Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - fixed only century?

has there ever been such a thing? if not, will there ever?

has there ever been such a thing? if not, will there ever?

like, an official race? i dunno, but i'm sure there has been. a bunch of us kids in chicago are getting together in august for a chicago century. it's not exclusivly fixed, but from the sound of it many of the riders will be.

quite a few people on here, including myself, have ridden 100+ miles fixed. mine was an unofficial ride to milwaukee and back.

i think stickerguy did ragbrai fixed last year.

Why not Boston? I'll do one in August if Boston people feel like organizing one. I did an unofficial one with a friend in May, and it's no big deal. An organized one would probably be a blast.

Hey there are some guys down here in Orange County, CA that are putting together a fixed ride from Long Beach to San Diego. I'm riding but I haven't heard from them in a week. It's supposed to be on July 16th.

has anyone been involved in the organization of a century? what's involved?

has anyone been involved in the organization of a century? what's involved?

If the group is small and you cannot have any organized stops along the way, consider starting from a point with two nice loops instead of one, so you can ride one, have a pit stop, then doing the second. You then have two different sceneries(sp?) with nobody sitting down on a picnic table with a crate of gatorade waiting.

Or... DC, next weekend. I'll still be here.

if I sit out the Philly relay race, i'll be here too. but i think lots of cats will be headed to Philly, so it may be hard to get a group together.

if I sit out the Philly relay race, i'll be here too. but i think lots of cats will be headed to Philly, so it may be hard to get a group together.

You mean the alleycat you told me about is in Philly? I don't see myself going to Philly.

You mean the alleycat you told me about is in Philly? I don't see myself going to Philly.
no, silly. This weekend, it's Dan G's race in DC. Next weekend, the 25th, is the Rocky relay race in Philly.

A guy from England did the most recent Paris-Brest-Paris brevet for a British best time on a fixie.

I think this would be a great thing to organize...someone do this for the bay area!

What's the fun of doing a fixed century if you can't make people on 30 speed bikes feel like little girls?

No in all seriousness someone should put one together but I question whether you would attract enough people to put one on the size and magnitude (rest stops, insurance, etc.) of a regular club century. But a semi-organized one would be cool. And the loop idea sounds good, I've done a century like that where it was 3 30ish mile loops leaving from a state park so they only needed one rest stop.

Hey there are some guys down here in Orange County, CA that are putting together a fixed ride from Long Beach to San Diego. I'm riding but I haven't heard from them in a week. It's supposed to be on July 16th.

still on dude!! just no real updates on the progress or organization or anything like that. i think it's probably going to be pretty free flowing, where we all just stop whenever we feel like taking a break. the only problem i foresee is that none of us have really ridden long distances together, so different people will most likely have drastically different stopping times. we'll figure it out.

we should plan a haines point fix only century. it would be, what, 31 laps? it would be hillarious. especially if we made people do a shot every lap. we'd need like manifests or something to keep track of how many laps people have done.

That would be fun as hell. I fear a shot every ten minutes would quickly eliminate most of the field.

I don't know how you'd track laps independently and accurately. By the end, some people would be 10 laps ahead.

seems fun from a distance. i have a feeling around lap 15 i'd start making up stories for the stuff spraypainted on the road, and by lap 25 i'd probably be trying to hit ducks.

you could give everyone like a card or manifest to get marked/punched. or, what if it was a race, and you had to get 31 punches in your card, and you could get 1 per lap you ride or 1 per shot you drink? that would force just about everyone to do at least 20 laps... ok, some people could get away with 15... or 10?

I like the idea... Take a shot, or make a lap! Collect 30 to win. To ensure that no one killed themselves in the name of winning, you could require the last point to be a lap, so you couldn't get yourself so drunk that you couldn't make a finishing lap, otherwise you'd lose.

I'd do it!

peace,
sam

The fixed century doing laps sounds fun, SF PEEPS we could do one around Lake Merced!

[QUOTE=sbeatonNJ]What's the fun of doing a fixed century if you can't make people on 30 speed bikes feel like little girls?


Aaah - the roadies and there 3000$ bikes.
Couldn´t agree more. Half the fun is watching their baffeld looks as you passes by.

Did a 220 mile race, with 1500 riders, and came in as nr. 32.
It makes you feel very special...
Rode it on an old pursuit frame from the start 80es.

DC people: any interest in the next two weekends? If not, I'm out, but have fun!

The fixed century doing laps sounds fun, SF PEEPS we could do one around Lake Merced!

the problem with that loop is that it's BORING.
i ran 4 laps around there once, and was ready to run into traffic by the third one.

i like the many-laps idea though...

where else could we do it?

My longest was a hilly metric at our club's Bikefest, but when my health improves
I want to do longer rides on some of our beautiful country roads.

Hain's Pt is also insanely boring (hence chimbly's drinking plan), but at least we have military helicopters buzzing the treetops on their way to and from the white house.

