If you're in the Minneapolis area, put this on your calendar:

Dead Brewery Tour 2005

Saturday, June 11th. Slow 20-ish mile group swerve through Mpls/St.Paul past the old breweries that once pumped out alot of beer and made Minnesota a pre-prohibition brewing powerhouse. Cruisers/hoopties/one-speeds/whatever are encouraged. Racers and heart rate monitors need not apply.

Show up at Molly Quinn's public house on Lake St. and 33rd Ave South Mpls at 11am for pre-noon beers and breakfast. The ride is leaving at 12 noon for St.Paul and will end late afternoon at the undead Town Hall brewpub in Mpls for beer and food.

Of course, pit stops will be frequent and random. Wear your drinking shoes. For more information, don't e-mail us, just show up and ride. Seize you there.

I suppose in retrospect it may not have been the best idea to leave Sov alone here after writing an invitation on the blog to all of you to write in and hassle him. His point is well taken, that point being, essentially, "thanks. thanks a lot.", with heavy emphasis on the sarcasm. It drove him to write up his Gigantor bike idea (reminiscent of the Homer Simpson designed car: "Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yeilding like a nerf ball".)
But nothing really happened. There were a few oddball e-mails, and he was somewhat annoyed, but I think mainly this was due to being at work, by himself, the last day before a long weekend. Can't blame him, really. He doesn't seem to have suffered too much, nor Surly for that matter (no angry emails, anyway), so it's all water under the fridge. Make that 'bridge.' The fridge is another story.
For those of you keeping score, Theo Wirth is open and rideable. There are some mildly sloppy corners, but the trailbuilding crew (wearing official orange t shirts so you knew they were The People) I encountered on Saturday said it ought to be fine, and it was. In fact, there were more people out there that I would describe as 'casual' bikers (judging by their dress, their bikes, their skill, and, in the case of one couple, the requisite question "which way is out?") than legit, UCI card carrying, leg shaving cyclists, which I take as a good sign that (finally) legally opening an inner city singletrack trail was a good idea. Aside from the muddy off camber that taught me who's boss on one hot corner, the trails, though a bit short for my liking, are indeed a tasty treat for those in need of some dirt and relaxation, that nice, accessible kind of relaxation which does not involve a big ta-doo with packing, driving, unloading, etc. The best part is that it can be ridden really fast or really slow according to your skill level. It is a perfect place for newbies to try out their fresh tricks, and it can be challenging for dirt vets too if you want to go fast, only then you have to do several loops to fill up your allotted time away from the house. Still, my knuckles can attest to the narrowness of some sections, and my legs feel like they did a little climbing, and though you might glimpse a golf cart or hear a few cars to remind you that you are surrounded by the rest of humanity, overall I always come back feeling more rested than anything else. I'd call that success.
What I wouldn't call success is dragging a hundred pounds of aging golden retriever in a Burly trailer several miles to Nick's house, having a few, then going home using the same method, which in my recent case resulted in a lower back pain akin to having a moray eel clamped onto my spine in a death grip, then clubbed lifeless into a knot of pain. And no, riding doesn't make it feel better. That's what Alieve is for.

It's so quiet in here... I'm so alone...

Maybe I'll design a new frame today. I think it'll be for gigantors 6'6" and taller with 34" wheels and weigh about 32 lbs (frame only). We'll put anti-SUV Ben Hur style razor hubs on it, trainin' wheels for getting home from the bar, and maybe a roll cage. We'll have modular add-ons like a side-car, a pick-up bed package, and offroad light bars with 6 or 8 Hellas changin' night into day.

Yeah... that'll teach 'em to leave me here alone with the keys.

We just got some VERY limited quantities of Karate Monkey and Gross-Check framesets in stock here. Since we don't expect to have any more Karate Monkeys built for possibly a few months, this is your chance to nab one before they are gone.

