This is my all-around bike. That is, if I'm riding a bike and I'm not going to be leaving it locked up for hours where I'm worried about it getting stolen and I'm not going on any really rough single-track, this is the bike I'm gonna take. I used to tour every summer until my touring rig got stolen in 2003. Last Summer ('08) I wanted to retrace the steps of my first trip down the Pacific coast, so I needed a new touring bike. At the same time, I've been riding my road bike since my tourer got stolen. She's a classic, and not as uncomfortable as a modern racing bike, but still a little small and you can't get the bars high enough even with a long stem, and there's no room for fenders and such. So I built up this beauty to fill the role of a touring bike and a road bike. So far, I've taken her on a month long tour and countless day and weekend rides on smooth pavement, rough pavement, gravel and dirt roads, and even some single-track and she's handled them all with aplomb. Couldn't be happier with this bike.

frame: surly travelers check with s&s couplers
bars: nitto noodle 46cm
stem: nitto lugged 12cm
headset: cane creek
brake levers: cane creek
brakes: tektro cantis
rd: shimano deore
fd: shimano sora
shifters: good ol' suntour barcons
pedals: speedplay frogs
cranks: sugino xd-2 triple (old logo)
bottom bracket: generic shimano
tires: jack brown 33.333
cassette/chain: 8 sp sram
seatpost: nitto crystal fellow
saddle: brooks b-17 special
saddlebag: carradice nelson longflap
fenders: sks chromo-plastic
mudflap: velo-orange leather
wheels: 32 spoke ultegra hubs with mavic open pro rims.

I've also got a pair of 36 spoke xt hubs with mavic a719 rims for touring and rough trails.

Mostly I ride through the southern Indiana countryside. I'd have snapped a couple of more scenic photos, but my bike was clean for these pics, which rarely happens, and I was about to dirty her up again by turning onto that dirt/gravel road in the background.

siggismund@hotmail.com