Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - 101 miles, 1 gear, no coasting

Rode my first century on a fixed gear today. I've been wanting to ride a century on my fixed gear for a while now, but since it doesn't have fenders nor a place to put them, I had to wait for a Saturday with a good dry forecast (a rare thing this time of year in the Pacific Northwest).

It was a fairly mellow century with a little over 4,000 ft of climbing, mostly rollers, with only a couple real hills to speak of. I was riding my $300 Mercier Kilo TT with 46/18 gearing. I've heard others say that all of your interface points with the bike (hands, feet, butt) feel it a lot more doing long rides on a FG. True dat. I think I'll be back on my geared bike for the upcoming 400k.

Here are the ride stats:
Distance: 101 miles
Time: 6:40 total/6:22 in the saddle
Smiles: lots :)

Congrats! That's sweet, something I'm shooting for this year. Rode my fixed 32 miles last weekend, the furthest I've done on it so far. Just need to get me knee pain sorted out and I'll start putting down some more miles.

congrats steve, that's no small accomplishment.

what route was it?

i did the (two-day) STP on a similarly-geared fixed bike a while back, but it killed my knees (at least on the 2nd day).

great effort!

congrats steve, that's no small accomplishment.

what route was it?

Thanks. It's a route I've done a few times before. From my house in Ravenna to Woodinville on the BG trail, then to Snohommish via this route (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=131st+Ave+NE&daddr=156th+Ave+NE+to:224th+St+SE%2FBostian+Rd+to:47.814884,-122.091579+to:Connelly+Rd+to:Springhetti+Rd+to:1st+St&geocode=FSqn2AIdkue3-A%3BFWbh2AIdFmu4-A%3BFVNG2QIdBYe4-A%3B%3BFYYs2gIdGwK5-A%3BFRCh2gIdDOu4-A%3BFdQR2wId-Pa4-A&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=3&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4,5&sll=47.820417,-122.061195&sspn=0.054404,0.142307&ie=UTF8&ll=47.831596,-122.073898&spn=0.21757,0.569229&t=p&z=11). From Snohommish I rode the boring but easy Centennial trail to Arlington. Had a Pop Tart :) then turned around and rode the same route home. Definitely one of the easiest centuries you can do around here.


i did the (two-day) STP on a similarly-geared fixed bike a while back, but it killed my knees (at least on the 2nd day).
Congrats on the FG STP. My knees hurt just thinking about that.

My knees felt pretty good, although I was feeling it a bit near the end. I ride with both front and back brakes and I'm not afraid to use them. I try to keep my speed to 25 mph on the downhills by riding the brakes. Seems like for me it's the downhills that get my knees far more than the ups. Although that climb out of Woodinville on the Woodinville-Duvall Rd took it's toll.

Rode my first century on a fixed gear today. I've been wanting to ride a century on my fixed gear for a while now, but since it doesn't have fenders nor a place to put them, I had to wait for a Saturday with a good dry forecast (a rare thing this time of year in the Pacific Northwest).

It was a fairly mellow century with a little over 4,000 ft of climbing, mostly rollers, with only a couple real hills to speak of. I was riding my $300 Mercier Kilo TT with 46/18 gearing. I've heard others say that all of your interface points with the bike (hands, feet, butt) feel it a lot more doing long rides on a FG. True dat. I think I'll be back on my geared bike for the upcoming 400k.

Here are the ride stats:
Distance: 101 miles
Time: 6:40 total/6:22 in the saddle
Smiles: lots :)

great job! the fixie crowd amazes me with this stuff.. imagine doing RAAM ... fixed? (Gran Fondo team did last year)

great job! the fixie crowd amazes me with this stuff.. imagine doing RAAM ... fixed? (Gran Fondo team did last year)
RAAM on fixie is mind boggling. Reading Emily O'Brien's 2007 PBP report (http://sheldonbrown.com/pbp-emily-obrien.html)is pretty inspiring too.

