The Salsa Fargo Story

Jan 18

Touring my way to the GTDRI on a yet to be released, Salsa Fargo V1 prototype - 2008

I believe that everyone has pivotal moments in their lives. Those moments are sometimes planned like a wedding or marriage. Sometimes they are not planned and a bit more serendipitous. This is the case of the Salsa Fargo. Unexpectedly, this bike changed the course of my life. Truthfully, almost 20 years later, it is still a gift that keeps on giving.

Recently, I have shared that I am rebuilding my old Salsa Fargo, version 1. I was leading the Salsa brand at that time. I haven’t ridden it in at least 10 years, maybe more. It’s been hanging in my garage for all this time. This year I decided it was time to get this rig re built and modernized with some newer components. I suspect by the end of January or early February, this bike will be finished and I’ll be itching to see once again where it takes me. What I did not expect when I started hanging parts on this bike and scheming, was the flood of memories and emotions to well up and come to the surface.

What came to light while remembering and reliving these experiences, is that while I have written about some of these experiences, moments, and trips, I’ve never really told the story of the Fargo and what later came to be the words “adventure by bike” (trademarked by Quality Bicycle Products)

I think it’s time to tell some of those stories of how this bike changed my life, my career and the business I worked for…..And how this bike just may have influenced a stagnant, bicycle industry. While that last statement about the bike industry can and will likely be debated, there is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t be who I am and where I am at without this bike in my life. It will take time to tell this whole story. I’ll probably write about it on and off for a whole year as I sort through memories, find old photos and connect with people that came in and out of this story. I hope you follow along.