Karate Monkeys:
16" Black
18" Black or Brown
20" Black or Brown

Gross-Checks:
42cm Dk.Green or Black
50cm Black
52cm Black
54cm Dk.Green or Black
56cm Dk.Green
58cm Dk.Green or Black
60cm Dk.Green

GO!

Big puffy clouds in the Surlyville today, a brief respite from the 40 days and nights of overcast drizzle. The near constant rain, with a day of sun here and there, is no good for producing much of anything except dandelions. Acres and acres of dandelions. Maybe things will dry up enough to go ride some trails this weekend without greasing out the corners or carving drainage ruts. The lovely and talented Ms. Bloggins has been making noise about hitting Theo Wirth trails on saturday, and when the lady wants to ride, I find it's mutually beneficial to accomodate. So the deciding factor is the weather. As tomorrow is her birthday, I'll be taking the day off to hang out with her, go out to dinner, take her to a show, and just plain love her up. Nick and Dave also have stuff happening, so it looks like Sov is going to be the only man on deck tomorrow. Feel free to write in and ask all kinds of odd crap. derby@surlybikes.com gets you here, no maps or exit ramps in Surlyville.

Cog Blog part 2, continued from Monday. We just got more cogs ready:

• Track threaded, 1/8" x 21 tooth (part# FW2069)
  
• Splined, 3/32" x 17t (FW2075)
  
• Splined, 3/32" x 21t (FW2079)
  
• Track threaded, 3/32" x 19t (FW2087)
  
• Track threaded, 3/32" x 21t (FW2089)
  

The remainder of the sizes should be available in a couple more weeks. Yeehaw.

We got some cogs in today for the very first time since going with a new design. At first glance, they look fantastic and we're extremely happy to finally have (some of) them. The sizes going into stock immediately are:

• Track threading, 1/8" x 22 tooth (part# FW2070)
  
• Splined, 3/32" x 18t (FW2076)
  
• Splined, 3/32" x 19t (FW2077)
  
• Splined, 3/32" x 22t (FW2080)
  

The rest of the sizes should be ready in a couple more weeks.

ETAs for some new and old products:

• Rear Nice Racks- 4 weeks
  
• Front Nice Racks aren't quite ready, we expect about 6 weeks or so
  
• Cogs in all tooth sizes, splined interface, 3/32" threaded and 1/8" threaded interfaces should be ready in less than 2 weeks
  
• Tons of hubs, too many to list, will be ready in 4 weeks
  
• Carbon fiber elliptical splined, ha just kidding!
  
• Our limited production run one-time only item(s) will be ready in 4 weeks. It's really not a big deal and I'm sure some of you will be strongly disappointed with this product. But that's tough because we wanted it for ourselves and will have just enough to pass around the firepit once or twice.
  
• Pugsley framsets are still on pace for July
  
• Pugsley accessories also on pace for July: Endomorph 3.7" tire, offset drilled Large Marge rim, 26" x 3-4" tube for Endomorph tire on pace for July.
  

Remember, the "E" in ETA stands for estimate. Thanks for waiting.

Technology can be a good thing. If it weren't for metallurgists, we wouldn't have blended chromium and molybdenum with steel to make the fine rides we pedal around. If it weren't for chemists discovering yeast as the fourth main ingredient in beer, we'd all be drinking weird tasting beer. If it weren't for Al Gore, we wouldn't have this here internet thing to read this here surlyblog from (haha joke). So why not give in once in a while and buy some technology? Since we Surly luddites had yet to own a cellphone amongst the three of us, we hired a 4th guy because he had a cellphone. Actually it's because he kicks ass, but we didn't tell him that. So my point is that I bought a cellphone and entered a new realm in communication technology. I know 83% of you are thinking, "big f'ing deal". 10% of you are thinking, " shut up and tell me something about when Karate Monkeys are going to be available". 7% of you are right there with me on the whole "I don't need that crap, yet" thing. What broke the camels back and got me to cave in was being able to call my lady from across the country while I was about 8 beers into a wonderful evening in Fruita. I gave the phone back to my friend and said, " that's it, I'm getting one".