No ambitions like that here. A century without coasting is enough for me. I guess I'm not really part of the "fixie crowd," more of a "fixie dabbler." However, I am toying with the idea of someday going after a Super Rando series on my single speed a la freewheel. But It's probably a little early to be talking about that since I haven't even completed my first SR series on a bike with gears.

I saw a few singlespeeders and one fixed gear rider on the Daffodil Classic century ride yesterday. I had debated bringing my ss ride, and I'm glad I opted for the gears... I know I'm not up to the hills without some lower gears just yet.

Excellent job on riding a fixed century! Who knows... maybe you'll be doing your 400k rides on the fixed gear in the future. :)

Rode my first century on a fixed gear today. :)

Funny enough Steve,

I rode my first fixed gear century on the same day! Mine was in SoCal, and flat for the first 50 miles, but some real climbs (Yorba Linda to Corona to Tom's Farms) on the 2nd 50.

I was riding 42t x 15t (75") on my '75 CA MASI. All kinds of fun, no knee pain for me!

Rick / OCRR

Funny enough Steve,

I rode my first fixed gear century on the same day! Mine was in SoCal, and flat for the first 50 miles, but some real climbs (Yorba Linda to Corona to Tom's Farms) on the 2nd 50.

I was riding 42t x 15t (75") on my '75 CA MASI. All kinds of fun, no knee pain for me!

Rick / OCRR


I'm impressed. I'm trying to decide if I need to turn my double into a triple in order to do my first century.

Very impressed.

props on the full century fixed. i only did a very hilly 50 miles on my fixed gear today, and about wanted to die near the end. i didn't have any pain anywhere, but general exhaustion.

Funny enough Steve,

I rode my first fixed gear century on the same day! Mine was in SoCal, and flat for the first 50 miles, but some real climbs (Yorba Linda to Corona to Tom's Farms) on the 2nd 50.

I was riding 42t x 15t (75") on my '75 CA MASI. All kinds of fun, no knee pain for me!

Rick / OCRR
Nice work, Rick!

Good job! Everyone ought to do a century or two a year fixed (or at least SS). It's too much fun, and very doable. I've done 3 on my fixed road bike.

Next you gotta do it on a unicycle. I did the Transportation Alternatives century ride through NYC a few years ago. There was a guy doing it on a unicycle. He slowed down enough to talk to me for a minute or two. Then he brought his pace back up to his normal one, which I couldn't keep up with on a multigeared, freewheeling bike.

Just punched the fixie century ticket this weekend, completing TOSRV fixed running 49x18 (75 gear inches). Two days. Two centuries (actually, all told, it was 114 miles each day, since I rode from home to the ride start and then back home today). Woo hoo! It was so much fun. I love this fixie stuff. Such a fun way to ride. Previous long ride fixed had been 46 miles, and only rode a fixie for the first time two weeks ago. Boo-ya!

Biggest accomplishment of the ride, though, was that the group of guys I was riding with -- five guys I work with -- all finished and all had a great time. Three of us were TOSRV veterans, but it was the Saturday was the first-ever century for two guys in the group. They were totally stoked. What a great weekend! :D

Next up: A fixie brevet. Contemplating taking a whack at the Ohio Randonneurs 400K later this month fixed, but my gearing is probably too tall for that. We'll see.....

That is awesome and makes me feel better, since I have read older stories about people riding centuries fixed, but to know that people still complete them.

I am undertaking a ~140 mile journey to Eugene from Beaverton, fixed and with a friend, who is riding fixed as well. I have never ridden this far, don't really know what to expect, but I do know I will have fun. I am still reading up on keeping hydrated and what to eat.

That's cool that all of you guys/girls did that. :)

EDIT: This will be on a Kilo TT as well.

The Octopus, how hilly was the ride? I'd be scared to ride in a gear over 70 inches unless it was pretty flat. Then again, 75 isn't that much higher, and it might be ideal for longer distances.

Now how's this for crazy: the manager of my LBS -- a great guy -- told me he was recently in a cyclo-cross race, and one racer was doing it fixed. All I could say was, "WHY?!"

