Things are happening.

So, today is the last day of February, and it's been a tough one. I think I'm speaking for the rest of the Surly knitting circle when I say we're a bit winded after the last month or so of events and happenin's.

Picture this, Cat 6 Racing's Moustache Ride one weekend (Chef Dog made Magnum's 'stache look like John Waters'), the Stuporbowl messenger race the next (sorry 'bout your teeth Ryan), the Snowball's Chance in Hell Formula Ice Race and Snowy Dash for Cold Hard Cash, the next (between Splat Moore's Wild Turkey Balls and Nate's Peanut Butter and Bacon sandwiches I was bound up for a week), and QBP's Frostbike trade show extravaganza last weekend (bummer 'bout your face Bill!)

I'm plumb wore out. And, now Kenny Bloggins and Swervy have both flown the coop to secret tropical locales and are likely sitting on warm sandy beaches with their respective lady-friends as we speak. It's enough to make a guy all bitchy.

Still, there's a little snow, so I rolled the Pug around the neighborhood on Sunday. I know you won't all have an opportunity to ride this bike before you buy it, but damn is it fun. Just complete stupid fun. Get one.

On that note, many folks ask us about frame colors. "Dude, can I still get a Bean Green Cross-check?" "Bro! Can you make me a lavender 1x1 with flourescent green skulls?"

The answer is no. We can't do that. HOWEVER! You CAN do it. Since our frames are so affordably priced (especially in comparison to, say, a brand new H2 (morons)) you should have a couple of bucks left over to paint your frame whatever color suits your fancy. Plenty of folks can paint a frame and it's likely someone near you can make your awful color choices a reality.

I understand that you might not always dig the colors we choose. But you're not availing yourself of the data provided by the SUPERCOLORDEMOGRAPHICSURVEYBOT 8000. This machine probes into each of your minds and helps us pick colors for our frames, so don't blame us, blame the SUPERCOLORDEMOGRAPHICSURVEYBOT 8000. Or blame the colorwheel dart board we acutally use.

Either way, here's an example of what a new Pugsley owner, a little cash, and a little gumption can produce. Go make your own. Devian did this one and he's real proud of it - as he should be. Make a bike your own. Get creative. GO... NOW!

NOTE FOR DUMBASSES: THIS IS NOT A PRODUCTION COLOR - THIS IS A CUSTOM JOB. The first person to ask if we can get them this color gets a visit from a very tipsy, very oiled up, very rambunctious CHEEVER.



-Skip

We're offering two colors in the Long Haul Trucker framesets this year to replace the Sage Green color. The new colors are Utility Blue and Black Cherry Pearl.

While the Utility Blue colored frames look good and have been slowly tricking into stock, we still have not finished the Black Cherry colored frames. This specific color of paint has been a pain in the ass to work with and it looks like we may only get one or two production runs out of it. We do not yet have ETAs on this Black Cherry color and once they are gone, it will be replaced by another to-be-determined color later this summer.

So if you're waiting for this Black Cherry color frameset, please be patient and we'll keep you up to date on it's availability. Chances are they will sell very quickly once they arrive. This blog is the most efficient way to find out their status. Thank you.

Frostbike, the QBP open house thing, is in full swing, complete with a Tyr tri clothing fashion show. What? In spite of that, and in spite of the colder-than-a-witch's-tittie-in-a-brass-bra climate which descended upon our fair city one day before the event (from upper twenties to 10 below zero in a couple of days), everybody seems to be having a good time. The crue from Japan wanted to ride Pugsleys so we took them out friday morning. My ear lobe got frostbitten (peeling skin!!) but we saw a bald eagle by the river and the morning was just plain sunny and beautiful. And then last night was the latest BrauSovCor disaster of an event (and by disaster I mean success): The Get Fat In Winter Pugsley Thrillzilla race extravanganza. The six empty beer cans on my keyboard this morning, none of them mine, is an indication of the sort of event this turned out to be. Props to Christ, Zito! for being who he is and to BrauPow and The Meiser for wrestling. And to Bender for staying as long as he did, complaining the whole time about the cold and how soon he would be leaving, then staying for hours anyway. And to the people who rode through the fire, always as entertaining as it is stupid. And to Sovern, who despite being loud already, decided he needed a megaphone. Oh! I almost forgot the best part: in trying to get Mr. Tom Ritchey, Inventor of Mountain Biking (or was it Gary Fisher?), to come out and ride with the rest of the class, I gave him no quarter for excuses.

