Giro di Portlandia
 

I've never done a race before and this is going to be my first and of course i have a lot of questions. and of course i'm looking for pdx people who have actually done this. and i've already seen the poster so i know the time, the cost, and the place.
1:what exactly kind of race is this?

2:what is this race like? what to expect?

3:what's the route like? could i get away with just following the leader?

4:and although i do normally ride a fixed gear, for speed/comfort sake i think i'm going to go with my road bike. would that acceptable?

as always thanks for your responses!

pdxfixed.com