The Kilo's geometry does not actually seem bad for riding a fixed century as it is a little more relaxed than many of the current fixed gear offerings.

I haven't done a geared century in a very long time as I always seem to pick my 1955 Raleigh Lenton or my 87 Kuwahara Cascade which have sport / touring geometry and are extremely comfortable on long rides.

They both run lower gearings (fixed / fixed) than my fixed road bike which has a more aggressive geometry but that bike is also pretty nice for all day riding.

I am planning to do a fixed century on my folder too.

All to make it more challenging?

All to make it more challenging?

Because it is enjoyable.

I stage a little fall ride every year and every time I have ridden a fixed gear...there have always been people who questioned if I could ride that distance on only one gear.

It's not a particularly challenging route unless you consider the wind that never stops blowing here and I usually pull for most of the way.

One older fellow showed up last year an a carbon Roubaix that weighed all of 20 pounds and and when the weather went right sideways I fell back to give him a pull for 20-30 km as he was not having a good time.

I was riding my Kuwahara with two loaded paniers as I tend to carry a lot of extras in the way of tools, first aid supplies, extra water and was probably riding 40 - 45 pounds of fixed gear bike.

:)

I am also used to people telling me that "sure...that bike (my road bike) is fast but you are never gonna make it up those hills.

I just tell them to stay on the right so I can pass them.

This weekend I'm doing my first singlespeed century: The Seattle stop of the Tour de Cure. I know the course from a few years previous, and there's not any really steep hills on it. There's some long hills near the end, but I just rode them yesterday and even after 40 miles they didn't seem as bad as I remembered them. (SiR has officially warped my concept of how steep and at what mileage constitutes a "tough" hill. Quarter mile 12% grade at the 187mi mark? Oh sure, we threw that one in to make sure everyone was still awake...)

The Octopus, how hilly was the ride? I'd be scared to ride in a gear over 70 inches unless it was pretty flat. Then again, 75 isn't that much higher, and it might be ideal for longer distances.

It's pretty flat. Something around 1,500 feet of climbing. There are a few good climbs and one rolling section, but the rollers were fun and the climbs were short and not terribly steep. I had no trouble with any of them. Roughest part of the ride was the crossing headwind -- blowing steadily in the 20s and gusting to 35mph on Saturday. Pushing 75" into that wind got old pretty fast.

As for the "why," because it's fun! It was a great new experience and it sure was a way to make a very easy century (well, a pair of them!) into a challenging ride. Riding fixed also made for an unusually social ride. Dozens of people wanted to talk about the bike and my experience on the ride. I talked with and met all kinds of people I'd have never interacted with had I been on a bike with gears.

This weekend I'm doing my first singlespeed century: The Seattle stop of the Tour de Cure. I know the course from a few years previous, and there's not any really steep hills on it. There's some long hills near the end, but I just rode them yesterday and even after 40 miles they didn't seem as bad as I remembered them. (SiR has officially warped my concept of how steep and at what mileage constitutes a "tough" hill. Quarter mile 12% grade at the 187mi mark? Oh sure, we threw that one in to make sure everyone was still awake...)

yup, funny how randos stuff skews everything else.

and congrats on the single-speed century!

yup, funny how randos stuff skews everything else.

and congrats on the single-speed century!

Let me finish first, before you congratulate me. :lol:
I might end up riding it fixed, it seems! I've had a challenge going with my FB friends: I'll ride it singlespeed if I get $300 in total donations, fixed if I get $500 total donations. I'm up to $335, and corporate matching money hasn't kicked in yet, so I might be at $500 by the end of the week! :eek:

Right, I forgot you live on the prairie, where you don't need brakes in a headwind.

Right, I forgot you live on the prairie, where you don't need brakes in a headwind.

Nope... I just need them on those 12-22% descents into the valley.

