Surly, wherefore have I forsaken thou?

Poor Surly Pacer. Put on the top of a roof rack for a five day journey from Portland to Minneapolis, exposed to a blizzard and plenty of salt, then thrown in the basement to languish while the fancy Italian bike gets all the attention. Only when the fancy Italian bike's derailleur hanger gets damaged does the ol' Surly get some attention. And what attention it needed! New chain, new cassette, plus the planned new seatpost, stem and handlebars to make it fit right. Now it's all shiny and happy, and was put into service today to ride over to the State Fair. I forgot how plush the Surly rides. As it should, since it was built up to be a bike for charity rides, Cycle Oregon and commuting. And yes, those are downtube shifters. It looks like a classic steel road bike, but it's really 9 speed, indexed shifting, dual pivot brakes and all. The best of both worlds, I think. Such a comfortable ride today with mild, pleasant weather - makes me long for the long days in the saddle and gorgeous scenery of Cycle Oregon. *sigh*