon for shipping. He probably charged for the air to inflate the tire, too. Jon should have charged Mr. Bike for the old hub and rim, which he let them keep.

Now, Mr. Bike had a right to make money off the deal, and we were grateful that they were there in our supreme time of need. But come on: $50 for a wheel? I suppose he wasn't intentionally lying to us. He knew we wouldn't go somewhere else. But did he really think a wheel would cost $50?

Oh well. A potentially catastrophic day turned out well, if a bit expensive. That night we camped in yet another city campground, this one in the middle of the UP State Fairgrounds in the heart of Escanaba. There was a hot-air balloon show going on, so the fairgrounds felt festive. Good showers. Total mileage for the day: About 60.
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