Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.The Octopus
06-14-09, 04:45 PM
The 600K fixed was a success! We were blessed with perfect weather -- 70s and not too humid, and even some cloud cover on Saturday afternoon to make it even more comfortable. The weather didn't eliminate the hills, though -- all 23,000 feet of them. This route is extremely difficult.
The 49x18 gearing was challenging for several of the hills, but overall was successful. It's totally true that the fixie puts some reasonable limits on your ride. When you're feeling good, you simple cannot go too fast, which -- for me -- meant that I felt great and was moving strong through the entire ride.
For the numbers junkies, I ended up coming in at 34:51, which included a 6-hour stop at night (5 hours of which was sleep). No idea how much on-the-bike time I had: the bike still does not have a computer. Zero navigational errors or bonus miles, though.
So that finishes off an SR series, with the 400K and 600K done fixed. Next up is the Gold Rush and I'll be thinking about with widsom of doing that fixed and waht gearing to run.
Probably the most surprising thing from this experience was how difficult it is to do flat rides -- the flatter sections really beat up my butt and hands. The hillier sections let me move around on the bike much more and so it was easier to get and stay comfortable.
The 49x18 gearing was challenging for several of the hills, but overall was successful. It's totally true that the fixie puts some reasonable limits on your ride. When you're feeling good, you simple cannot go too fast, which -- for me -- meant that I felt great and was moving strong through the entire ride.
For the numbers junkies, I ended up coming in at 34:51, which included a 6-hour stop at night (5 hours of which was sleep). No idea how much on-the-bike time I had: the bike still does not have a computer. Zero navigational errors or bonus miles, though.
So that finishes off an SR series, with the 400K and 600K done fixed. Next up is the Gold Rush and I'll be thinking about with widsom of doing that fixed and waht gearing to run.
Probably the most surprising thing from this experience was how difficult it is to do flat rides -- the flatter sections really beat up my butt and hands. The hillier sections let me move around on the bike much more and so it was easier to get and stay comfortable.