I blame Sheldon Brown. I researched his site for other bike mechanical and riding technique information, and I kept coming across him mentioning fixed gear. I remember seeing some kids riding single speed (at the time I knew nothing of fixed); I remember following one who was mashing like crazy to get up a hill, while I followed comfortably behind him in a lower gear. I thought to myself, who in their right mind would want to limit themselves to one gear? It seemed like a terrible choice.

Then I started wondering what it would be like. I bought a fixie last December; then I discovered BF. The combination of Sheldon and BF has kept me riding safely on the FG, and now I've crossed over: Who in their right mind wouldn't want to ride fixed?