Halleleuiah, no wait, make that halle-f'ing-leuiah. We'll have more stuff in stock by tomorrow, including the following:

• Karate Monkeys- Brown in all sizes, Black in all sizes
  
• Gross-Check framesets- Dark Green in 42, 50-60cm sizes, Black in 42-60cm sizes
  
• Cross-Check complete bikes- 60cm Dark Green
  
• More 1x1's- White or Black in 20" size
  
• Pacer- 60 and 62cm sizes in Black
  
• Long Haul Trucker- 56cm Sage Green
  
• Instigator- 18" Black
  

More stuff on the way, thanks for waiting.

After a short vacation in Utah, including an experience not unlike something from Napolean Dynamite and consumption of a Western Bacon Chee, which included in its arsenal of ingredients 3- count em, 3!- onion rings, I return refreshed (mostly) and somewhat less grumpy. My return found, among other things, some 500 or so emails, among which I find one from Byron D, who sends this link. Not especially familiar with Plea For Peace, but we like bikes and we like music and we tend to prefer peace, so combining the three sounds pretty good. If you live in Cali, consider jumping on with them for a leg of their journey. Good ride with new people to meet if nothing else.

In local news, Hester Pryne and Karna 'The Beer' Spear are putting together the MPLS Grumpy's Girl Ride. Grumpy's is a local chain of 3 bars whose downtown venue some of you may remember as party central from SSWC when it was here in the minneapple. This ride is not about the yaya sisterhood, but it is primarily a girls' ride/bar crawl. Saturday, June 4, and Hester tells me she expects anywhere from 10 to 500 people. If you're from around here or will be during this time and want to come along, contact Shawn (aka Hester) by writing to grumpysgirlride2005@yahoo.com. Boys can come too, but you'll need to wear a floral print skirt, which I'm sure most of you have anyway. Don't deny it, we've spoken to your mom.

Those of you in the western mountain states: be on the lookout for this guy. Bama is armed (with several bikes) and (rides) dangerous. If you see him, do not attempt to feed him or capture him. Alert no one. Just get the hell out of his way, and don't follow his line, no matter how easy he makes it look.

Last but not least, the number of local Surly pals injured of late has taken a sharp and unsettling increase. Zito clobbered a rock, cracking his helmet, glasses and 4th vertebrae, and frankly looked touch and go for a couple days, but it looks like he'll come back swinging. Brian K. cracked his patella (that's his knee cap for the less 'sports-medicine' among us) and is in a lot of pain despite the waves of pharmaceutical hush-hush washing through him. And Cravens' kids hurt him playing football, which he finds inexplicable considering he has the heart, soul and body of a cyclist, not a football player. I'm thinking of wrapping myself in bubble wrap in case the angel of doom is hovering over me too. Now go ride. But, uh, better grab your helmet.

If you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with.

Ideally, I'd live next to the ocean with mountains and singletrack out my back door. I haven't found a way to do that, while keeping a job that I really enjoy. So, I make the best of what I have in Minneapolis. I'm finding out, more each day, that I have a lot to work with, here.

Minneapolis has lakes, rivers, and creeks aplenty. So, naturally, it has lots of shoreline that can't be developed. Much of it is raw and untamed. That's where the hidden trails are. And, that's where I make up for a lack of mountain singletrack. It's not the same, but it can be just as fun to ride this stuff. I can spend hours riding and bushwacking along miles and miles of footpaths, critter trails, and rocky ledges. And, if I go out at night, I won't see a single human along the way.

I've been stepping it up a notch, lately. The Goiter (see previous blog) and I have been going out almost every night on some fantastic Jedi rides. Most of the time, it's only for an hour or two. But, sometimes I ride for 4 or 5 hours. In the last 2 weeks, I've learned more about the Mississippi River shoreline topography than in 18 years previous as a Minneapolis resident. I've come across hidden trails that I didn't know existed until now. I've found a new appreciation for my neighborhood and my city.

