Sunday, December 28, 2008

pause

once again, i haven't written in a while.

i suppose there is some kind of reason why it has fallen to the wayside. i was doing so well for a while. kind of like going to the gym... i'm not really that much of a gym-goer these days... ALTHOUGH, i did just get my new bike in the mail:


i replaced the white seat with a black leather Brooks saddle, but other than that, it's the same. i'm quite excited about it. it's a fixed gear, which means that there is only one gear and no derailers. the rear gear is fixed to the rear wheel so if the wheels turn, the pedals turn. there is no freewheeling on this guy.

when i first got him in the mail from the folks at Mission Bicycles in San Francisco, i put it together and jumped on to ride over to the bike store and doublecheck the tire pressure, which ended up being fine. on the way back to the dorms, i noticed i was riding right past the running/cycling track that runs around the perimeter of the base and couldn't resist taking it for a little spin...

so around the base i went, about 5-6 miles.

the first thing i noticed is what an entirely different experience riding a fixed gear bicycle is. because the legs are always moving, there is no period where one can rest one's legs, so i found myself getting into a groove with the motion. i also noticed quite quickly that i'm rather accustomed to coasting in a semi-standing position as i approach a bump... that doesn't quite work on this bike... you pedal over everything, whether you want to or not.

you also can't take corners quite as aggressively as you can on a freewheeling bike, as the pedal will hit the ground eventually.

i also noticed rather quickly how asymmetric my pedaling mechanics are. i've heard that fixed geared bikes were good at streamlining your pedaling form, but about mile 4, when my legs were a little fatigued, was when i really noticed how much i was favoring one leg. so strange.

the bottom line though: i forgot to wear gloves and it was below freezing, but even though my fingers were purple and felt like they were on fire for 20 minutes after i got home, i have been wearing a big smile on my face ever since.

hope you all had a happy holiday
happy new year