i actually found that while i was commuting, i was faster on my fixed gear than i was on my road bike.

i also notice that when i take my road bike out for what i call "training rides" (i'm not really training for anything, i don't race, i have very little ambition to race...i guess it's just a fitness and health ride, anyway), i'm always looking down and back at the rear cluster to see which cog i'm in, even though i know it makes no difference whatsoever...and i'm also always thinking about what shift i'd need to make in the rear to get close to the same ratio if i jump to the big ring up front, so i can somewhat maintain my cadence...again, WHY?!

i also have a tendency to not concentrate on where i'm going and what's happening around me on my road bike. i sort of "fall asleep at the wheel." i think it's because i just feel disconnected form the bike and what the hell, i got brakes, right? maybe it's because i rode brakeless fixed gear in the city (boston) for like, 3 years before i ever got a real road bike (except for the road bike i bought to convert to a fixie). i tend to enjoy myself a whole lot more when i'm riding a track bike. something about being THAT connected to the bike and THAT connected to the road and everything around you. i feel like i have so much more control over the bike, even with steering. you just develop a much better rhythm and feeling for when to do what without missing a beat.

i sold the first "real" road bike i had. it was an orangey-coppery bianchi eros (before they started putting campy on them). it was a decent frame, but for me it handled like crap...way too slow on turns. i set it up with some chop-shop bullhorns and full fenders. it was my wintertime beater bike. my friend across the bridge has it now. i have a better road bike, a pinarello with a super short rear end, so it handles sort of like my track bikes. i still keep thinking that i should set it up fixed gear, but then i wouldn't have anything to tackle the hills in SF and berkeley. and also "serious" roadies wouldn't say hi to me...oh wait...they don't say hi to me now...

it's personal preference, really, but everyone i've ever put on one of my track bikes for the first time ends up loving it. it's like waking up one day and discovering you have like, jedi powers or something. it just brings you more in tune with the bike and everything around you...

i'm going to stop now before i get too redundant.