Many years ago I was getting on the freeway near my apartment when I saw a bike hanging on a fence near the on-ramp. I thought “if that bike is still there when I’m coming home, I’m going to go check it out.” I was gone all day, so I knew it wouldn’t be there that night.
But it was.
I drove home, then walked back to the bike. It was originally olive green, but someone had half-sprayed parts of it blue.
It was probably abandoned or stolen. There’s also a pretty deep dent in the top tube, so it might have simply been thrown away. I didn’t know anything about the model but it looked nice. I took it home to either figure out who it belonged to or, if it was the right size, repair it and keep it.
I tried finding the original owner. Lost and found, Craigslist, even contacting the manufacturer to see if they had a record of the purchase. No luck, but I did figure out that it’s an early 2000s Surly Long Haul Trucker.
Since I couldn’t find anyone it belonged to, I started fixing it. I am not a mechanic, so a lot of “me fixing it” fixing it was “me taking it to a bike shop,” but I did manage to paint it. It looks really cool if you don’t look too hard. After I painted it I found a helmet that matches. It’s supposedly a woman’s helmet, but the only difference seems to be a slightly larger gap in the back to let out a ponytail.
Once I had it in running condition, I rode it. A lot. It’s exactly the right size. It’s designed to carry lots of stuff for long distances, so it’s incredibly comfortable. It has old-school bar-end shifters to stay out of the way of anything you might load on the thing.
In 2016 I rode my first century on my 50th birthday on it. It reminded me how much I love riding. I moved up in features (and price). My current road bike weighs about half what this one does and has lots of electronic doodads. This bike ended up neglected in a closet at work.
Today I took it out for a ride at lunch. I had forgotten how great it feels to ride. Smooth and easy. The new bike is fun and fast, but this really is a bike I could sit on all day. It’s like it was waiting for me to find it.
I apologize for neglecting you, bike. I promise to ride you more often.
Love it. Let’s keep telling these kind of stories!