As a bonus, Hain's Pt solves the "no roadies to see us kicking ass" problem, because there are always tons of roadies down there. On the other hand, many of the roadies at hain's point, particularly the lunchtime guys, are crazy strong.

the problem with that loop is that it's BORING.
i ran 4 laps around there once, and was ready to run into traffic by the third one.

i like the many-laps idea though...

where else could we do it?


What about from SF to San Jose, then up to Richmond and back down through Marin to SF.

"No in all seriousness someone should put one together but I question whether you would attract enough people to put one on the size and magnitude (rest stops, insurance, etc.) of a regular club century."

rest stops, insurance? wtf world do u live in... round here if you want to ride a century you go out and ride your bike 100mi... is it more dangerous to ride 100mi than it is to ride a 10mi daily commute? explain the insurance!

lets do an uber century, santa cruz to san francisco on the beautiful hwy 1 coast route, up and down devils slide on fixeys lol... would probably be like 140mi. i'm game..

still on dude!! just no real updates on the progress or organization or anything like that. i think it's probably going to be pretty free flowing, where we all just stop whenever we feel like taking a break. the only problem i foresee is that none of us have really ridden long distances together, so different people will most likely have drastically different stopping times. we'll figure it out.

Any chance I can get in the loop on that one (email: trevor at rut dash riders dot org)?

Not sure I can make it, but it sounds fun.

Got plans for transportation back, or is it every man/woman for him/her self?

Only fixed century I've done was Tour de Palm Springs and that's pretty flat. I coulda used a bigger gear than I normally run (42x16). There are some hills between LBC and San Diego though, leave the 42x16 on for the climbs or run something bigger?

Would I be ridiculed if I showed up in spandex and with a front brake on my bike?

-Trevor

"No in all seriousness someone should put one together but I question whether you would attract enough people to put one on the size and magnitude (rest stops, insurance, etc.) of a regular club century."

rest stops, insurance? wtf world do u live in... round here if you want to ride a century you go out and ride your bike 100mi... is it more dangerous to ride 100mi than it is to ride a 10mi daily commute? explain the insurance!

Easy there buddy! First of all congrats that round there you go out and ride 100 miles on your own, I do the same a lot but sometimes doing an organized century is nice. You should try it sometimes, believe it our not I find that both rides equal 100 miles. My response was directed to the original question which was asking if anyone had ever seen a century where ridership was limited to fixed gears only. This is why I mentioned rest stops because I was unsure if the original poster meant an club type century or just a semi-organized century. Anyway I was just saying that if you wanted to just get a group together and ride then that would work very well (see the NY weekend ride thread for example). But if you wanted to put on a club type century with an entry fee and shirts and all that good stuff that rider turn out for a fixed only century would probaly not be great enough to break even.

And as for insurance, every organized club century I have been to has insurance. Its not advertised but what happens if someone gets hurt and decides to sue the bike club, thats what I meant by insurance. Sure to get a few buddies together you don't need it but in a century in which an organizations name attached to it you better believe there is some type of insurance purchased by the organization for the ride. I'll use the NYMBA for example, I am pretty sure they have purchased some type of liability insurance for the CMWC. I think in some cases belonging to LBA or such organizations can help your organization in getting insurance for such events. And yes riding to work is no more dangerous than rididng 100 in theory, even though exposure priniciple would state otherwise. Anyway that concludes today's lesson on insurance and why I mentioned such things.

DC people: any interest in the next two weekends? If not, I'm out, but have fun!
Yeah, I just don't see that happening, because of Dan's race tomorrow and the Philly race next weekend. If we were to plan this thing, it would have to be sometime after the July 9 Courier Gang Bang event in Baltimore... since it seems weekends 'til then are full.

Any chance I can get in the loop on that one (email: trevor at rut dash riders dot org)?

Not sure I can make it, but it sounds fun.

Got plans for transportation back, or is it every man/woman for him/her self?

Only fixed century I've done was Tour de Palm Springs and that's pretty flat. I coulda used a bigger gear than I normally run (42x16). There are some hills between LBC and San Diego though, leave the 42x16 on for the climbs or run something bigger?

Would I be ridiculed if I showed up in spandex and with a front brake on my bike?

-Trevor

yeah, you can definitely get in on this! the more the merrier. as far as transportation goes - nothing's been worked out yet. there's an afterparty down in SD, if you're down with that. but as of this point it's every man/woman for his/her self. hopefully as it gets closer to go time, we'll have more details worked out. i'd like it if there was some form of organized transportation. we're thinking about taking the train back, but who knows.

honestly, i've never done a century, much less a century fixed. i'm not sure what gearing you'll be best at. where are the hills you're speaking of? do you know a route from lbc-sd? we're basically just a bunch of kids just kind of throwing ourselves out there and hoping everything works out. none of us have done much research.

spandex is a-ok with us. none of us personally have the balls to wear that stuff, but if you're about that, more power to you. and as far as a front brake goes, that's fine as well. i'm kind of considering taking my road bike, even. so you're one step above me, man.

still on dude!! just no real updates on the progress or organization or anything like that. i think it's probably going to be pretty free flowing, where we all just stop whenever we feel like taking a break. the only problem i foresee is that none of us have really ridden long distances together, so different people will most likely have drastically different stopping times. we'll figure it out.