I'm a gear freak of sorts...gear, as in camping and biking gear. I'm a gearhead, too. But, that's not what I'm getting at. I don't take enough vacation, so I don't use my camping gear as much as I'd like. Well, I'm working on the vacation thing. But, in the mean time, I've found a way to play with some of my toys. Every ride becomes an excuse to use some of it. And, because I'm riding a unicycle, I have to pack strategically. Too much weight is going to become a hinderance. Not enough stuff, like appropriate rain gear, can be a problem, too. In my Hydrapak Ammo backpack (this pack kicks ass, BTW), I've been packing a small homemade alcohol stove, a tarptent, groundcloth, clothing good to below-freezing temps, a titanium cook pot (my stove fits inside it), water in a bladder, food (usually noodles or dehydrated hiking food) to cook on the stove, snacks, a beer or two, tools, inner tube, rope, L.E.D. headlamp (for cooking, etc...not riding), folding saw, and folding shovel. I'm prepared for whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at me wherever I am.

Usually, I ride for an hour...maybe two, checking out new trails. Then I start a small campfire away from potentially prying eyes...on a rock ledge, on the shore of the Mississippi, near the Minnehaha creek....usually a new spot each ride. One match...that's the challenge. I need to start a fire with one match, regardless of the weather conditions. So far, I'm about 80% successful. But, my average is going up. Once the fire is going, I'll boil some water on the stove, have a beer, cook up some noodles, and brew a cup of tea. When I've satisfied my pyrotendancies, I'll put out my fire, cover up the evidence as to leave no trace, and ride a little more.

What's with the clown ride? It's new and exciting. It's challenging. It's a fantastic workout. It improves my balance. It's meditative. It's great for bushwacking around river bluffs when the trail suddenly ends vs. pulling a bike through the brush and over rocky ledges. And, it's addicting. My learning curve is pretty steep, right now. I'm learning to hop on, over, and off of things....not very high things, but the tire is leaving the ground, nonetheless. I'm still a novice, but sometimes I suprise myself with the shit I pull off. It's faster than walking and slower than biking, so I have plenty of time to experience my world as I move through it. For me, it's about the journey, not the destination.

I told you help was on the way. We'll have the following framesets in stock in the next day or so:

• 1x1's, we got the white color in 16" and 18" sizes, black in 14", 16", 18", and 20" sizes
  
• Long Haul Truckers (sage green) in 42cm, 56cm, 58cm and 62cm sizes
  
• Steamrollers (charcoal gray metallic) in 49cm, 53cm, 56cm, and 59cm
  
• 1x1 non-disc forks (black)
  

There will be alot more product becoming available in the next few weeks. Again, thanks for waiting.

We’ve been pretty busy around here of late (perhaps you could tell by my last rant), so busy that we could no longer ignore the quite obvious fact that we were long overdue bringing someone else along for this crazy ride, someone to jump in running and feed the fire in the belly of this crazy bitch we love called Surly; someone to answer some of the phone calls and emails; someone to tie up the loose ends; someone simultaneously smarter and dumber than us.
Meet Eric Sovern, whom many of you undoubtedly have met already (you may remember him from such events as Interbike Dirt Demo, Fruita Fat Tire Fest and Kansas City IMBA Summit. He was the really tall guy, perhaps with a mustache). Eric hails from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, my home state (hands over hearts everybody) and rides quite a bit of two wheel, from mountain to road to wednesday nite, to his BMW moto, large parts of which he has taken apart and put back together. He is the webmaster of Evilcycling.com, a group of alleged adults whose mission in life is to have more fun. More fun than what, you ask? Well, more fun than anyone or anything anywhere. Here’s possibly the finest picture of Sov ever taken:

It captures many facets of his personality, plus he looks pretty good in it, by which I mean not especially hung over. In addition to his extensive knowledge of important bike stuff, the special skills that made Eric a good fit here include giving good phone, breaking up fights (former bouncer, no less), he’s a helluva banjo plucker, a former teacher, an M.C. capable of drawing and mostly controlling a crowd, he’s good at drinking beer, and very few people can knock him down in a derby (unless you’re Todd Johnson and you’re cheating by using a BMX bike. Don’t ‘yeah right’ me mister!). This is because Sov is very, very tall; he’s been testing big frames for us for years. Not least of course, he’s been riding bikes for a long time and knows a lot about them. Feel free to ask him anything you can think of.
By way of introduction to all of you all, it seemed best (after very little thought) for all of us to interview him. Here he is, citizens of Surlyville, our worm in your Mezcal, our Faye Wray to your King Kong, our virgin for your volcano: Mr. Eric Sovern.

