"why not just tell them to switch bikes? they have 27 combos of gears, you have one! They can coast, you can't! get what im saying? "

I dont. They were more aged. They had much greater rolling resistance. Greater wind resistence. Dont ever get into the 'choice of equipment' arguments.

It's bad enough that the recent cult status of the FG has resulted in callling the ride a 'fixie' rather than, quite simply, a 'bike' (I.e., "I'm going for a ride on my fixie" ???). Lets not get into using it as a crutch, too.

A bike's a bike's a bike. Admit defeat when necessary.