Me: You gonna come out? It'll be fun, I promise.
TR: No, it's too cold.
Me: I brought extra sweaters.
TR: Oh, I'd need long johns.
Me: I have those. I brought extra.
TR: It's cold.
Me: I brought extra hats, gloves, even scarves. You'll be warm enough. C'mon, if you don't ride I don't know who you are anymore.
TR: You have the messiest sty of a cube in this place, don't you? (this is probably true, and especially telling since I actually cleaned up quite a bit for the visiting dignitaries and various cycling luminaries)

Yeah! I win! Also managed to alienate Hans Rey in similar fashion, and probably everybody else I came into contact with, but hey, there's a reason our name is SURLY, get it? Ok, gotta go be real at the remainder of the show. If you're here for it, thank you. It has truly been fun to hang out with you. If you're not here, you're missing out on some good fun and a whole lotta cold. Seacrest out.

New Stuff In Stock

Lemon/Lime Green colored 1x1 framesets should be in stock later today or tomorrow for the 1st time. Quantities for this batch are relatively low, so if you need one now, I wouldn't hestitate. Otherwise, we'll have more in the near future.

Long Haul Truckers in Utility Blue color, just received 60 and 62cm sizes for the 1st time, should be in stock later today or tomorrow.

I participated in the 2nd Annual Arrowhead 135 mile Winter Ultra Race last week. It was my first attempt at this type of marathon cold-weather event, and I surprised myself with a 2nd place finish. No sleep, lots of high-calorie junk food, and good ol’ Pugsley got me from start to finish in 19 hours and 59 minutes. 32 racers registered: 5 runners, 2 skiers and 25 cyclists. 16 finished: 2 runners, 14 cyclists. I counted 11 Surlys during registration…8 Pugsleys, 3 1x1s. Many of the non-Surly frames were sportin’ Large Marge rims and/or Endomorph tires. Surly was representin’.

The race started off at 7:00am on Monday, February 6th with a temp of -18F. Luckily, there was very little wind. I couldn’t find my balaclava (later discovered it at mile 110 in a jacket pocket), so I improvised with some other clothes I’d packed in case the temperature got below -20. Not a perfect start to a long day, but I wasn’t going to let this little snafu spoil my ride. When the race started, many of the cyclists went off pretty fast. I just settled into my groove knowing that there was little need to rush. I planned on being out there for 24 hours or so. David Pramann, the race winner, was in the lead from the beginning. I didn’t think he could hold that pace. But, he proved me wrong, arriving at the finish line 4+ hours before me. David rode the course in 15 hours and 45 minutes. That’s record time. Impressive.

I rode my geared Pugsley: 2 chainrings coupled to a 7-speed cassette on a DT 240 hub. I used a butchered (825 grams) Large Marge on the rear and a prototype offset extrusion Large Marge on the front. Endomorph tires provided the traction and suspension on both ends. My goods were carried in or on a Headland seatpost rack, Old Man Mountain front rack (modified), Velocipac frame bag (from the 80’s), and Cannondale panniers (from the 80’s). The only mechanical problem I had was occasional chain suck. For some reason, I kept the aluminum granny ring that came on my Truvativ crankset. Dumb move…should have changed it out to a steel unit. I carried too much food, too much water, and too much other gear. So, my rig wasn’t as light as it could have been. But, it was comforting to know that I was prepared for almost anything out there. Overall, the bike and packing system worked great. Here’s my rig…



For me, the hardest part was not knowing if I was on the right trail. I could see David’s tracks most of the time, but they would disappear occasionally due to snowmobile traffic or hard trail conditions that wouldn’t allow a tread imprint. Some of the trail is used for logging, and the truck traffic packs the snow into an icy sheet. It was always a great relief to find David’s tracks after a half hour of self-doubt. I probably wasted 1 hour just combing the wide trail for tire tracks after I left the 73-mile checkpoint. The end of the race course was not marked as well as it should have been, so I made a wrong turn there. Not a big deal, but I might have saved an additional 20-30 minutes by not taking the wrong turn at that point. Next year, I’ll know the trail better, and I won’t second guess my navigational decisions as much as I did this year.

The second hardest part(s) was my sore ass, sore neck, and sore knees. It’s just going to happen. 19+ hours, out of 20 hours, on a saddle is going to cause discomfort for most people. But, I’m feeling no residual effects. Daily commuting, to and from my places of employment in the Twin Cities area, over the last decade has given me a good fitness and knowledge base to work with.

Sleep deprivation wasn’t a problem. I’m used to going without sleep. It’s the way I’m wired….drives my wife crazy. I’m very nocturnal. I regularly tinker (mostly on bike stuff) in the basement ‘til the wee hours of the morning.

