Story by : Colin Ford
This past weekend I attended, for the second time, the Surly Bikes and Salvagetti bicycle shop’s demo camping weekend at Buffalo Creek Trail outside of Denver. I arrived on Saturday though the event started Friday. Surly Bikes, of Minnesnowta fame, sent out a horde of demo bikes to Salvagetti to be built up for the weekend. There were a ton of Ice Cream trucks, a few Krampii, and a sprinkling of Instigators. Noted cool bikes include but are not limited to; Krampus ops with them new Dirt Wizard tires everyone’s raving over, Instigators with dropper posts, and Ice Cream Trucks in EVERY size. There were also a ton of cool bikes that belonged to everyone else there. I got to hang out with my amigo Fattie Lumpkin, and rode the Matter Benefat on a new trail called Lil’ Scraggy. SUPER FUN!!!
Later on after rides, and dinner. Beers happened. A lot of beers happened. TRVE Brewing provided kegs of their Tunnel of Trees IPA and Stout O))), and I had a trick up my sleeve involving 15.5 gallons or so of Dunkelweizen. Naturally the next thing to do is shoot the shit, and grab an XS Ice Cream Truck, and huck it over a bonfire. Many riders took not only the ICT, but a dual suspension MTB, and a no-brakes Klunker over the fire. There was a naked guy. Many people were egging me on, chanting “FAT-BIKE.COM!!!” as I jumped over the fire and re-arranged the jump. I stayed up way too late, drank alot, and enjoyed making new friends from all over Colorado. Durango, Steamboat Springs, Boulder, and many others were represented.
The next day, sunday, I took my trail bike on a ride with my homies Team Rudeboy. aimed squarely at the gnarliest trail in Buffalo Creek, Blackjack. It was an all day 25-30 mile group ride with plenty of rowdy riding and great friends.
One of the friends I made was an older dude named Gary, we talked about fat bikes a lot around the fire. Then just last night I was at Prost Brewing Co. in Denver. who else but Gary walks in the door. He sits down while me and a friend were playing Cribbage, hangs out for a while. Now, its snowing like crazy and like 5 degrees F in Denver. Me and my buddy are about to ride to TRVE and then he says he lives two blocks away and gives us a ride to the brewery. This, my friends is what makes this event (and alot of other Surly events) simply joyous. meeting new like minded people who may be just as warped as you are.
The top of blackjack with the dudes.
Great event, Great people, Great bikes, and of course, fire jumping.
Surly Bikes. More Fun than an Un-Locked Liquor Cabinet!
Until next time,
Colin
visit Surlybikes.com and Salvagetti.com for more on the event.
Colin,
Thanks for the report!
Hey Colin-
Robert from Steamboat Springs here.
It was a pleasure meeting you, and thanks again for the beer!
Swing by Orange Peel if you’re ever in the STBT!