Is it 2008 yet?

I started out thinking that I was gonna write something about 2007

and how it ended.

A recap if you will.
But looking back...

Over all 2007 wasn't nearly as good as it could have been.
Too many conflicts with work, racing, weather, and attitude problems... mostly mine.

Combine that with the recent loss of a few friends over *differences of opinion (*the polite version of what happened) and 2007 can suck a fat one.

So....

What is on tap for 2008?

That would be nice to know... I don't and I did I wouldn't tell you, at least not with out cash up front.

As for day 3 of the new year... so far so good.

I haven't ridden, worked out, been drunk or been on a date...

But I did order a new Surly Cross Check frame set today.

I don't NEED it, but I do WANT it.

It will be the more all purpose rig than the Jamis Eclipse it is replacing.

It will be a geared:

gravel road banger

commuter

training tool

CX pit bike

I couldn't decide for a while what to get.

I started out with the CC but then started considering other options.

But I came back to the CC.

I couldn't think of a good reason not to get it.

Steel (good)

Color (good)

Geometry (good)

Price (good)

Versatility (good)

This would be my 4th Surly Cross Check (my 10th Surly overall).

I know how they ride and I know that as soon as its built it will be comfy and familiar.

I won't have to re-learn how the bike handles etc.

Good stuff.

Speaking of this being my 4th Cross Check.

In May of 2002 I destroyed my very first Cross Check. It was Bean Green and set up as a fixed gear.

I hadn't had it for very long and had already decided that it was my favorite bike.

I wrote a write up about the crash at the time and sent it along to Big Jonny at Drunkcyclist dot com.

At this time Drunkcyclist had only be around for a few years and Jonny was gaining readers daily.

The posts about bicycles, beer, racing, riding, politics, beer, and drinking along with a healthy does of porn got the attention of people in the cycling community.

I was checking the site almost on a daily basis.

These days the porn links are gone but Big Jonny is still cranking out the good stuff.

He posted the below for me on Thursday May 9 2002

From: zeke
Subject: Bike paths are safer than the streets?
Check this shit out...
So Saturday night I was on my way home from work on a local suburban bike path. I was just about dusk I was still cruising along with my sunglasses on. At a little less than the half way point the path crosses under eight lanes of highway (435 west). I was cooking right along when in the semi dark of the tunnel I suddenly found my self flying off my bike and slamming face first in to the concrete and skidding along on my forearms and chest for about 10 feet. Ouch!
As I lay there attempting to suck air into my crushed lungs I noticed a couple of positives...(1) I managed to keep my head (and my scared yet pretty face) off the concrete...(2) for the most part it appeared that my forearms (or what is now left of them) sucked up the brunt of the blow.

What caused this horrible crash you ask...apparently some worthless FUCK (sorry mom) decided that it would be cute to set a 2'x3' 300lbs boulder in the middle of the tunnel. This rock was huge!! When I finally got up, and Schuster finally stopped laughing, we attempted to move it off the trail. It was so heavy that we had to slowly scoot it off the trail.

Now the real down side... my bike died that day. The favorite of my stable. My bean green Surly cross check set up as a fixed gear died at the moment of impact. the head tube is basically separated from the top tube... and the down tube/head tube connection is crushed. Damn!

So much for the idea that the bike path was safer than playing with cars.
zeke out



Zeke, my man, I don’t know how you do it. You never cease to amaze and astound with your trials and tribulations. You’re like the fucking Barnum and Bailey circus for Christ’s sake. I’m glad to hear your still alive after that one.

And if anyone from Surly is reading this and feels like throwing ‘ol zeke a little lovin’ go ahead and email me.

*The comment at the end is the best. "You never cease to amaze and astound with your trials and tribulations." I don't recall what else I had told him about before then but the comment strikes me because it was a full 3 years before the bike VS car accident that created One Eyed z. Nutty eh?

Big Jonny even posted the follow up:

Saturday May 11 2002

Remember a couple of days ago I posted a letter about a guy trashing his Surly by running into a rock someone put out on a bike path like a big "kill a cyclist" trap? Well, he’s getting some lovin’ from the fine folks at Surly. Just one more reason they fucking rule.
Here is the word from Zeke.

From: zekeSubject: RE: Bike paths safer than the streets?

Hey man thanks for the listing on your site. the dudes at Surly fucking rock! Dave set me up with a sweet deal on a crash replacement frame and fork. I built it up last night and rode it around. it kicks serious ass. And here I was worried that I wouldn't have any wheels for ragbrai. No longer a problem. I got an Underground race and a ping owe (pub crawl/derby) Saturday night and I am stoked to put the new machine through its paces. Great new color too...blood red.

Surly makes a great bike. My man the slugster Casey rocks one and the gnome is gonna get one. I’d ride one myself, but I’m about balls deep in Kona right now. Or, are they balls deep in me? I can’t tell anymore. Like most things in life, it is better to give than to receive. That included pipe.

*Some where I have a disc with photos of the damage to the original Bean Green Cross Check. Somewhere

Oh man, its all been down hill from there. My Cross Check has done everything. RAGBRAI, Cross racing, fixed gear, single speed, commuter, and single track ripper. It will be nice to have another one. The ol' BFM (Bloody Fucking Mess... name given to the Cross Check due to the color and how I always seem to ended up like on it) has seen lots of riding. It is high on the list to pull out of the stable for a ride. Heck, I rode it a bunch over the holidays. Fenders, fat tires, fixed gear. Good stuff.

Alright enough. Time for dinner