Mon, 22 May 2006
2006 Montauk Century on a Fixed Gear
At this time yesterday I was about 20 miles into my first 100 mile bike ride on
the newly named Ivan, aka a NYC Bikes City Fixed model from 2005. I was really
nervous about doing this but at mile twenty I felt fine. It wasn't until about
mile 45 when my tendons began hurting in an unnatural way. Then, not
suprisingly everything got real simple and automatic after the mid way mark. 50
miles in and
I felt like I was gliding at a smooth pace between 19 and 20 miles per hour on
the Westhampton shore.
The Hamptons are beautiful with their extravagant estates hidden behind
manicured shrubs. If the land had a vinyard on it the whole package would look
like some bottle of Cotes du Rhone or Bordeaux. The Hamptons that are not
extravagant are still very cool. Beach houses with minimal archetecture and the
ocean only a sand dune away. The Ponquogue bridge is unbelievable with it's
east and west view of crystal clear blue water as far as the eye can see.
Some notable comments I got from strangers:
"Is that a fixed gear?! You are crazy!"
"How do you go down hills? How do you stop?"
"No helmet? Leave the century NOW!" (yes, I forgot my helmet and didn't realize
until I was at the start line. This is bad, I know and I felt terrible but couldn't quit
without starting. I did not leave the ride at this random man's request)
Getting passed by a man on a Bianchi track bike. "A
kindred sprit."
Apply Doppler effect.
Passing an older man on a custom fixed gear. "It only takes one!"
Standing in the beer line after finishing, over heard. "...and then there's the guys
on the single speeds. Woah, can you imagine? No gears! And I even saw some of
these guys wearing pants! Now that's style
and substance."
The ride ended with a few miles of...hills! Fuck. Strangely enough they broke
up the monatony of the final stretch and gave me a chance to pedal at different
speeds. I ended up passing many people up the hills and had to go full speed
down to conserve energy. It worked very well. At the end of the hills I nearly
pulled my right calf and slowed down. The final 200 feet had a ridiculous
amount of headwind. It was like someone was sadisticly saving the worst for
last. I got over that, pulled into the finish line and realized I pulled my
left hamstrain. After some stretching, eating and beer drinking everything got
better. This morning I felt fine considering.
The NYC Bikes City Fixed is an aluminum frame with a
carbon fibre track fork. The wheels are deep-v 700s and the handle bars are also
aluminum but slightly angled up for more comfortable distance riding and easy
pothole skipping. The gear ratio is 46x16.
And if you are still reading this far because you are waiting for an
explaination of what makes riding a fixed gear 100 miles so "crazy" here it is.
A fixed gear is a variation on the classic track bicycle. The only components
on the drive train are a single chain ring on the front and back and a thicker
than normal chain. The back ring
is reverse threaded and stuck in place with a lockring. This means the bike
cannot coast. Riding 100 miles means pedaling 100 miles. Classic track bikes
are almost always steel, have a wheel base so narrow the back tire is only
milimeters away from the seatpost and there are no break mounts, therefore the
only way to stop is to apply back pressure on the chain. The handle bars are
extremely steep. My bike has none of these characteristics. Wider wheel base, a
front break, an optional rear break mount and less steep handlebars.
posted at: 12:55 | path:
/cycling |
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