Category Archives: Bikes & Cycling

Everything to do with bikes and cycling.

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast…by Tamia Nelson

Most of the miles I travel in a year are logged on my bikes’ cyclometers, not on a car odometer, but last week I covered several hundred miles in only two days, spending hours in the driver’s seat. It’s the longest car trip I’ve taken in quite a while. And while I don’t have any regrets, I found highway speeds more than a little disconcerting, particularly when measured against my “normal” traveling pace of 12-15 mph.

For one thing, at 65 mph—the speed limit on the interstate, though I think I was the only driver who observed it—the landscape is reduced to little more than a blur. I suppose regular car commuters take this as a given, but I’m accustomed to experiencing the country I pass through. I did catch tantalizing glimpses of a the wild world as I sped along—wooded hillsides sporting new spring raiment, wetlands nourished by snowmelt-swollen rivers—but these vanished from my sight almost before I became aware of their existence. And what of the spring chorus? It was lost in the … Continue reading »

Small Talk About the 42cm Surly Long Haul Trucker

Tamia has often written about her 42cm Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike, and this has led to many readers writing to ask questions about the small bike. So many of the questions are the same from reader to reader that Tamia decided to put together this FAQ to help answer the most common ones. So if you have a question about the diminutive workhorse of a bike, read this first.
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by Tamia Nelson | February 27, 2011

I‘ve been riding my small-framed Surly Long Haul Trucker (bought as a complete build) and writing about it since April 2008, and in that time I’ve received many letters from folks asking questions about this little workhorse. The emphasis here is on “little.” There aren’t many affordable road bikes—never mind those designed for touring—that are available in a frame as small as the 42 cm. It’s not a surprise that the letters I receive often ask the same questions, so here I’ll answer the ones that I get most often, beginning with…

The small Truckers come with … Continue reading »

The Rewards of Riding Rough Roads by Tamia Nelson

I’ve been riding my Surly Long Haul Trucker for over a year now and grow even more fond of the bike. The LHT is capable, sturdy, and reliable—just what’s wanted in a touring or utility bike. I’ve hauled groceries and other goods, touring kit, and boxes of vino without any complaint from the bike (though the engine sometimes groans on the steep hills!). I bought the complete bike, and swapped the original handlebars and stem for Nitto Noodles, changed the saddle to a Selle SMP Strike Extra, and after 1000 miles I mounted Schwalbe Marathon tires. The bike has proven to be easy to maintain, the brakes adequate, the drivetrain and shifting superb, and the hubs and wheels very hardy. But except for a few miles of dirt road riding last year, I stayed primarily on paved roads. It wasn’t that I avoided unimproved roads. It’s just that my rides didn’t take me off pavement very often. This year I changed all that. I’ve been seeking out the rough roads, to test my LHT and … Continue reading »