At first, it was a way for me to take something store bought and make it fit me, not me fit it. Specialized 93 Stumpjumper - freewheeled. Then it was an addiction: scouring stores for whatever resembled bottom of the barrel crap and making it work for one gear; whatever, where ever. I have built a new one geared bike a year (fixed/track/single speed) since that year, either for me or a friend. I cannot stop. And I have really come to hate gears, reminding me of their impending failure or whining like a 3 year old in the cereal aisle at the Supermarket. Enough. Nevermore...nevermore. I sold my last geared bike to a commuter in Beantown last year (it was a Fort CX steel beauty - he bought it for 14 miles each way) and I felt lighter the moment it went for a ride in the Brown truck. I almost felt pure. Since then, I tout the fact that I have converted 2 friends into the world of 1x1, hopefully forever. For me, riding a fixed gear or single speed is the embodiment of autonomy and responsibility. It is a daily gut-check: do I have the balls to ride this, no brakes and all? Do I dare rely on human nature to watch my back? I don't mind if you forget me, having learned my lesson (Mayo - where are you?) of trust and cunning and when to move and when to stand. Nothing like a whistle from a bum or a cop to get the machismo pumping. I like those days, where the sun is always setting and Lake Michigan does not smell of ephemera. And those days are better realized on one simple gearing.