:)

Anytime you head out of the city (except east) you will find yourself climbing although the grades are pretty gentle in most places and then there are many series of rivers and valleys that you have to climb in and out of.

It is a beautiful place to ride.

Good job dude...

131 miles today on the fixie. Did a relatively flat permanent (less than 3000 feet of climbing), plus some bonus miles. Pretty windy day -- gusts to 20mph -- which made up for the lack of hills. Stuck with the 49x18 gearing. No problems at all. Everything feels great. If the weather is at all reasonable, I'm going to take a whack at a 400K at the end of the month, probably with the same 73.5" of gearing that I've been running.

I sound like I'm selling religion or something when I say it, but guys, randonneuring on a FG is a ton of fun!

I can't imagine a 200k on the fg quite yet. Just did 100 miles over the weekend for the Seattle Tour de Cure, and that was enough for me! Nearly 6000' of total elevation, a 3 mile climb culminating in a 0.3mi section of 9% at the 91 mile mark, (that's where I had to hop off and walk) and a couple sections of long downhills where I would have loved coasting.
Overall it was an interesting and fun experience, but I think I'd sooner do that kind of ride on my singlespeed than on the fixed gear if I had it to do over again.

Good job dude...

Octopus, you sound like you've seen God, and he was riding a fixie. But, I get it. There's something magic about a long ride on a fixie. Very pure, very... um... you know, the Z word.

131 miles today on the fixie. Did a relatively flat permanent (less than 3000 feet of climbing), plus some bonus miles. Pretty windy day -- gusts to 20mph -- which made up for the lack of hills. Stuck with the 49x18 gearing. No problems at all. Everything feels great. If the weather is at all reasonable, I'm going to take a whack at a 400K at the end of the month, probably with the same 73.5" of gearing that I've been running.

I sound like I'm selling religion or something when I say it, but guys, randonneuring on a FG is a ton of fun!

Hey, what saddle and pedals/shoes are you using? I rode a 65 miler this weekend into a crazy headwind and rain (love the fenders!) but started to get a little sore in the manbits and my knee started to hurt. Im riding a brand spanking new B17 on a Steamroller with spds and shimano touring shoes. I ride a fairly low handlebar, 4 or 5 inches below my saddle.

Hey, what saddle and pedals/shoes are you using? I rode a 65 miler this weekend into a crazy headwind and rain (love the fenders!) but started to get a little sore in the manbits and my knee started to hurt. Im riding a brand spanking new B17 on a Steamroller with spds and shimano touring shoes. I ride a fairly low handlebar, 4 or 5 inches below my saddle.

B-17s are a terrible saddle with that much seat/bar drop distance. They're much better suited to a more upright riding position.

Hey, what saddle and pedals/shoes are you using?

I'm riding a Selle Italia Flite saddle, Time Impact pedals and Specialized shoes (not sure what model; they're a mid-range road shoe from two years ago and don't have the M-lock or ratchet adjustment feature).

The Time pedal/cleat system is not the easiest to get into and out of, and walking around with those cleats is very awkward. But clipped in and riding on a long distance ride, that super-wide platform is really nice. I notice a big difference between the Times and the CB egg beaters on my CX bike when I take that bike out for a long ride. My feet are less fatigued with the Time pedals.

I have the Flite saddle on every one of my bikes. It fits my butt (sit bones) perfectly. The best advice I can give on the saddle front is that once you find a saddle that you like and that's comfortable for you, don't change!

That said, I notice a difference in my butt soreness riding the FG compared to the road bike. The fit is exactly the same. The frame material is different (C versus Al), so that could be part of it. I think the majority of the difference is that I spend more time seated on the FG and it's more difficult to stretch and move around on that bike than on the coaster bike. I'm sure as I gain more experience I'll add more tricks to the bag for how to keep comfortable in the saddle. But for now, based on my three long rides (110-miles-plus) to date on the FG, I'd say that the "butt-pain-multiplier" for a FG bike is 2: your butt will be twice as sore over any given distance on the FG compared to riding a bike with gears, all other things being equal.

cliftongk1 and octopus, thx for the help. im playing around w/bar height today.

