Adding another, I hope to your great collection...

2008 Surly Long Haul Trucker, 56cm, Sage Green. This bike was a longtime coming, my first NEW bike in 16 years. While I debated, the decision for a frame/fork combination was easy, what with the assortment of build-parts which accumulate in my garage.

The wheels are from Sarah at ACME Bicycle in KC, Salsa DelGado rims laced to NOS Shimano Deore XT, which hold a 12-32 7-spd cassette and Schwalbe Marathon's in 700x40 size. Derailleurs are also NOS Shimano XT of the same vintage, my personal favorite XT version. Of course XT Thumbshifters run the mix, from Albatross bars and Tecktro v-brake compatible levers.

The Albatross/XT combo is from another iBob, and much appreciated. The grips which "handle" the bars are wood grips from the Rivendell site, which match the Antique Brown Brooks B-67...not only comfortable, but beautiful. Also beautiful to look at, but somewhat of a pain to mount, are the 60mm wide Berthoud stainless steel fenders, a nice touch along with the silver Albatross bars, Tacx bottle cages (another iBob!) and silver Specialized Titanium 135mm atb stem.

The crank-set-of-the-moment is an older Shimano 170mm RSX road triple, complete with 30/39/53 rings..soon to be supplanted by older XT 175mm cranks with 24/36/50 rings.

Tubus Cargo rack courtesy of The Touring Store is off the back, while a yet-to-be-manufactured front rack from ACME will have to wait until this summer. And, what bike would be complete without it's resident MOJO, in this case, Animal the drummer of the Muppet Band of years gone by. Animal and I have traveled across the country, from the Wyoming mountains, to the Northwoods of Wisconsin & Upper Michigan to the Plains of Kansas & Missouri. The overall ride of this bike, is not fast by any stretch, but this bike simply comes along, unobtrusively and a willing partner, no matter what the terrain or conditions.

This is a welcome addition to my cache of bicycles!.

Lynn Miller

WC MO

llae1234@yahoo.com