My water didn’t freeze, like it did for many racers, because I had it in Isotherm bottles (in my panniers) or soda bottles next to my body. Many a Camelback (or other brand of water bladder) hose, bite valve, or bladder froze up early in the race. There were quite a few folks hauling around water that they couldn’t drink. My problem was that I carried too much water for the conditions. Had it been a slower course (caused by fresh snow, warmer temps, headwinds, etc), I would have worked harder and used more water.

My food and non-water drink consisted of the following: 1 pound of butter (required 3000 safety calories), Pringles, Gummy Bears, chocolate-covered coffee beans, Slim Jims, cheddar cheese, energy gel, dried squid, Redbull, peanut butter, gorp, gorp, and more gorp.

What made this event so special for me? 1) I challenged myself mentally and physically in a way that I’ve never done before. I’ve ridden 24-hour solo single-speed events that pushed me quite a bit, but the Mother Nature factor wasn’t really present there. Sub-zero temps require a bit more attention to detail if you want to keep your fingers and toes. 2) The solitude allowed me to reflect on the many facets of my life. I only saw one person between the 73-mile checkpoint and the end of the race; Matt Evingson was waiting in his car for his brother John at mile 113. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I took off so I wouldn’t chill. Other than that brief encounter, I was on my own for 10 hours. There is a lot of time to think out there, and it’s eerily quiet without any wind. The squeak of the tires on the snow was the only thing making noise outside of my head. 3) The beauty of this northern Minnesota trail can’t be dismissed. The sun was out during the day, and a half moon lit the trail at night. When you’re out for so long, you get a lot of time to look around at Mother Nature’s handy work. 4) My dad drove Paul Ziegle (6th place on a 1x1) and I to the race. And, my Uncle Bob met us in International Falls the night before the race. It was great to spend time with them before and after the race. They were able to rent a plane and take some aerial photos of the event. I’ll post pics soon, if they turned out. 5) I got to know a lot of people over the course of a few days. I’m sure I’ll see many of the same people there next year. It’s fun to talk about the equipment, the clothing, the strategy, the joys, and the pain of the event. There’s a lot to share.

How do you prep for something like this? Ride your bike. Know your bike. Test your clothing and equipment. Know your body. Coax your friends into joining you. It’s a lot more fun that way.

Thanks to everybody who helped me in some way, shape or form: Pierre and Cheryl Ostor for putting on a great event, all the other fine folks who supported and participated in the event, Paul Zeigle for sharing in the fun and representin’ Surly style, John Evingson for giving me helpful cold-weather tips and for being a catalyst for Surly fat tire frames and componentry, Pat Irwin for helpful tips and ongoing inspiration, Surly for allowing me to fly my freak flag, and my dad, Jerry, for always believing in me and encouraging me to chase my dreams.

Pugsley framesets back in stock

18" framesets went back in stock yesterday. 16" framesets should be in stock later today or tomorrow.

Thanks for being patient during the outage.

Tonight, First Avenue Mainroom:

Wednesday, February 08
Main Room 8:00 PM / 21+
ENGLAND SWINGS V
featuring HEAVY SLEEPER, THE DEATHS, THE FLAMIN' OHS, THE WAG, REVOLVER MODELE, THE MELISMATICS, THE NEW FLOORSHAKERS, THE MIGHTY MOFO'S, FAB TAB & THE TEDS, THE SCREENS and ALTERED BEASTS $5.00 advance $7.00 door

Flamin' Ohs? The Deaths? New Floorshakers (not sure about this, but the old Floorshakers were good)? MIGHTY F*CKIN' MOFOS?! Get thee to First Ave tonight!

LATE BREAKING NEWS: Surly News Globular HQ has just been informed of an impending local show by the one and only Andre Williams, Friday, Feb 17 at the Triple Rock. This quote comes directly from the Triple Rock website:
"Andre Williams makes Little Richard sound like Pat Boone"…Lux Interior
Damn straight. And don't forget that the next night at the Entry is the annual Dale T Nelson birthday gash. That's QBP's Frostbike weekened, so if you're in from outta town and dig the rock, make it a point to be at one or both of these shows.

UPDATE: "Legislators changed that today after being flooded with messages from bike riders."

People of Earth, mount your bicycles!

This weekend marks the 9th annual Stuporbowl bicycle messenger race and you need to be there. Folks come from all over - New York, Seattle, Chicago, Your Mom's place, KC, Winnipeg, the Moon - to race the frozen streets of Minneapolis in February and join in a great big fixed-gear huggathon. The stops are listed and the racers are primed. Fill your flask and get to One on One by 2:30 on Saturday. Details here.

And check this out: If you like the sound of fixing the planet while riding your bike in some of the most beautiful parts of this here nation, then dig these folks: The Sustainable Energy in Motion Bicycle Tour. They have their priorities in order. I want to go.

-Skip