I’m Bob, I’m a weirdo and I’m in good company. Everyone that works for Surly brings a little bit of themselves to the brand whether they mean to or not. That happens to be a really good thing. There is no shortage of bizarre ideas that get kicked around the office on any given day. I happen to hunt and in the fall, when deer season starts, you can’t get me to shut up about it. I hunt with a bow, black powder (muzzle loader), and modern firearms so my season starts in September and ends in January (that’s just deer hunting by the way!). That being said, I shouldn’t have been surprised when one of the guys asked me why I hunt.
Why do I hunt? It’s a pretty simple question but there’s nothing simple about the answer. The easiest way I can explain it is that I’m not content to just observe nature but I have the need to be an active participant within nature itself. I am compelled to fully immerse myself in the natural world and literarily feel what is taking place around me. There is something very primitive within me that needs to be satisfied and going to the grocery store to buy a steak just isn’t going to cut it. I feel drawn to the solitude and self reliance of hunting as well as the challenges and the hardships that are involved. When I am stalking an animal I feel completely alive and hyper aware of everything that is taking place in those moments. All of my senses are peaked and my heart is pounding in my chest. Often, I need to calm my body down as adrenalin is screaming through me causing my hands to shake. Then, when I am getting ready to take my shot, everything suddenly stops. I feel the awesome responsibility I now have in my hands when it comes to taking the life of another living being. That is not something I have ever taken lightly. I owe it to that animal to put it down as quickly, and painlessly as possible. That only comes with practice.
Trail camera got me.
You’re probably wondering what the fuck this has to do with bikes, am I right? Well, over the course of the next year or so I will be working on several bicycle related projects to incorporate with the way I hunt. I’ll be blogging about those projects (and more) here. You’ll just need to stay tuned to see exactly what I’m talking about.
Lonely nights at the Split Hand Hunting Shack
I’d also like to add that I know that not all of you agree with hunting. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even when it’s wrong.
That's all for now,
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