In Memory Of Eric Lappegard We were saddened by the news this morning of Minneapolis-based messenger/artist/friend Eric Lappegard's passing. Eric's nickname was Vegan Ninja, and he wrote a regular comic strip titled "schmapples" that he showcased on his website. His family also set up a Caring Bridge website to track his progress. You can read about him, see pictures, and read many messages sent to he and his family by those who loved him. You can also send a message to his family if you feel so inclined. The people of Surly send our condolences to the Lappegard family and…

New Stuff You Can Waste Your Money On Now In Stock! We just received some new soft goods, so now that we've done our part we expect you to do yours. The first item is a new T-shirt. It's called the Midnight Flowers shirt, but all you'll need to remember is that they come in three styles: Kid's (Youth) S, M, L Women's (grrrls) S, M, L and Adult(dudes) S, M, L, XL. $20 There are a variety of colors as well, so hopefully some of them will make you happy. The second item is a wool hat, made for…

Me and the lady, we had a plan. Get up early Sunday morning and go for a somewhat extended ride. Maybe 30 miles out, have some lunch, then ride back. Take as much of the day as we needed because most of the laundry was done and the rest of the projects could wait. No problem. Well, there was one problem. For some reason the cat didn't want to get up. She didn't start walking on our faces and meowing at her usual oh-my-god-what-time-is-it hour, a time so early that in winter it's still completely, utterly dark. Instead she was…

The Scallywags Bike Shop, in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, is hosting a fundraiser to send mechanics to Rwanda in support of Project Rwanda. Win a Surly frame and other shiny things. Listen to music. Talk about bike stuff with fellow bike nerds. Donate $10 (or more) to a good cause. Friday, July 20th 7pm 2011 21st Ave S., Minneapolis -----

The sidehack got transferred over to the Stokemonkey'd Big Dummy, and a Tandems East Ride 2 crank shortener was installed on the left side crank. The Ride 2 effectively shortens the crank 24, 41, 59 and 76mm. I have the pedal installed on the shortest setting. It's pictured in the second hole, but that felt too long. So I moved it to the first hole. I'll advance it toward the end of the crank arm as my flexibility increases. The big rig and the body got tested over the weekend: 54km on Friday night/Saturday morning...23 of those with a squirmy,…