This gnomefest in September sounds like way too much fun.

No, you can't have one... or can you?

I love my Surly Pacer. I've commuted many miles on it, ridden it across Iowa 3 or 4 times, secretly made out with it in my basement. But she was getting a little shabby, so I sent her in to our friends, the good folk at Spectrum Powderworks. They did right by me and I gave them money. It's a great system.





So, when you're sitting in your bike hole saying "Dang! I wish them Surly fellers still made that Tuxedo Blue Pacer" or "I need me a Karate Monkey, but I want it neon pink with blue and green flames" your wishes can come true. Or if you've piled your Instigator into one too many rock formations and scuffed it up, don't call us - get it painted!

All you need is a coupla hundred bucks. We even sell decal kits for all our frames, so you can make it look fabulous.

Let me reiterate. This is not our new Pacer paintjob - it's MY new paintjob. Get your own!

Last night, riding home on Dave's XtraSurly (Xtracycle Free Radical on Instigator), I was looking at my oldest pair of knickers (in the US, those cut off long pants are knickers, and NOT, as I remembered too late while discussing my outfit one day in the UK, ladies underwear), a pair made of green flannel, loving repaired many times, made about a decade ago by Swobo, cycling's favorite winningest losers, and thinking that although I have plenty of decent cycling clothes, I would miss these and my already stretched and torn Swobo jerseys when they get so bad I can no longer pretend they're actual clothes. Not irreplacable exactly, as there is still some decent stuff out there, including our own wool jerseys, but there's nothing else out there with the same panache (there was a short lived flash of design genius from a defunct-before-she-got-going New York woman who displayed some powerfully cool wool jerseys at Interbike a couple years ago, and of course Hypnotic, who are doing some cool stuff.). News has been breaking in small waves that Tim Parr and the Swobo Way-O-Life are coming back to us after a hiatus involving Tim designing other stuff to be sold for big dollars to people most inclined to drive Eddie Bauer Edition SUVs (so Early 90s!). Finally. And none too soon, as the state of cycling gear, fit, fashion and feel, is reminiscent of highly sweetened processed snack treats...flashy packaging but hard to swallow. Dismal at best. A breath of fresh air. Before you make fun of me for giving a shit about fashion, best take a look at what most cyclists are wearing, especially here in the US, and realize that PEOPLE LOOK STUPID in sublimated plastic jerseys and lycra shorts. Sorry, it's true.

Now then...every once in a while someone asks if they can convert their Pacer or Crosscheck or larger sized Long Haul Trucker to 650b wheels for any number of logical reasons. We usually say something that revolves around "technically yes, but...", which we stand by from a geometry and design standpoint, but to be fair to those who will just do it anyway, there is this. I'm not sure what's happening there with the XTREME setback post or the Levitra Edition steertube, but it worked and looks pretty good. Nice work, Joel.

And lastly on this overcast May afternoon: "Just a quick note from Australia" (i.e., an actual email from an actual customer who actually lives in Australia and actually wrote to tell us how much he likes his Long Haul Trucker. Boy howdy, I tell you what):
"I bought a Long Haul Trucker from the top dudes at Cheeky Monkey Cycles in Sydney which I built up with Deore/XT and Mavic SUP rims. I then went on a 3 1/2 week tour with my girlfriend.
Boy howdy that bike is sweet. I am now a 100% steel convert.
Anyway, without rambling overmuch, keep on making real bikes for real people and making them so damn well. Thanks for making my tour a rockin one. Cheers."

Cheers back atcha, John. Thanks.

Jeez those Karate Monkeys we got in two weeks ago flew out of here fast. Once we get an ETA for the next batch we'll post them here.

Also, the new cogs will be here in two weeks! Go ahead and say it, "it's about F'ing time!"