Surly Scrutinizer: Welcome to Surly! So....at what age did you realize banjo players could score chicks?
Sov: I can score chicks? Awww crap, I been wastin' all my time ridin' bikes.
SS: Between the four food groups: bacon, potato chips, beef jerky and Hostess Ding-Dongs, what is your food of choice during a long ride?
Sov: Bacon. As BRose has been known to say, "the only reason to quit eating bacon is because there is no more." Bacon wraps around a top tube, it stays salty even in the rain, it comes from our friend the pig - without whom we would have neither "Charlotte's Web" nor colorful euphamisms for the members of the law enforcement community, and lastly it tastes just as good comin' up as it does goin' down.
SS: As a former high school teacher, how close did you come to getting yourself suspended from class?
Sov: I was never "suspended," but I was "fired" once. It's a long story, how many beers you got in your office?
SS: Wouldn't you like to know. What did you teach?
Sov: I was a 9th grade World History teacher at two different institutions of learnin'. I never hit a kid once, but I did wear a tie every day.
SS: In what way did the author’s use of symbolism illustrate the protagonist’s struggle?
Sov: Thinking make Sovern's head hurt. SOVERN SMASH!!!!!! [hmmm, better move on to a new subject, SS, he’s turning green and his clothes are beginning to rip…-KB]
SS: Uh...right. What cycling hero do you pretend you are when you have a tailwind and you're late for the Wednesday night ride?
Sov: I pretend I'm Moocher from Breaking Away. While I more closely resemble Daniel Stern's "Cyril," Moocher was the heart and soul of the group. Not only was he getting it on with a reasonably tall checkout girl, but he also wrapped his hand in stuff before he punched things like frat guys and time clocks. That's just cool. And if that's not enough, when Dave Stohler had given up the ghost, who stepped in despite having no training or particular skill on a bike? Moocher, that's who. Who rode his tiny little heart out around the Little 500 track like that electric rabbit that greyhounds chase? Moocher, that's who. Or maybe it was Cyril. Either way, I pretend I'm the Mooch when I'm late for the Wednesday Night Ride and I have a tailwind.
SS: You’ve obviously thought about this a lot. What kind of unusual skills do you bring to Surly?
Sov: I can't wheelie. I can't get sweet air. I can't "go fast."
SS: Right. O.k., so what CAN you do?
Sov: What can I do? Ummm.... I can match my shoes with my belt. I.... can... um... reach stuff that's up high. And I can cook a mean dish I like to call bachelor chow. Yeah, there's onions in it.
SS: What’s your bike history?
Sov: I was raised on a farm in Iowa where I often found myself begging to be "driven into town" to ride. Ultimately that became a storied career as a BMX kid. No sponsorship, no team, just a kid on a converted Sting-Ray rockin' the dirt. I didn't win much, but I still have an assload of 2nd place trophies (victory brings responsibility). Then the family started doing Ragbrai as our annual vacation. I quickly succumbed to the bliss that is 15,000 people all riding in the same direction - and there was no drinking age on the ride in 1985. Ragbrai became road racing - at which I never really excelled. My best finish was in a crit where I placed second. I had sprinted a little late and as I panicked around the final turn I cut off another rider pretty aggregiously. Turns out it was my older brother. He gave me a wedgie.
Then on to working in shops, falling in with the wrong crowd, buying a few Surlys, driving a cube, knocking people down in the roundy round.
SS: Whiskey or tequila? And why?
Sov: I look at different liquors as tools in a tool chest - it depends on what you want to get done. Lonely? Depressed? Crying over a break-up or a tacoed front wheel? Then whiskey is your buddy. Whiskey won't ever leave you in the lurch. Now, if it's a fight you want, or if you're a little nervous about your big pole-dancing debut, then invite tequila over for some snugglin'. This south-of-the-border hallucinogen will have you naked and popular in minutes.
SS: You may be thinking of a different south of the border medicine. Who’s your favorite racer type person?
Sov: One who quits racing to just ride. Seriously, why do people automatically equate riding with racing? Why would I go to a beautiful hunk of single-track only to stare at my front wheel and the 15 feet in front of me for hours on end? Ride, don't race. And tell 'em Sov said it's ok.
SS: Are you available for weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, restaurant openings, and ballgames?
Sov: You know, if the money's right I'm totally down. I'll eat bugs or dance in a tutu, it just doesn't matter as long as the fat green comes rolling my way - and by that I mean a burrito in a spinach tortilla.
SS: Speaking of which, what's another word for pirate treasure?
Sov: Buh-buh-booty... Booty! [we’re not sure if he stumbled on that answer or if he was just too excited to form the word.-KB]
SS: That’s it for us. Any questions you’ve been itching to ask yourself?
Sov: I'd like to know how I plan to simultaneously fight and perpetrate crime.
SS: That’s a tough one, although you seem to have been doing fine so far. Welcome aboard. Here’s your box of paperclips. Don’t lose any or we’ll dock your pay.

