jarhead#42

35 miles per hour . It aint easy getting there , but once there . Your work is over and your coasting like a free spirit . I had to work to catch that draft !
peace
jar

Guest

Oh, I thought you were gonna end it with "but it's too hot to talk about, so I can't say anymore" or something like that.







I've drafted too- once you get into the slipstream of a car, you can draft it pretty good. I drafted up Halsted the other day behind an SUV. At one point, I waved to the driver, and he kept on driving. It was good stuff, because we passed all those slow as hell buses that stop at every other block.

Koffee

twahl

On Saturday I'm going to draft Koffee.

mominboots

She's gonna leave you in the dust and I'll have to worry about running you over! Sad thing is Bear will probably have the best chance of catching the draft!

r800rider

I would never draft a car, thats just asking for it.

Smoothie104

I do some motor pacing with my training partner, We get the car rolling up to 30 mph, and once warmed up you attack the car, pass it and cross in front of it. You keep the attack going as long as we can, but you have to be able to meter your efforts so that as you slow and get passed by the car, you have enough jump to get back in the draft. It's a total ass-kicker of a work out.

One time out, due to logistics we had to use an SUV (OK, Its mine! I'm guilty, but its small one)

Im driving along, and my buddy is giving me the thumbs up, which means pick it up, so we get to 35 and he smiles and again, thumbs up, 40...42...45...52mph and he's back there spinning his ass off in a 53x12 I do my best chopping motion forward, like the guys on the aircraft carrier deck telling the crew to realease the catapult, (without the fancy wind up and side shuffle skip step) and Yell "PUNCH IT MARGARET!" out the window. He stands up, darts to the side, out of the draft and......well... it looked like he locked up the brakes, because he got gapped so bad, so fast he said afterwards he felt like he got punched! It was funny as shet.

We decided we need a smaller draft, I have an girl friend who has a scooter that will run 35mph max, I think that would be awesome. We plan on having 4 or 5 of us behind her, the last guy in line attacks, passes and crosses, then when he fades, he gets back in right behind the scooter, to get the best draft. Repeat.

Do you know what anxiety feels like? It's having your friend motor pacing behind your car @ 35mph on a fixed gear, no brake track bike.

catatonic

I still don't get that...isn't there some way to temporarily attatch a secure brake setup on track bikes?

Smoothie104

I'm sure there is, but then he would..

A: have to take it off to race

B: develop a bad habit of using said brake,which is no longer there come race day.

I gotta tell you, this cat can ride that fixie in any group ride, short, long, fast, slow.. The only time he has to stay out of the serious action is on a down hill/strong tailwind, becuase he doesnt have the gearing. I've seen him sit up, stretch, turn around to talk to me, all while sitting in a double pace line, with out moving an inch. I have seen him bunny hop over fallen riders, slide both ends in the wet, take to the dirt to cover an attack (he's also our yellow line cop!) Push me up hills, into gaps, ride eschelons, lead outs, win sprints, carry the groceries etc... The 2 things I have never seen him do is either crash, or cause a crash/near crash. If you didn't look down, you'd never know he was on a fixed gear, except at the end of a long ride, he will occaionally put his hand on your hip to help him slow down. He is the best bike handler I know. I wouldn't want anyone else on fixed gear in a fast group ride, but Paulie, Paulie is the real deal. He packed up and went to Europe as a teenager to try and make a living doing 6 day races on the velodromes. He never quite made it to the top, but has some cool video of him riding along side Musseuw and Zabel etc...in the Pro-Am. He wants me to Madison race with him, I'm flying to Michigan this weekend to take "velodrome 101" the handslings will come later....

catatonic

Ah, just wondered, since I've seen so many fixies/ss bikes without brakes, even in city use that it just kept bringing that up in my mind.

capsicum

Fixies are fixed gear, not single speed freewheels. When the bike moves the pedals move and vice versa, so to slow down you just 'resist' which is like trying to back pedal. That is why they don't need brakes, all though a front brake would help in a 'situation'

jarhead#42

OMFG !!! Thats awesome dude !
Jar