Before our first bikepacking trip, I talked John into getting me a mountain bike when he was out of town. Bless his heart for giving in. Don’t get me wrong – I really like this bike too and I will still ride it in certain conditions (hear that, John?). It’s a great bike for me, easy to handle and super comfortable….well, pretty comfortable. She takes me where I need to go and gets the job done. Plus, she looks good. But she was put away this month once it snowed and I needed a way to train through the winter for our trip. Trying to skate-ski and snowshoe often enough will not suffice. I need to be on a bike so that the biking aspect of our trip is not the hard part. Then, along came Wednesday in all of her fatness and beautiful blue glory.

Surly is THE name in fatbikes. They are made of steel (#steelisreal), have the potential for customizing all things bikepacking and are virtually indestructible. John rides a Surly Ogre and I envied him. I never dreamed of owning one. I felt like I had to deserve it somehow…like I needed to prove myself worthy of owning such an awesome beast. I knew I would need a different rig for our Africa trip, but having a Surly was beyond my wildest imagination. John found her on Craigslist and she had only traveled 300K, and the poor thing had never been in the snow. I will take her back to Nelson and we will see what we’re made of. What I love about her is that she likes me just the way I am and is gently breaking me in. Heck, she just loves to be outside exploring.