I Got a Groovy New Bike and Here's the Story

May 7, 2022

Two months ago, I hauled my Long Haul Trucker--The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong--to the nearest Surly dealer for a tune-up. It had taken quite a beating after riding it almost every day throughout the last two winters, and I am terrible when it comes to post-ride care and cleanup. In 2019, my Trek mountain bike died a rusty death after 20 years of year-round abuse. Not surprisingly, there has also been some rust developing on The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong's frame.

The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong: Road & Gravel Touring Bike transformed into Snow & Ice Bike.

The Surly dealer mentioned in the last paragraph is called The Garage Bikes & Brews and, appropriate to this journal, it is located in Wisconsin. True to its name, it really does occupy a building that looks like a huge garage, and it really does feature the combination of two very hip business models--Bike Shop and Craft Brewery.

Indeed, the place had a cool vibe. Good music played on the loudspeakers, the hoppy scent of good beer emanated from the small tanks on the far side of the room, and locals were already imbibing pint glasses of ale at 11:00 a.m., which I assume is de rigueur for Wisconsin.

I rolled The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong up to the service counter and, while waiting to talk to the mechanic, I looked at the in-stock bicycles. That's when I saw it--a brand new Surly Disc Trucker. I had no intention of buying a bike that day, but I was immediately infatuated.

I wish I could say it was the disc brake technology, or the upgraded drive train, or the thru-axels, or the more ergonomic handlebars that drew my attention. Yes, it had those features, but all I could focus on was the cool "Pea Lime Soup" color. It was the same groovy shade of green as my favorite 1970's Hot Wheels car. (A replica of an AMC Gremlin, as I recall.) I was just a kid back then. It seems I still am.

My wife, The Feeshko, could see the love in my eyes and said, "you should buy it before somebody else does." She was right, Surly touring bikes are extremely hard to come by in these days of supply chain problems.

The owner of the shop also zeroed in on my infatuation and asked, "would you like to take it out for a test ride?"

I tried to play it cool, as if I was only browsing and only mildly interested. What blurted out of my mouth, though, was "sure, BUT I ALREADY KNOW I WILL LIKE IT! I like my LHT. I like the steel. I like the fit. I like the Surly brand." (I also liked the price, at least in comparison to one of those fancy custom-built bikes.)

After the test ride, I calmly and rationally said, "I guess I'll take it." The shop owner took that to mean "I must have this bike right now," as he started showing me pedals and other options.

With my bike purchase, I got a complimentary pint of one of their brews. NICE! I chose the "Kinnickveit Hazy IPA."

I was so excited about my new bike that I rode it the 24 miles back to my home in Minnesota while The Feeshko drove the car. It was my longest ride of 2022 to that point. That's probably because it was one of the first days above freezing this year.

The ride gave me a couple of hours to think up an appropriate name for the new bike. It didn't take that long. I had the perfect name within the first 15 minutes.

Introducing . . . SON OF BING BONG. Its inaugural tour begins in two days.

FOOTNOTE: A couple weeks later, I picked up the fully-refurbished Reckless Mr. Bing Bong. It rode as well as ever. Despite the rust, I know it could have served me well for many more tours. I admit I felt a twinge of buyer's remorse. Thank goodness that I overcame that feeling with the justification of having two bikes with two different specialties: One for the Minnesota winter cyclist in me, and one for the Midwestern Bike Touring Bum in me.

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Bob DistelbergI'm really looking forward to following along Greg. Can't wait for you to get out on the road!
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Bob DistelbergI can't wait for me to get out on the road either. I'll try not to make my reporting TOO weird.
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2 years ago

George (Buddy) Hall2 touring bikes is the way to go! I brought a bike home from Germany with me at the end of a work assignment over there in 2019 - a Fuji Tour that I bought for commuting and weekend touring - and it's the perfect setup now. I train on the Fuji Tour, and save the Surly Disc Trucker for my tours - that way I can slowly get the Surly prepped with new tires or whatever while using the Fuji as a daily rider. They both have similar gearing and bar-end shifters and disc brakes, so it's not that much different riding them. And that's a great color bike you got, so who could have possibly resisted?
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2 years ago

Mike AylingNothing like a nice new bike and a great hi viz colour too
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2 years ago

Mark BinghamBuyer’s remorse? That’s why they sell the beer! But seriously, should you ever regret spending money on anything bicycling?
:-)

Looking forward to reading about another great tour!
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2 years ago

Keith KleinHi,
What? Only two bikes? Won’t they get lonely? Or are you planning to establish a breeding colony and help overcome the shortage?
But seriously, my method for overcoming bike buyers guilt is to ride at least one mile for every dollar spent. So get out there and work off some guilt! (And have fun on the new steed!)
Cheers,
Keith
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2 years ago

Suzanne GibsonWonderful love-at-first-sight account! Infatuated, of course! Years ago I kept my new Koga in my bedroom, and carried it up and down from the fourth floor every day.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo George (Buddy) HallHi Buddy/George,
I have to agree that two touring bikes will have many advantages, but it's highly unlikely I'll be able to limit the new one to touring only. It's also highly unlikely I'll be able to limit the old one to winter riding only. Whatever, it sure is nice to have options.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Mike AylingMike,
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my journal while you are trying to recover from the Covid. Get well soon, sir. And, yes, the color was the clincher.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Mark BinghamFor sure, the free pint of ale prevented any IMMEDIATE buyer's remorse, but even after the beer's effects wore off, the remorse didn't last long. Money well spent, as far as I'm concerned.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Keith KleinDon't worry, I also have a roadie bike to keep the two Surlys company. Additionally, I haven't trashed the unused, extremely rusty, mountain bike. It still sits in my garage, like a wise old sage, offering advice to the young whippersnapper bikes.

Following your much appreciated "one mile for every dollar spent" justification, I should have all that guilt worked off by the end of the summer.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Suzanne GibsonSuzanne, that's a great memory of keeping your Koga in your bedroom. I've been known to do that too, at least on a short-term basis. Sometimes I think The Feeshko gets jealous about that. (LOL) I still love having my bike with me in motel rooms or just outside my tent.
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2 years ago

Keith AdamsTo Gregory GarceauMy brother related the tale of some socially prominent Frenchman in the early days of the 20th century. It seems he was seeing some declasse woman ("a tart" was my brother's description) who was ever-jealous of the time and attention he lavished on his bike.

She took to calling it "The Princess" and claimed he loved it more than her. This finally led her to an ultimatum: he must choose between her and the bike, whereupon he picked her up, dropped her in the Seine, and rode happily away.

Naturally, when my brother bought a new bike his wife immediately christened it The Princess, a name that has endured to this day. But she was wise enough not to insist that he choose between them.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Keith AdamsThanks for the message, Keith, and I'm sorry it took so long to reply. I've really fallen behind on that task.

Great story about "The Princess," and I also appreciated the story of your bike trip in Western Wisconsin. Good stuff.
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2 years ago

Keith AdamsTo Gregory GarceauNo worries about the timing. I anticipate there will be days when I've spent my entire allotment of time and energy just living, so I hold nobody else at fault ...
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2 years ago