As some of you may know, we've been experiencing some serious shortages with supply this spring on alot of our products. We apologize for that, hope you're patience has not run thin and want to let you know that nobody is more bummed out about this than we are. But help is on the way!

Updated incoming product ETAs:

• Karate Monkeys- brown or black in all sizes- should be the first or second week of May
  
  
• Stainless chainrings- all sizes- we had some fly out of here last week, there will be more in a week
  
  
• Cogs- all sizes- mid May
  
  
• 24" Large Marge rim- delayed until perhaps July
  
  
• Nice Racks- rears should be ready in 3-4 weeks, mid May. Fronts should be 2-3 weeks behind, early/mid June
  
  
• Flasks- should be in stock by the time you read this
  
  
• Long Haul Truckers, Cross-Check framesets, Pacers, 1x1s, Steamrollers in most sizes- last week of April/first week of May
  
  
• Pugsley frameset, the Endomorph 3.7" tires and the offset-spoked Large Marge rims are still on pace for a July arrival
  
• Cross-Checks complete bikes- early June
  
  
• Special surprise coming this spring too. Don't ask, you'll find out soon enough.
  

These are estimates, so don't cry if you were waiting for something that wasn't here when I said they might be here. We're doing our best to get these things available to you and sometimes we all just have to wait. Thanks for being patient!!!

This spring has been really kick ass for mountain biking so far. The trails have dried up and most of them are legally open. On Friday, we decided to ride our beloved Minnesota River trail to and from work.

I took Pugsley to see how it would do off road on flat, fast, hardpacked singletrack. After taking the new lightrail with bike aboard, it was just 2 miles to the trailhead. Although I missed the group of morning riders, it was a really nice morning to ride solo. The trails were in such good condition, I don't remember them being that good this early in the season. The Pug was a bit more work to push it on the trails, but very rewarding when going up and over the logpiles and through the soft sandy spots. I saw a young bald eagle about 50 yards away, waiting for some food to swim by. The sweet 2 hour ride ended at work.

Leaving work, we had 10 riders, two on Pugsleys, a few singlespeeds and the rest standard geared rigs. We picked up one more rider at the trailhead, which is two miles from work, and proceeded to pick some clean lines through the woods. We rode to 9-mile creek where we took turns pulling ourselves across the floating raft and then had some beers on the other side. A few miles later, the group split in half, with 5 of us taking the long way home through the less established part of the trail.

This was a big unknown, because the river water levels can be so high, there are spots flooded and the only way out is back the way you came. We hit a creek and began navigating our way across. Brauer Power was on the other Pugsley and decided he was going to ride THROUGH one creek. It was much deeper than the 1 foot depth he expected and he vanished into the muck. Pugsley popped up to the surface before he did, and I would've given $100 to get a photo of his expression as he stood there in the muddy water. Once we all stopped laughing, we found our way across 4 small creeks without getting too wet and rode on.

