Want It Wednesday: Surly Karate Monkey

Once again I am throwing a fickle want out to the universe for Want It Wednesday. And we all know that on Want It Wednesday, I always end up doing what I say I'm going to do. So all further ramblings should be regarded as a binding contract signed in blood.

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I recently mentioned that I'd gotten the wild to idea to race the solo women's singlespeed division of the upcoming Tri-State 6 Hour Series. My reasoning for this? The old "because it's there" excuse. Excitement about the new series is high, but we won't really how big of a deal this thing will be until May. When I heard that a women's singlespeed class would be offered, I thought, "This is going to be someone's niche; why not mine?" I can't really think of any obvious choices for women's singlespeed domination in the Ohio Valley, so why not give it a shot? The big contenders will be duking it out for prize money in the geared class.  Unless OG singlespeed lady Nicole Borem decides to go back to her roots and kick everyone's ass, it may be worth a shot.

There's just one little problem: I don't have a singlespeed bike. Once I made the decision to focus on the 6 hours series instead of racing track this summer, I was kind of liking the idea of not buying another bike this spring. Regardless, the idea had burrowed its way into my brain, and thus I began my research. It really didn't take long, as Giant doesn't offer a singlespeed frame, and I wasn't enamored with the Cannondale model (the other major brand at my husband's shop) which wouldn't allow me to add a suspension fork if I were to choose to do so in the future. So after a casual mention of my plans, Adam and I independently came to the conclusion that if I am going to pursue this path on a budget, that the Surly Karate Monkey will be my steed of choice.

Just add pink.

We're going for low barrier to entry here: get me a bike that's ready to ride, ride it, and hope I do well at it. I could buy a suspension fork, but I probably won't. Getting used to riding 6 hours on a rigid singlespeed can't be that much of a step beyond getting used to riding 6 hours on a singlespeed, right?

The interesting thing is that while Adam was independently coming to this conclusion, he consulted his coworkers, who, from the secondhand account that I received, seemed quite supportive of the idea. Apparently one of them is getting me a t-shirt if I buy the bike? I think he may be the only one at his job that doesn't have a Karate Monkey, so this makes me wonder if this purchase will not only allow me to pursue my SS race plans but if it will also gain me entrance to some sort of secret club. A bike with secret club membership?  That sounds pretty cool.

I'm not 100% committed to this idea yet, but I'm coming around. We'll see if I actually follow through.