Riding a fixed gear on an epic ride
 

Just completed RAMROD on thursday with my fixed gear bike. While it isn't easy it sure as a great experience. RAMROD is a 154 loop around Mt Rainier in Washington State.
A friend and I at 5:15 start in Enumclaw. He rode SS and I rode fixed
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The morning fog stayed with us for a few hours and we kept our jackets on until we reached the Park Entrance. Jon was geared lower than I was and we parted ways at this point. I met up with another friend as we passed thru the Park Entrance
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The sunlight filtering thru the Grandfather trees inside the park. As the climb started to stiffen my friend fell back and I was on my own.
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I passed a large group of riders from a Cycling Club all dressed in team kits. One of them came up to me and opened with "so, tell me about your bike..."
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This curious rider was great company and it make the 15 mile climb pass by quickly. She took this picture of me
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The first big climb was over at the Inspiration Point Rest Stop.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...652d63b2e8.jpg

I left my new friend Debra at the rest stop and enjoyed a flat section of road to Reflection Lakes
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...74df6e1af8.jpg

The road descends steeply through Stevens Canyon. The road is rough and I feathered my brakes to keep my speed down to a comfortable level. My arms really took a beating doing this.
The climb up Cayuse Pass is rightly regarded as the hardest section of the route. This hill is a constant 6-8% grade for something like 12 miles. I got a kick out of hearing people mutter "Oh my God!" when I passed them on this stretch. Even the faster 'racer boys' who passed me were praising the effort I was doing. Pretty cool to hear that kinda stuff for 53 year old man like myself.
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The last 35 miles back to Enumclaw were into a headwind. I was too slow with my gearing to jump into any of the pace lines that formed so I was on my own making it to a 3:40 finish in Enumclaw
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I finished up ahead of everyone I knew who was riding and I waited for them all. Jon finished tired and happy.
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It took about 3 hrs for everyone I knew to finish then it was off to a local restaurant for Pizza and Beer. It was one fine day

Great read. Bet it was a fun ride.

You did a 154 mile ride in 3:40? That sounds exceptionally fast! Did I read that wrong?

Congrats though. The scenery looks amazing.

Yes you read it wrong. 5:15AM start - 3:40PM finish = 10 hrs 40 minutes

He started at 5:15 and ended at 3:40.

damn. beat me to it.

Wow. Well done! I think 60 is the longest FG ride I've ever done. What gearing did you have?

Does sound like it was fun! And look at the scenery!

Wow I can't wait for the day I have a chance to get to the NW. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. And pizza and beer sounds amazing right now.. two more hours of work askldjaslhkjw

That is quite the accomplishment, nevermind on a fixie. What the heck kind of gearing do you use on a ride like that?

Great job, Northbend.

I was on the ride, too, and got passed by Northbend. He and his friend were the only SS/FG riders I saw all day.

my gearing is 42x17

Yes, the PNW is beautiful in the summer.

Man, that's really cool. I did a 37 mile ride on my fixed gear and it was exhausting for me. Reading this makes me think maybe I should just try changing my ratio and doing it again. I did it on 42/15, and after about 20 miles, the hills started to get excruciating.

Great read. Kinda read like a kids book for fixed gear riders. Kinda sad when it ended.
That's a great ride, vie done several 100k and 100m rallies here in tx. But nothing comes close here to your ride. Mostly flat and hilly. And way way top hot.

I'm very envious.
I love a beer after a long rally. Feel proud.

Congrats.

Socks

Wow, thanks for sharing your experience and great photos. Great job. I bet that beer tasted damn good!

Dude, that is so badass. The longest mileage I ever did was 112 and that was on a road bike. I could not imagine climbing (and descending!!) mountains on a fixed gear.

Great story and pictures; thanks for sharing!

154 miles on a fixed gear? you sir, are hard. woodpecker lips hard. harder than i will ever live to be. congratulations on an excellent ride.

Climb up fixed, flip your wheel to the freewheel side(if you have one) for the way down.

All that scenery looks amazing.

Great effort! I aspire to start doing all of my distance riding fixed. Can you tell us more about your bike?

AHHHH! Your so lucky, Mt. Rainier National park is my favorite place in the world!

Man I wish I lived there.... I would have another excuse to get a pugsley too :D

Great inspiration I am thinking of doing the tour of Litchfield Hills in Ct this Sunday. Hmmmm

NorthBend,

Fabulous job. Thanks for the great pictures and narration. I have to admit, I almost didn't read the thread for fear of it being one of those "I road my brakeless fixie to a 7-11 in another part of town" type epics. Not the case at all. I'm very glad to have read about your adventure. Keep it up. Oh, is your bike really pink? Yuk yuk yuk.

Awesome.

Yay for moustache bars.

Wow, much much respect.

It's kind of funny you're on fixed with front and rear brakes and your friend on SS only has a front.

^

I saw that as well, Aerospoke front too...must've been so much fun coasting down hill with that thing.

Congratulation northbend. :)

Better.

I sir, salute you. Great dedication. I'm aiming for a road bike ascent of Mt. Baker one day and could not possibly imagine doing something like that on a fixie. Double congrats.

http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/index.html
http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/RA...formation.html

The closest thing I could compare is the Ragner Relays for running. I don't do that, but I know a guy who runs on a team.

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/

I did drive a boat from Miami, FL to Jacksonville, FL on the same day just beyond the breaking surf line. I recall leaving at about 4 AM and getting to Jax around 5 PM. Between 350-375 miles based upon road distances, Boat averaged about 27-29 mph over 13 hours, the V-8 351 Windsor did all the work. You did 15 mph and powered the bike. No comparison there. But I can't imagine the mental toughness to ride a bike for just under 11 hours.

Not to mention posterior toughness.

How were your knees after that ride?

What type of conditioning did you go through to prepare?

Very inspiring!