This was originally posted Thursday, August 25, 2005.

Singlespeed World Championships could be coming to your town in 2006. If you think your trails rival some of the best in the world, your town can accomodate up to 700 bike freaks, there is an airport within a reasonable distance and you have organized some sort of bike event in the past, this is your chance.

Why does Surly get to decide where it is in 2006? You have to go back to the first (official) SSWC in 1999 held in California. To determine where it was to be held for the following year, the winner of the derby got to decide on the location. Since the Minneapolis Mafia cleaned up on the skimpy array of challengers that year, it was then held in Minneapolis in 2000.

After a few years of some random committee chosing where it would be rather than having the derby decide it, the SSWC 2005 organizers smartly brought back the derby to decide it’s location. Since we Surly slugs were the last people still upright on 2 of 3 derby rounds, it’s our choice. If you don’t like it, you should’ve been there to knock Skip Bernet and myself off our bikes.

In trying to be fair to everybody and not have Minneapolis be the host city again, we’re asking you to submit a proposal to host it in 2006. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE think twice about this before replying. Some of the things to consider are:

· Your staff/friends/volunteers/drinking buddies must commit to many hours of unpaid work to organize this event.

· The host city must be able to accomodate up to 700 participants with hotels, camping, restaurants, bars and lawyers within a reasonable distance from an airport. Ideally, the trails would be nearby.

· The trails in your area must not only be kickass, but you must get approval from local government and/or land owners to hold this event on the property. Special permits may be required and you may have to kiss some serious forest department butt to make it happen.

·You’ll have to round up some volunteers to help with everything from course marshalling, to porta-toilet aqcuisitions, to being the last person to ride the course and pick up some chump’s GU packet and look for mangled bodies.

·Don’t forget about having emergency medical services present.

·This is the WORLD championships, so any country is welcome to host.
SSWC2005 was in the USA, so let’s try to get this thing somewhere else next year.

·Please see SSWC05
for an idea of what the SSWC06 website should entail. The online registration with prepay only seemed to work quite well also.

What you get out of this experience is being the most popular person in town for a whole weekend. Your town will get to showcase all the trails you’re so proud of by having people from all over the world embark upon your backyard. I think I speak for everyone by saying it better be somewhere cool, because I don’t want to buy a plane ticket across the pond for some lame dirtroads.You are not in this for the money, you’re in it for the glory. What do you say?

Send me a serious proposal for hosting SSWC06 by October 31st, 2005 to nick@surlybikes.com. Also, sending me a random “do it in Jamaica, man” will automatically disqualify your town. Please be serious, we’re too busy to handle extra insignificant e-mails. Can’t wait to hear from you.