YOYOYO, hey I got another guy who is going to ride with us! Also my girfriend is going to be our drink girl on the way there! :] We should just take the amtrak back it's like 20 bucks!

Any chance I can get in the loop on that one (email: trevor at rut dash riders dot org)?

Not sure I can make it, but it sounds fun.

Got plans for transportation back, or is it every man/woman for him/her self?

Only fixed century I've done was Tour de Palm Springs and that's pretty flat. I coulda used a bigger gear than I normally run (42x16). There are some hills between LBC and San Diego though, leave the 42x16 on for the climbs or run something bigger?

Would I be ridiculed if I showed up in spandex and with a front brake on my bike?

-Trevor

Trevor,

There is only about two hills. One is laguna area(just steep rolley) and one at torrey pines(big one). I got the route!

honestly, i've never done a century, much less a century fixed. i'm not sure what gearing you'll be best at. where are the hills you're speaking of? do you know a route from lbc-sd? we're basically just a bunch of kids just kind of throwing ourselves out there and hoping everything works out. none of us have done much research.



Hey I got the route, when were ready.

What about something a little more scenic? Like across in the bridge in Marin County somewhere?

YOYOYO, hey I got another guy who is going to ride with us! Also my girfriend is going to be our drink girl on the way there! :] We should just take the amtrak back it's like 20 bucks!

awesome!! having a "drink girl" will be AMAZING. do you think you could maybe email me the route? or post it here or something? my coworker (organizer of the event) just checked amtrak, and from what he saw it was like 40 bucks each, and we're not sure if there's an extra charge for bikes. if it's 40, that's kind of pricey. if it's 20, that doesn't sound nearly as bad. maybe if there's enough of us going we could get some sort of a discount group rate?? but we'd need people to confirm and stuff.

for the most part, this ride was organized to get all the fixed and single speed riders (and enthusiasts) in the long beach, los angeles, san diego and orange county, any area to come out and get together and just really have fun. of course, if you are riding a road bike, mountain bike, hybrid, ANYTHING... you are more than welcome to still come! I am still in the process of putting together some checkpoints, probably around 20 to 30 miles apart, where everyone can meet and hang out and take a breather. the main focus of the ride is to be with other people who love biking, and to have fun. obviously there are going to be different levels of experience on this ride, some groups might want to do the whole thing without stopping, other groups might want to just take their time and gaze at the scenery. also we are trying to put together a party in san diego, where everyone can relax and just have an awesome time. the amtrack from san diego to long beach stops running at midnight, we are planning on leaving the long beach area around 7 am, which gives us the entire day to ride there, and get back. also, meeting in long beach is not mandatory, if you live anywhere in the proximity of the ride, feel free to meet at a checkpoint, or just simply join in! bring as many of your friends, family etc. the more the better!

thank you,
kyle


still on dude!! just no real updates on the progress or organization or anything like that. i think it's probably going to be pretty free flowing, where we all just stop whenever we feel like taking a break. the only problem i foresee is that none of us have really ridden long distances together, so different people will most likely have drastically different stopping times. we'll figure it out.

For once I'm sorry I don't live in southern california. A drink girl. That would be the best.

chimblysweep: it's understandable. I hope you have fun if you do organize one.

For once I'm sorry I don't live in southern california. A drink girl. That would be the best.

chimblysweep: it's understandable. I hope you have fun if you do organize one.

She is hot too ;] haha

http://www.ocw.org/Amtrak/Default.asp#Schedule

here we can pull everything off the Amtrak one, but we have to make a path which is just up pch and I think I know the street that takes you into San Juan Capo and then in San Clemente. We should get together and drive down the route and make those checkpoints.

yeah, you can definitely get in on this! the more the merrier. as far as transportation goes - nothing's been worked out yet. there's an afterparty down in SD, if you're down with that. but as of this point it's every man/woman for his/her self. hopefully as it gets closer to go time, we'll have more details worked out. i'd like it if there was some form of organized transportation. we're thinking about taking the train back, but who knows.

honestly, i've never done a century, much less a century fixed. i'm not sure what gearing you'll be best at. where are the hills you're speaking of? do you know a route from lbc-sd? we're basically just a bunch of kids just kind of throwing ourselves out there and hoping everything works out. none of us have done much research.

spandex is a-ok with us. none of us personally have the balls to wear that stuff, but if you're about that, more power to you. and as far as a front brake goes, that's fine as well. i'm kind of considering taking my road bike, even. so you're one step above me, man.

Not exactly sure about LBC, but I've done a route from Newport to San Diego a couple of times. It's been so long since I did it, I honestly couldn't remember the route though. We basically just followed PCH, until we hit SD, and from there I don't remember. I know we ended the ride in the gaslamp district though, and stopped for pitchers of beer in San Diego somewhere about 10 miles from the end. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I was *suffering* that last ten miles ;).

We also went through Pendleton on the way, I've heard that they've tightened security since then and won't let riders through anymore (Last time I did that ride was pre-9/11). Is that still the case?

-Trevor