Lightning riders

Ceb Blankenship

Ceb is an accomplished rider and racer in Maryland who loves to climb mountains on his P-38. The assault on Mt. Mitchell, Blue Ridge Parkway, and the tour DuPont around the towns of Blowing Rock and Banner Elk. Halfway up Valle Crucis and Beech Climb he once passed two upright riders spinning their way up the almost vertical climb.

My mechanic was finally able to add the additional spacer on the front fork [of his R-84]. As you may recall from my previous e-mails I sent to you, this whole process started because my 170mm crank arm was hitting the front wheel with the boom adjusted to fit my 5′8″ height (32″ inseam). With the newly-installed extra spacer I’m now able to successfully use the 165mm. The idea here is to get as close to the ideal of my 170mm length.

I applied some red racing tape to break up the overall height so the stack wouldn’t look so tall. I can detect no difference in handling or stability with the spacer added.

I’m including a shot of one of my cycling routes here in North-Central Florida. The hill is known as The Sugarloaf Mountain Wall and it goes straight up for 615 ft. This is where I consistently drop DF riders and Bacchettas on the climb. This route is one of the reasons I’m so fanatical about my optimum crank length and getting my R-84 dialed in perfectly.

For a forum for questions and sharing ideas, visit the P-38 page on Facebook.