B-17s are a terrible saddle with that much seat/bar drop distance. They're much better suited to a more upright riding position.

Agreed.

The new B17 Imperial is a better saddle for that due to the cut out and lacing and as someone who can't ride upright... this is a great thing.

Rode my first century on a fixed gear today. I've been wanting to ride a century on my fixed gear for a while now, but since it doesn't have fenders nor a place to put them, I had to wait for a Saturday with a good dry forecast (a rare thing this time of year in the Pacific Northwest).

It was a fairly mellow century with a little over 4,000 ft of climbing, mostly rollers, with only a couple real hills to speak of. I was riding my $300 Mercier Kilo TT with 46/18 gearing. I've heard others say that all of your interface points with the bike (hands, feet, butt) feel it a lot more doing long rides on a FG. True dat. I think I'll be back on my geared bike for the upcoming 400k.

Here are the ride stats:
Distance: 101 miles
Time: 6:40 total/6:22 in the saddle
Smiles: lots :)

Maybe you could use fatter tires and/or a suspension seatpost?

Wow, this is inspirational.

Did the Thornport-Caldwell 203K permanent today on the fixie running 49x18. That's 9700 feet of climbing measuerd by TOPO USA; 7700 measured by GPS. Any way you slice it, it's one tough mother of a route (though we have tougher 200Ks here in Ohio).

By the numbers:
Total time: 9:08
Time on bike: ~7:58 (I'm guessing; the FG has no cycle computer on it :D)
Number of hills walked: 0
Steepest hill: Mast Rd., west-bound. I had to tack to get up it.
Number of turtles rescued frrom the middle of the road: 2
Number of snakes in the middle of the road that I didn't rescue: 1

Nice work, Octopus. That sounds like a big ride no matter how you measure it.

Speaking of turtles and snakes, I ran over a rattle snake on a 400k last weekend. It was looking sort of flat when I hit it though. I think maybe I wasn't the one who struck the fatal blow. I didn't stick around to check on its health.

Congrats on the ride!

Did the Ohio Randonneurs 400K yesterday. Perfect day with temps in the 70s (50s at night), light winds, and not a cloud in the sky. The route had about 16K of climbing on it. Finish time of 20:15. No idea how much of that was on the bike (still without a computer!). Walked no hills but the 49x18 gearing was challenging at times.

Highlight of the ride was dinner at a tablecloth and linen napkin kind of place (with a wonderful name of The Angry Bull) right on Lake Erie at sunset. Four of us dined in style on perch, walleye and steak. If you're going to blow 90 minutes not moving on a brevet, that's the way to do it!

Still thinking on whether the 600K -- with something like 23K feet of climbing -- would be a good idea on the fixie. Probably depends on the weather: I can either deal with the extra hills or wind on the flat part along the lake, but not both. I have 2 weeks to figure it out!

Did the Ohio Randonneurs 400K yesterday. Perfect day with temps in the 70s (50s at night), light winds, and not a cloud in the sky. The route had about 16K of climbing on it. Finish time of 20:15. No idea how much of that was on the bike (still without a computer!). Walked no hills but the 49x18 gearing was challenging at times.

Highlight of the ride was dinner at a tablecloth and linen napkin kind of place (with a wonderful name of The Angry Bull) right on Lake Erie at sunset. Four of us dined in style on perch, walleye and steak. If you're going to blow 90 minutes not moving on a brevet, that's the way to do it!

Still thinking on whether the 600K -- with something like 23K feet of climbing -- would be a good idea on the fixie. Probably depends on the weather: I can either deal with the extra hills or wind on the flat part along the lake, but not both. I have 2 weeks to figure it out!