I think I would have embarrassed him if I had mentioned this yesterday, when any of the local ne'erdowells might've absconded with any remnants of Sov's sobriety and self respect, but now that the Special Day has passed I'd like to wish our man Sov a big, wet happy birthday. So how old is he? Old enough to know better, and he proved it last night by staging a small, mostly quiet get together at Lyle's in MPLS rather than going into that dark wednesday night ride with the aforementioned lurkers. Here's to you Sov, and I hope you got a nice phone call from your lady. You're the shit.

I went to Fruita and all I got was this wicked shin-burger:



One of the premier events of the Fat Tire Fest is the Clunker Crit. Here riders chose from an array of crap bikes in various states of disrepair, mount them, and race around Fruita's one block town square. The rules are that there are no rules, ergo, cutting the course through the expo area got me a 15 second head start in the following heat. Cheating is rewarded.

There are some spectacular spills as bikes fall apart or as riders simply lose control. I was egregiously cut off by another racer who ultimately went on to win. My reaction to this situation? Right on! If you can knock me down to get to the front of the pack, then by all means do it. I'm not a small man, so I think I dislodged some concrete on Peach Street. Still, I came up laughing and the crowd roared its approval.

I love Fruita. I love the people in Fruita. I love the trails in Fruita. And I love that I left some bits of my leg behind in Fruita.

In the event you've been living in a cave hiding from a $25 million bounty on your head and haven't heard about the 2005 Singlespeed World Championships, it's happening this August 21-22 in State College, Pennsylvania. If you plan to attend, here is the lowdown:

• Registration will be done through BikeReg.com , not by calling or e-mailing the organizers and begging them to let you in because you failed to register properly.
  
• Registration begins June 1, 2005. 1st come, 1st served.
  
• You must pay to play in advance. Your $35 entry assures your name on the list and there is a 500 person limit, no exceptions.
  
• The official website will be updated shortly.
  
• The organizers have fulltime jobs and are really stressed out, so please stop bothering them with questions like "what gear should I run?".
  

We've been assured the course is going to difficult to weed out the softies, as mountain biking should be. We also must warn you to make sure your bike can withstand a derby beating. Those sub-23 pound rigs are going to be fun targets. Seize you there.

More stuff coming into stock in a week or less:

• HU0203, Rear track hub, 32h, black, 120mm, bolt on
  
• HU0209, Rear MTB hub, fixed/freewheel flipflop, 32h, black, 135mm, bolt on
  
• HU0214, Front hub, 32h, black, 100mm, QR, non-disc
  
• HU0218, Front hub, 36h, silver, 100mm, bolt on, non-disc
  
• HU0219, Rear track hub, 36h, silver, bolt on, 120mm
  
• HU0224, Rear track hub, fixed/freewheel flipflop, 32h, silver, bolt on, 120mm
  
• Pacer forks, black
  
• CH8896, our new Singleator wrench/bottle opener tool made from the scrap material in our stainless steel chainrings.
  

More stuff to come, including our secret special limited edition thingy soon.

Dave and I are in better shape than Nick, Sov, or Brauer after this year's Fruita Fat Tire Fest, but then, we didn't try real hard to hit the ground. Practice makes perfect, and derbying is the perfect practice if you want to learn how to fall.
Fruita is, as has been noted here numerous times, a great place to ride your bike: awesome trails, top notch people, etc., etc., but one thing that happened there has stuck in my mind a bit. As I was playing around in the parking lot of our motel, popping wheelies, practicing tricks, a guy walking past said "I though you Surlies didn't use suspension," refering to the sus fork on my 1x1. I faltered, as I had been mentally preoccupied with everything and nothing. I stammered something I don't remember, but it's what I should have said that sticks with me. I guess it caught me offguard because I was surprised to hear it...I mean, we're not in competition to be the toughest MFers on the planet. Rather, our shared philosophy has more to do with the necessity of technology.
What I mean is this: a suspension fork is a pretty handy tool in the Rockies. I know people who ride out there on fully rigid frames, and that's cool, but I can ride longer (not necessarily better, though this is sometimes true) in rough terrain with some sort of suspension. It takes a bit of the harshness out of the ride. It makes it possible to ride longer and enjoy my ride more. So it's technology for a purpose. In contrast, I spent a fair amount of time behind people with fully geared bikes whom I could've passed (if it hadn't been singletrack) as they struggled with their touchy derailleurs, skipping back and forth between gears, trying to find the right one, sometimes throwing a chain. Meanwhile, I'm happily pushing a perfectly reasonable single gear, having no mechanical issues whatsoever, bike or body. And that's my point: in this case, a suspension fork was a good thing that made my time in the saddle better and let me ride longer. I don't ride suspension on that bike all the time, just when it's useful. And sometimes I run bikes with gears, too. I'm not against gears, just against spending lots of time fussing, maintaining, and fighting with derailleurs. Although gears are sometimes tempting, the trouble they come with has to be balanced against their usefulness...just like with suspension, just like with other choices that come up. Ride whatever you like, just do it for reasons that enhance the ride. That's what I should have said.

