Originally Posted by
Radical Rick
I know I will get some kind of hell for saying this, but I would like to try my hand at being a bike messenger, at least for a day or something. I don't know why, its just something I've wanted to do for a while now. I couldn't do it on a fixie though. I just don't understand how people can ride those. I've never tried to ride one, and to me it seems physically impossible. How do their legs ever get a rest? It seems like those bikes would tear up a persons knees real fast like. I don't get it because if your going down hill do you keep pedaling real fast, or do you relax your legs? They just don't seem practical for long distances.
I, too, thought that would be fun at one point. In some places (though not where I currently live), Jimmy John's does bicycle sandwich delivery. That seemed like it might be a nice way to get the courier "experience", but without the crazy heavy/bulky stuff that many bicycle messengers end up carting around.
I rode fixed gear on the road for about 7 years, 3 of which were in a pretty hilly place. Even did a fixed gear century (with about 4000' elevation gain) just to say I did it
It's not particularly difficult unless you're looking at some pretty nasty grades uphill or downhill; after a few weeks, your legs just kind of figure out what to do. I'd ride fixed a lot more if I lived someplace flat or were doing urban commuting in an actual city. The (non-fixed) single speed is currently a better option, because that downhill speed is just way too much fun.