Before he left last week for the Fruita Fat Tire Fest (which by now is over for another year), Brauer, with a bit of a desperate whine, begged me to post something new on the blog so he wouldn't have to look at McGruff's ass anymore (our pal Leeche, on seeing the photo, described it as "a muffin top with blue chocolate"). I, however, am the only man on deck here at Surly Intergalactic HQ, the rest of the crew having flown the coop with Brauer for the sunnier clime and mountains of Fruita. What with the vacuum of bodies and the unmitigated flow of work, I simply did not have the time to update it (and for that matter, Brauer is no where near a computer so changing it just for him would be not only ridiculous but also moot). But as with the other things blown in by spring weather (locusts, floods, and an increase in automobile traffic bound for Ikea), McGruff's ass too shall pass, starting with...

TransIowa V2.0. This thing also happened this past weekend. Organizer and Bad Ass Superdude Jeff Kerkove reports that conditions leading up to the event, a 300 mile (+/-) fast-as-you-can race across Iowa over mostly gravel roads, were about as grim as you can expect, with several days of cold rain throughout the state for many days previous, making the route little more than a gravelly mud bog. Last year, with conditions far better, the ride was hard enough that most of the starters dropped out before finishing. This year, Kerkove reports, "most people made it about 70 miles." None of the 70 or so registered racers was able to make the 6pm Saturday final time check, and so no one officially finished the course, but, Kerkove continues, "just to give you an idea of how tough conditions were, the leaders took 2 hours to go 9 miles in the later part of the first half of the course." Go here for photos, and here for a video. Ouch. To my knowledge, none of them rode or brought as a spare bike any Pugsleys. Although a bit heavy for a 300 mile race, that sort of rig may have been the best option given the conditions. Live and learn.

Our pal Zeke, who already rocks the trails and streets around KC, MO, on a Crosscheck and a Karate Monkey, recently got a Long Haul Trucker and wrote to say, "Have I mentioned that I LOVE my Long Haul Trucker? Thanks again for one more bike I love." And if this is any indication, apparently Zeke isn't the only one. There is now a website by and for Long Haul Trucker owners. We didn't start it and we don't operate it. In fact other than saying "yeah, sure, go for it" when the LHT Owner's Group web dude asked if we minded, we're not affiliated with it at all. But we sure are glad people think enough of the LHT to do something like this. Thanks folks, seriously. I'm nearly speechless. But not quite..

Finally today, someone identifying him/herself only as J-Me (ultra-mod rework of a common name or codifed instructions? maybe both...) of Altered Esthetics Gallery in my fair NE MPLS wrote in to alert us to...well here, read for yourself:
"Our 'Bike Art' group-show features over 40 local and international artists and over 100 works of art celebrating the bicycle - everything from performance art, to photography, to sculpture. The opening is on May 12, 2006. More information about the show can be found [here]." The email lists a bevy (possibly a coterie) of artists who will be displaying, including some probably familiar to you already, such as Ken Avidor, Andy Singer, and Roger Lootine. Less than 2 weeks away. Consider yourself invited.

That's all the news today. My co-wrockers (not a typo) and various other ugly kids return tomorrow from the Surly Bikes 'Extended Hangover' U.S. Tour, which basically covers I-70 between the Denver airport and Fruita. You can still see McGruff's ass bruise though. Just scroll down a bit....bit more...OH! Horrible, absolutely horrible!