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It's fall of 2022 and I'm sitting around thinking about what's next from an industry stagnated by going all in during COVID and are now dealing with inventory bloat by offering killer deals, man, in hopes of releasing gas in an over-inflated helium balloon of greed and then suddenly it hits, "An all-road bike! That's like two bikes in one!" Well, that's what I was thinking anyway. It's now late 2022, I remember calling Vince at Chumba to talk about bikes and other BS and mentioning, "I think the next thing in cycling is/should be an all-road bike. It just makes sense." It was basically a crafty way to squeeze out some insider information from an otherwise tight lidded bike builder. I should have been careful what I wished for because after we hung up my wallet was a lot lighter. It's December 2023 and I'm taking the SOCO out for its first bigger ride: a rainy 50 degree day on a lot of washboard, water filled pot-holed gravel with some fast, packed action thrown in there to keep my mediocrity feeling fast. The two b-roads (see above picture) I found were muddy but manageable with some rolling hills thrown in. The 34c Cush-Cored Vittoria Terreno Dry tires did well - they're a touch draggy on the pavement - but overall the bike kicked ass. Not to forget though, the first ride on a new bike is typically a blissful moment as it's hard to find a fault on something you just dropped a butt-load of money on. Summer 2024 I took the SOCO on the ultimate ride with my best friends: Ride 10K. 100 miles, 10 thousand feet of climbing on variable terrain near Galena, IL., ranging from deep gravel, chunky gravel, fast gravel, 9-15% gravel hills, pavement, and a creek crossing. It's tough. I ran 35c Schwalbe G One RS tires with no other changes to the bike. The SOCO climbed the steep gravel well but I must admit the tire size restriction on the SOCO coupled with the slightly steeper angles assured I was in the back during dicey descents watching my wily friends gap and leave me in physical and metaphorical darkness. But I can't and won't complain.