Yellowbeard

Well now I know I'll at least make it to Montreal when I inevitably try.



A hundred kilometers out, a hamburger by the Ottawa river, then home again. A bit punishing, frankly, even over such flat ground.
I had a tailwind the whole way out which kept me spinning at an average of nearly 100 rpm and then, on the way home, I ran out of steam with 60 km to go. Didn't find my second wind until after sunset, still 30 km away from home. The best part was having a 60 minute song on my mp3 player, and rolling back into the city during the climactic guitar solo.

It's fun, this long-distance thing. It brings back some of the feeling I used to get when I'd ride a bike along a road I'd only seen from inside a car, or from the school bus thousands of times but never experienced with my own body.

syahirax

thats fuhken awesome dude.

bmike

very nice...

unterhausen

one of the riders I know is doing an R-12 on a fixed gear (12 months of a 200k per month). My knees hurt just thinking about it.

bmike

that is what i thought until i tried it (not an r12, but longer rides on the fixed gear...)

Yellowbeard

My knees feel great, it's the sitbones that suffer. That Selle Italia is the first saddle I've found that really feels like it supports my sitbones properly, but I don't think I'm quite broken in yet. The fixed gear doesn't let me move my body around much over such flat ground and I feel the need to stretch and rest after 25-30 km or so. I'm going to start experimenting with chamois lubricants, too, 'cause I felt the effects of a bit of rubbing by the time I got home.

I was almost disappointed that it didn't rain (it's been raining all week, and it's raining today, too) so I didn't get to put my new modified fenders to the test.

CliftonGK1

Even with my comfy broken in B-17, this was what I noticed after my first fixed gear century a couple months ago. I never realized how reliant on downhill coasting I was for getting up and giving my backside a moment's reprieve from the saddle.

BHons

That's awesome man. It's cool to see that others do long rides of fixies too. I've been doing 70 miles 2-3 times a week on mine. The ride is mostly flat except for some brutal climbs at the beginning and end (it's a loop). I can totally relate on that wanting to stretch thing, especially my back. It's satisfying to know you peddled every inch of that ride.

BHons

P.S. wish someone would manufacture a track frame with the bolts for a second water bottle cage

Yellowbeard

Mine's held on with "bottle cage clips." It's nice because I can put them wherever I want. Two on the downtube, for example, so I can keep my pump where I want it. I used hose clamps before, but these are a lot prettier.

I've cracked, though. I want something with downtube shifters, a triple and a hard-wearing, narrow range cassette for my climbing and inter-city trips. Sadly, the money's all spoken for so I'll have to stick to the fixed gear for now and HTFU, as they say.

kbabin

BHon,

The frame specs list "Water bottle cages spaced to use 2 full sized bottles ".

https://www.eighthinch.com/mm5/mercha...ry_Code=frames

Kev