So by this morning I had heard back from Eric, one of the fine folks at SurlyBikes, regarding my 26+ suggestion:
Nthn,
Your idea has been submitted to the Ideatron 8000.
We’ll see where it goes from there.
Thanks,
Eric Sovern
Surly Bikes
Obviously I'm simply overjoyed that Surly would ever think that something I suggested is worth submitting to any Ideatron, much less to the Ideatron 8000.
Heck, I'm impressed that anyone from Surly ever took the time to write me back when they could be doing much more important things with their day, like riding Krampi.
Mission 26+ may never go any further than this, but I will forever hold on to a small glimmer of hope rooted in the words "We'll see where it goes from there." and I thank Eric for that.