Spoke

Norton commando fastback Interstate, originally uploaded by MotoAlchemist

We had dinner with my extended family on Thanksgiving Day, and "fake Thanksgiving" on Saturday with the in-laws. My family was very excited to see Ashley. Saturday was more fun for me, though. Besides spending time with my nieces, I helped my father-in-law lace the spoked wheels on a Honda Scrambler he is restoring.

Lacing is a tricky job! I happened to have some experience in this area from volunteering at a community-run bicycle shop a few years ago. The process is pretty similar with motorcycle wheels. There were a couple of minor setbacks until we hit on a technique that worked for getting the first wheel together. We used different colors of electrical tape to mark where everything should go, and it took three people to coordinate everything.

The second wheel was trickier. We took a break to eat and then went back out to the shop for another try. With four men looking at the problem, we were able to figure it out eventually. I scored some points with my father-in-law (always a good thing). Best of all, when he's showing off the finished bike, I can say proudly that part of it was done with my help.