Quack

I just switched from a SS to a fixed rig and can't wait to start doing some alley cats. There are going to be some rad ones coming up here in the next month, but I am not sure I will be ready for them. How long did it take everyone to get comfortable enough riding fixed to race? Are a few weeks enough preparation?

hyperRevue

Yes.
See you there.

humancongereel

ummm...depends how aggressively you think you'll ride, and how comfortable you feel stopping on a fixed. i'd say if you do it, do it for fun and take it easy. judge for yourself. and leave at least one brake on. cuz once the race is on, it'll be hard to just "take it easy".

dogpound

after years of riding, my first alley cat kicked my ass.
and it was totally worth it.

genericbikedude

Just ride as fast as you safely can. The faster you can safely ride, the faster you will go. If you ride faster than you are safely able to, you will probably get into an accident and lose precious time/limbs.

humancongereel

yes. +1 and all that jazz.

thurstonboise

Go fast, have fun, read your manifest.
The first one I rode in, I skipped the third part and ended up riding 8-10 mi more than necessary. Those Souths and norths are important.

humancongereel

oh, and +1 on that, too. i did the exact same thing. it was in boise, in fact. i went up to harris ranch because i went past the old pen.

thurstonboise

I went from w. 28th to M-W on warmsprings, then realized I had another stop on w. 28 and hill.

humancongereel

heh, my ex lives in that house, or at least did at that race (assuming it was the hellracer. we'd broken up recently enough to have some ill will, and i was way behind in that race, so i decided to just skip that stop, free booze and all).

thurstonboise

I missed hellracer. This was liverdance. First 28th stop was at some old dudes house south of state st. The other one was way up near hill road and was just a rubber stamper attached to a stop sign.
Going to the Camel's back stop after dark in the rain sucked, I was cleaning grit out of my chain for weeks.

Anyway OP, just go and ride. Don't worry about fitness so much, you'll find that extra bit to get you to the next stop once the race kicks in.

Anightinthewood

despite popular belief allycats are not fixie only(exept MT), but go have fun and dont worry about a thing just ride.

Yoshi

And definitely don't forget that messengers greet each other by punching each other in the face. So when you meet someone at an alleycat, punch them in the face. It might seem weird at first, but that's just how we roll.

lumenredundas

judging by how some madison riders ride in the widest and most bike lane populated city in the world you could probably jump on the bike five seconds before the race and still be safe.

XVX

Quack

I agree about the bike lanes here, but the construction keeps things intresting

space_robots

moped

Ready to Ruck

I say ride your SS since you're comfy riding that. If you still have it. sound sliek you don't.

MKRG

You won't win. At least it's very unlikely. Have fun. That's the most important part. Ride your own race. Ride your own pace. Again, have fun. Drink a beer with new biking buddies afterwards. I was intimidated for my first. Turned out to be the most fun I've had in years.

queerpunk

don't get all caught up in riding hard that you wind up riding alone. it's way more fun to ride with people...

evanyc

my first alleycat was monstertrack and i took my brake off that morning. i'd avoided alleycats cause i'm really not competitive and i figured they were a bit too macho for my taste. i was full of it. monstertrack was amazing, tons of fun, and everyone was super chill. you have a select group who actually compete to win, and they are competitive as hell and pretty intense, but still super cool. i will never win an alleycat in NYC and that's totally cool with me. just go out and challenge yourself, have a good time, and chat it up. people are, for the most part, going to be warm and inclusive.

hyperRevue

I'm not competitive at all.
I don't try to win, just finish.
I just race for fun and for the comradarie before, during and after.

ImOnCrank

Holy isht, big quack has stepped up? Which ride d'you wind up going with? Definitely race. Cats are tons of fun. Just find someone who knows the route and tag along. Definitely make sure to ride with other people that's for sure.

Aeroplane

+1. Meet folks and have a good time. Save actually "racing" until you think you've got a shot at winning it.

sfcrossrider

+1. You don't need to be fixed to do an alley cat.

humancongereel

especially if you're not 100% sure of where you're going. if there's any doubt, check with what others are doing.