I'm in awe. That's a huge ride on a fixie. And some pretty tall gearing too. I run 46 x 18 on mine and I'm pretty happy with that. I'm contemplating doing my next SR series on my single speed w/freewheel, which seems challenging enough, but a fair amount easier than doing it fixed.

with all this talk of long distances on fixed gear and subsequent knee pain... why the machismo about fixed gear bicycles? major step backward in technology, if you ask me. just my 2c.

with all this talk of long distances on fixed gear and subsequent knee pain... why the machismo about fixed gear bicycles? major step backward in technology, if you ask me. just my 2c.

No talk of knee pain from The Eight-Legged One. I'm no macho man; if it hurt in an over-use-sort-of-way, I wouldn't do it. I suspect that folks complaining of knee pain either have adjustment issues or are using backward pressure on the pedals (consciously or not) to slow the bike. Another posibility is trying to run too high a cadence on the descents. The moment I'm no longer totally smooth in my cadence, I hit the brakes until I'm smooth and comfortable.

So the knees are fine but pretty much everything else hurts, though. Riding a fixie on hilly rides is a full-body work-out. I'm sore like I went to the gym and worked out every major muscle group. If I'd been on a geared bike, it'd just be the legs that felt a bit worked this AM. But getting up those hills takes a tremendous amount of upper body strength, and braking on the downhills really takes its toll on the hands.

As for the backward step in technology, I hope that you've stoned to death everyone with leather saddles (and bags) and steel frames before taking aim as the single-cog crowd. God made nylon and plastic and carbon around the same time He made the modern derailleur. ;)

with all this talk of long distances on fixed gear and subsequent knee pain... why the machismo about fixed gear bicycles? major step backward in technology, if you ask me. just my 2c.

I don't think knee pain is a necessary part of long distances on fixed gear. As I gain experience, I'm learning that for me knee pain comes from trying to spin too fast on descents and trying to brake by back pedaling, just like Octopus says. If I use my brakes and keep my speed in reasonable on descents, then my knees are fine.

Yep, it's a backward step in technology. But it's just plain fun. Actually bikes are a big step backward compared to cars too, right? Or how about we all travel by Segway! Now THAT'S technology!

nah, bikes are the future. bill nye said so!

Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym.

nah, bikes are the future. bill nye said so!

Normally a celebrity endorsement doesn't hold much sway for me, but Bill Nye has raced RCC's Cannonball 3 times and finished twice.

Still thinking on whether the 600K -- with something like 23K feet of climbing -- would be a good idea on the fixie. Probably depends on the weather: I can either deal with the extra hills or wind on the flat part along the lake, but not both. I have 2 weeks to figure it out!

All systems are "go" for tomorrow's 600K on the fixie. The weather looks cooperative (not too windy) and my recovery from the 400K was speedy. So I'm once again jumping into new territory with the FG bike. I'm going to keep the gearing the same -- 49x18 -- despite the additional hills. I will not be taking a larger cog or a freewheel. Putting it all on the line here....

I'll be riding a conservative pace -- probably a 37-hour pace, though I hope 3 of those hours will be sleep at the 400K mark.

Wish me luck; ride report to follow Sunday evening. Assuming I pull this off, and assuming I enjoyed it, then the next (il)logical step is riding the Gold Rush fixed. Janesville Grade on one gear? Awesome.

with all this talk of long distances on fixed gear and subsequent knee pain... why the machismo about fixed gear bicycles? major step backward in technology, if you ask me. just my 2c.

I haven;t done anything more epic that riding a century on a fixed gear but some years back piled up 10,000 miles of riding in a year and 2/3 of that was done on a fixed gear.

My doctor is stunned at how healthy my knees are as they didn't start out that way and I had chronic pain issues there for years.

Seems like my prescription for pain relief = cycling

my 2c, since much of my endurance riding has been fixed is that it actually regulates you quite a bit... you won't go too fast, you won't go too slow. youll keep a nice steady pace all through the ride. This is dependent on hills, and choice of gearing, of course.

I think that people with knee pain from fixed gear riding probably have chosen too high a gear, are leg-braking, and or have fit issues, but for flat, to rolling courses, I recommend anyone to give it a try, its easier than you might think!