dcrowell

The Louisville Bicycle Club has started putting on Popularies this year. The first one in July, I rode my 'bent as I was having a "bad neck day". It was fun, but I barely made the time cutoff.

I wasn't able to ride the August populaire due to other obligations. Saturday, September 4th was the most recent one, and it was advertised as fixie-friendly.

We had a light turnout due to rain and chance of thunderstorms, but I rode my single-speed (now with SKS Longbaord fenders).

Of the nine of us, there were three people who had just returned from riding Paris-Brest-Paris.

I actually stayed with the group for about 15 miles before falling back. I reconnected with them at the halfway point (lunch). I was with them for about three miles after lunch, then didn't see them again until after the end of the ride at our beer/food recovery location.

I was the only person without a geared bike. The hills were steeper than advertised.

More here:
https://fatguy.org/2011/09/04/another-100k-populaire/

chasm54

Lol. The hills are always steeper than advertised.

Well done. You're keeping exalted company if your riding companions complete the PBP, it's a monster.

Neil_B

Bravo!

Mithrandir

I can't even begin to comprehend 70 miles on a singlespeed... much less 10!!

Good job.

CliftonGK1

After CX season is over, I'm going to start back in earnest toward my RUSA P-12 award (12 consecutive months of 100k rides) and I'm riding everything on singlespeed now. I just converted my last geared bike (worth converting) about a month ago, and it used to be my geared brevet rig. I've done a couple of 100k permanents this year on the single, and in the past I've done up to 200k on my singlespeed and 100 miles on my fixed gear.

Before long, you won't even think about it. It just becomes the natural state of things: Road gets steep, stand up and pedal harder. There are a lot of guys with my rando club (Seattle Int'l Randonneurs) who ride one gear, for anything from a moderately hilly 100k Populaire on a singlespeed all the way to guys riding the Gold Rush Randonnee 1200k on a fixed gear.