We finally ran into high water where the trail literally turned into flowing river. Walt the Hammer found a way through it. Hike a bike through the swampy muck, not stopping long enough for your feet to sink in. Ride across a 200 yard old burned out railroad bridge. Jump off and ride/hike-a-bike another couple hundred yards through some tall grass and we found dry land again. Although most of the 20-something miles of the river trail is maintained and small bridges have been built, there are still these areas that are somewhat wild and it's fun to get scared and find your way though the wilderness a bit to get back onto the trail. Mountain biking wouldn't be as much of an adventure without these kinds of sidetracks.

The sand sections really made the Pugs worth taking this day, because we didn't flinch or slow down going through them. It was totally amazing how well it floated through the sand! As Brauer Power put it, "these things eat sand for lunch". Towards the end of the ride our legs had been pushed harder than they had all season, a good kind of pain. By the time I got home it had been another 3 hours on Puglsey, 5 hours total for the day. These are the days where I totally appreciate the speed and precision of our George Foreman grill to sear some meat with the quickness my stomach was demanding. What a good day in the saddle.

Check out my new ride. I think I'll call it The Goiter.

I built it out of some rectangular .049”-walled chromo that I bought for another project, the steerer from a messed up JRA 1x1 fork, and some shaft collars. (I wrote shaft) It was rideable Wednesday morning, but I didn’t get the Magura HS33 brake on it ‘til early this a.m.

I was itchin’ to ride some off-road this morning…3:30am, so I pumped up the Endomorph 3.7 tire (that’s the official name of our new fat rubber friend) to 12 psi and headed for the dirt trails south of the Falls. Lately, I’ve been riding Jedi (without a light) down there a lot on a uni. I think the lack of a headlight tunes my “feel” for the trail. My ride kicked ass. I know the new toy is probably a bit of a placebo, but I felt that the tire worked better than the 3.0 Nokian Gazz that I’ve been using for a year on my other uni.

There’s almost always a bed of coals, or at least an ember, in the big fire pit there. This morning was no exception. I found a few coals and started a small fire. I like to practice starting fires without matches or lighters, using only coals or embers. It’s a good skill to have, if you’re a camping enthusiast...or camper wannabe, like me, who knows all the theory and has a shitload of gear, but never has enough time to go camping as much he would like. It takes a little longer, but it’s more of a challenge. The other reason to start a fire, other than skill-building? The possession of a beer. I bring a beer on a uni ride most of the time. I think beer and fire go well together. I’m guessing many of you agree. I keep my fire bright, but small, so I can put it out when I finish my beer and decide to ride home.

I’m going to be out and about, today, on a uni or bike. You might see me. If you’re going to yell something at me, from your large automobile, don’t yell,“fagot!”. It’s overused. I’m yearning for some new material. Whatchu got??

O.k., seriously, this is starting to get annoying. You know we love you (well, most of you anyway), but you have to stop asking us for free stuff. It's become an issue in our relationship that we can no longer ignore. It's one thing if you have a race or ride and we fit into your vision of said event in some larger way (i.e., think beyond "hey, they're a bike company, they must have a huge budget for giving away free stuff!"), but it's another to ask for a free frame or something just because you're planning a ride involving more than 5 people. Think of it this way: before you click 'send' on the freebie request, ask yourself: do I ride a Surly? Do I respect Surly? Do my friends have Surlies? But even more important: Is this a truly unusual, challenging, and, yes, weird (though not strictly weird and/or drunk) event? And even then, if we have, say, 3 really solid requests, we pick and choose where we send free stuff. We are not, despite chatroom conjecture, a giant corporate monolith with more dollars than sense and we don't believe that marketing simply means tossing free stuff out to anybody who asks. What's more, even if you have a crazy idea into which Surly does play a specific role, we have limited resources. We don't want to have to start charging a lot of money for our stuff just to supplement your freebie habit. Would you ask your saintly, silver haired grandmother on a fixed income for a cut of her social security check so you could go out and party? Of course not.
Look, we appreciate that you're doing freaky shit. We do. We like freaky shit. But being freaks ourselves, we know that the true freak will go about his/her freakiness in (at least fundamentally) a dignified manner, without extended mooching. And we'll probably remember you too, so if your response to a rejected request involves stuff like 'you morons don't know what you're missing' ...well, don't bother to write back next year.
Finally, we do ask for something in return. A bit of recognition, our logo on your flier and t-shirt, and maybe a toast to us during the awards portion of the event at the very least. You're going to get us some visibilty, some press? Great. Prove it. If someone gives you a free meal, you do the dishes. It's like that. You get the idea.
So baby, please don't withhold your love, don't be afraid to ask for prizes for your legitimate event, and don't ever stop writing us to tell us about your latest adventure, ride idea, or to send photos of your pedal powered riding lawnmower. Please don't stop loving us the way we love you: long time. We just need more space. And fewer requests for free stuff.