Holy crap I'm sore today. From what? I'm not quite sure, but I know it happened on Friday night in Fruita Colorado during the Fat Tire Festival. During a long ride that ended with a sweet-ass long descent down Mack Ridge, I tumbled over the bars onto a smooth rock and that kinda hurt. Later that evening, I started talking smack and ended up wrestling my friend Bill on the front lawn of the house of festival founder, Troy Rarick. Even though I pinned Bill, it kinda hurt. Then on the way home from Troy's at about 4 a.m. (again!) we thought it'd be fun to have a little derby in the empty streets of downtown Fruita. BrauerPower and I locked up and he finally went down. Next I went after our new bigman at Surly, Mr. Skip Bernet. After a few unsuccessful tries at knocking him down, the fullspeed t-bone maneuver finally had us both laying in the street, laughing and wincing in pain at the same time. Needless to say, I woke up sore and can still feel it 2 days later.

Despite the expected pain the comes with having fun, this had to be the most fun FFTF in the 3 years I've done it. In addition to some of the most ripping singletrack anywhere, the people showing up to ride were what made it great. Our first group ride had 35 people from all over the country and included the hot and awesome Luna Chicks.

There was live music every night and Troy even managed to score the coolest fastest bluegrass band for one night, Split Lip Rayfield. We don't get beer from New Belgium Brewery here in Minnesota, so it's also a treat to have them sponsor the event and bring their yummy liquids.

Each night consisted of friends, beers, stories, farting, Bear/Ninja/Cowboy fights (think paper/rock/scissors), sitting in Troy's garage waiting for him to bust out the good tequila, 15 dozen tamales, campfires, hugs, and more beers. Everynight we were there, the Minneapolis crew was the last to go to bed, helped in part by the DrunkCyclist crew from Flagstaff AZ.

If you haven't been to Fruita and are thinking about going somewhere new for your next mountain or road bike trip, river rafting or stargazing trip, this is a great place. Stop in at Over The Edge Sports for all the trail information. They are the shop that has been building trails for the last 10 years and started it all. See you next year?

(Postscript: in addition to the other early season rock-catchers mentioned a couple of entries ago, I have received a report from Alabama-the guy, not the state- that he crashed too. He writes: "Since Wednesday's crash, my eye has blossomed like a beautiful spring tulip, and my drive-side birdy finger (although still swollen) is workin’ the rear break again. His little buddy (the adjacent pointer-finger) should be out on the field again soon. My left arm is regaining function, and I even felt good enough to try a bunny hop yesterday.
I feel very Blessed. I hit my head hard enough to make my friends and family hurt–to make them hurt much more than I can imagine. Fortunately, my trusty helmet gave its all, and with the strength [of] Surly steel, it saved my life." Well I doubt the frame saved you, Chris, but at least that nice, stout cro-moly frame didn't buckle like so many Lance-a-likes. Get well soon, man. Oh what am I saying? You're probably out on a ride right now.)

Say, that reminds me: we'll be in Fruita the rest of this week. Hopefully no helicopters or intensive care units will be involved.