Only races Ive done are alleycats, and if you cant do 30mph for a mile or two in those solo your not gonna make the top 5-10 places at the finish.Best ive done is 10th out of a race with 103 riders.One guy here got 2nd place at the worlds in seattle last year, and one gal got 2nd at the NATS in washDC last year(read im slow).Its flat here, and relatively wide streets and lots of the runs I do are 2miles or more each way, you get fast just from sheer repetition and riding constantly.

No aerobars, dont own any.I do have a set of drop bars I use at a local highschool track sometimes, I have this fascination with my hour time, best ive done so far is just over 26miles in an hour flat.Thats on a fixed gear,drop bars, and a 52/16 gear,no other special equipment, heck the bike cost me about $200.Ive been riding hauling stuff on my back for 5 years, you get quite strong riding a fixie that way all the time.