I just got back from the second leg of the hilly hundred in Elliottsville, Indiana. This was my first year riding in the event. I rode my rode bike yesterday but decided the hills weren't too bad to ride my track bike today. It was a little challenging to ride fixed, but easier than I thought it would be. Just wanting to know if anyone else rode the ride on a fixed gear?

What gear did you push?

48-17

ride profile?

I ride a (cough) mercier kilo tt, IRO wheelset. And yes there are a couple of hills here in Indiana, about 2344ft of climbing today.

My brother road the it fixed last year. He kept passing folks going uphill since he had to attack like hell. On that last big hill, about 3/4 of the way into the ride, he just couldn't push any more and fell over 20 feet from the hill crest. I visted him a couple weeks ago, and he showed me that hill, we had a good laugh.

DW: When I was there, I really didn't see hills anywhere. Even with that big sky, there was nothing on the horizon... Then you get to Elliottsville, it's still flat from oustide the area, but there are these huge dips in the landscape, so it feels like "hills" as you ride though it.

northern IN is flat, but south of indianapolis (like in bloomington) it's hilly.

I was tempted to do it this year on my track only bike since crashing my road bike, but the minimum gear I have is 46X15, and was kind of concerned it would be a *****.

I totally kow what you are saying about attacking like hell on hills. I've been riding my track bike with a bunch of my roadie friends and feel like a dick when I make an attack up a hill, especially when we are on easy rides with a lot of beginners.

Yeah i did The Texas Hill Country Ride for AIDS last april fixed (48-16) and had to attack hills. I would blaze past roadies during the first 1/2 of the hill, but at the top we would be getting there the same time, although they were still more winded then me . It was a great ride, there were only 2 decents that were a little tricky but rather than get as much speed as i could down them to carry me through to the next hill i just let out a long ass skid about mid way down to control my speed. All the roadies looked at me in amazement as to why i would be skidding down a hill.

Gonna do it this year too, but im gonna be riding 50-17, 48-16 just a little too tough for this terrain.

On Sunday I did the 40mi LiveStrong Challenge ride outside of Austin running 48x17 fixed. I didn't see any other fixed gear bikes out there. I know exactly what you mean about attacking the hills. In the immortal words of James Brown, "Get up - get on up."

It depends on the region. Brown County is very hilly. I watched the Pan Am games road race in Brown County State Park, and I remember watching Columbians getting dropped 1/2-3/4 into the race, as a few of the climbs were 15+ percent. But as was said earlier, northern Indiana is more pancake in nature.

Luckily I'm from very south indiana, and go to school in north indiana. A hill to me is a driveway hahahaha. I seriously can't even fathom how some of the guys in Cali and Colorado do it.

i wouldn't do this race fixed... riding around the resiviour is ****ing insane. you'd be spinning beyond control even at 52-13.

id idnt' realize the ride was broken up into days... i thought it was a one day thing?