Goat’s Crust Scapegoat (Sea Otter Classic 2019)

For those of you who don’t know Goat (yep, that’s his name), here’s a little background. He’s worked as a bike mechanic, diesel mechanic, and built and lived in multiple tree houses (which is now his job). He’s also freight-hopped around the country, raised a barn, and built several tall bikes. I first came to know of him back in 2004 when he was a part of one of the first fat-bikepacking adventures ever undertaken through the Americas. We caught up with Goat at the Sea Otter Classic to get a few photos of him and his Crust Scapegoat.

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Goat has a special place in the Crust Bikes team: he has a bike named after him. The Crust Scapegoat is the culmination of tens of thousands of miles of touring… on a fat bike. Some of you might remember Riding the Spine –one of my personal inspirations for setting out on a big bike trip – a blog that documented Goat and his crew’s 2004-2009 trip from Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. Goat was touring internationally on a fat bike well before using a fatbike for such escapades became popularized. During his ride from Alaska to Argentina he realized that he wanted a bike that fit his beloved Surly Endomorph fat bike tires with a normal 73mm bottom bracket shell and a non-offset 135mm rear end – and that’s how the Scapegoat was born.

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The bike shown here is prototype of the new second generation Scapegoat, due for release in about two months. This one has a one of a kind paint job and is set up with 29+ tires, a 1×11 drivetrain, and Crust Jungle Runner handlebars.

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Oh, and did I mention that Goat rode the length of the Americas completely barefoot? He designed the pedals himself and fabricated them from old cage pedals and flip-flops. Needless to say, barefoot bikepacking isn’t for the faint of heart. Goat admitted that he broke a toe once, from a rock that was slung into it from the front fat tire.

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Find more on the Crust Scapegoat over at CrustBikes.com. You can also check out the archives of Riding the Spine here, and find Goat’s current meanderings on his Instagram @goatiemon. Also, be sure to find more of our coverage from the 2019 Sea Otter Classic by following #SeaOtterClassic2019.