Originally Posted by
Dylansbob
Coming home from work a few weeks ago, I caught a randonneur going across the Narrows bridge. We chatted for a few minutes before I dropped him climbing the next overpass.
I was feeling good about myself until I put everything together. There was a 300k event that day and he was on his return leg, 12hrs in. And he was on a singlespeed.
Hey, you still did good. When I rode Paris-Brest-Paris on the fixie last year, my fastest cruising speed (apart from the first leg, sitting in on the big group) was the final section from Dreux to the finish near Versailles. Anything extra I had left I burned freely, just hammering that section and passing a whole bunch of other riders. Like being able to smell the barn. A fixed gear (or single speed) lets you do that because you haven't drained the leg muscles pushing big gears. I always feel much fresher finishing a brevet on the fixie than I do on a geared bike!
Luis