The Wednesday Nite Ride was partially fueled by the high-octane nectar of the Green Fairy, thanks to Mr. Paul Rude. It helped us Jedi ride the dirt trails along the Minnehaha Creek…until Grizzly Jim tangled with a wooden 8” x 8” post at the end of a bridge. The post won that battle. Jim walked away in pretty good shape. His 1x1 fork took the brunt of the impact. Check it out…

We unhooked the front brake, turned the fork around (so it was raked forward ), and rolled to my place a couple miles away. Ya gotta love steel. The fork made the journey without complaint.


I just happened to have a case of PBR in the fridge, to satisfy the troops while we wrenched on Jim’s bike. And, I had a black 1x1 fork with the correct steerer length and a star-fangled nut already installed. The Wed Nite Ride gods were watching over us.

Jim, Adam, Ryan, and I rode down to a fire pit south of the Falls to finish off the PBR. We rolled up on an already-built blaze being tended by some high school kiddies. They seemed happy to keep stokin’ the fire, so we just stood around and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Of course, we had to endure some torturously ignorant conversation coming from their side of the fire pit. But, that’s the trade-off for mooching off their flame. And, I’m sure I sounded the same at that age. I can’t be too judgmental.

I got home between 3:30 and 4:00 smelling and tasting, I suspect, like a beer-soaked Slim Jim past its freshness date.

A big congrats to Speedgoat.com for their successful raffle, which raised money to help fight breast cancer by giving away a pink 1X1 with as many pink parts as they could squeeze on. They raised $13,830. Not bad at all.

Tonight at the 400 Bar here in good ol' MPLS is Crooked Fingers. Get on your bikes and ride!

Ever since I started working in bike shops 14 years ago, I've had a Pavlovian reaction when I see a brown UPS truck stop by or when I see a package with my name on it. PARTS! Drop everything and open that box, let everybody see your cool parts, fondle them, ogle, drool, become jealous. Hey, get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking about bike parts.

Well today was no exception, only the parts are for you. We got the long awaited second production batch of Stainless Steel Chainrings in today and they look wonderful. Tolerances are dead-on and the finish is shiny and smoove, just like the first batch was supposed to be. They should be in stock today. In the meantime, while you're waiting for the browntruck to arrive at your shop, here is a photo.

Sure, Iditabike is tough. But Iowans know how to play rough too. Not only is it the home of RAGBRAI, grand daddy of rides across a state, now they have the TRANSIOWA race as well, a race west to east on almost all gravel roads. This is going to be tougher than it may sound. Attendants can ride their bike of choice, but it's unsupported, and there is only one place midway to restock on tubes and whatnot. Think triple century as fast as you can on gravel roads. I recognize a bunch of names on the roster (field limited to 50 people), including Evilcycling.com's Jeff Biddle, who we expect to occasionally Popeye cans of PBR. For strength, you know. I'm strong to the finish, cause beer is me spinach, I'm Biddle the biker man! toot toot!

We don't normally do this sort of thing (never, in fact), but the freaks at Dirt Reynolds Video Production made us an offer we couldn't refuse.
Surly Bikes is proud to present a documentary DVD of MPLS Single Speed Culture. Here's the press release. Ask your local bike shop to order it for you!