I've never ridden a fixie. I must admit the idea scares me a little bit. My wife has an old fixie hanging on our bike rack. All it really needs are some new tires and some lube, and it is probably rideable. She keeps urging me to try it but I haven't worked up the nerve (and don't know that I will).

Fixie's are all the rage these days with the young urban riders in the city. They ride in street clothes with backpacks on, don't wear helmets, and love to show off how they can balance the bike at a complete standstill while they wait for the traffic to clear and then run the red light. It reminds me of all the crazy things I did between the age of 16 and 20, and the fact that I'm still here today by sheer dumb luck.