began as a messenger one fall season on my roadie, and as soon as snow came, i quickly realized i did not want to deal with maintenance, corrosion, etc., and built up a fixie. immediately, i felt like a kid again with no thoughts about gears, cadence, etc. and i just rode. now, the roadie is only used for long-distance training rides. plus, i felt silly (and excessive) using a full roadie for my grocery/beer/bar runs, and for riding around the city (not for work) with a full complement of gears and only ever using a couple.