Hi All,
I just returned from Ellettsville, In. This was my first time riding the Hilly Hundred. The ride is broken up into two fifty mile days and draws more than 5000 cyclists. And, I was the only track bike there. As far as I know, only one other guy has done the ride on a fixed gear, and one huge badass did it on a unicycle. The ride was a lot of fun, and the hills didn't disappoint. But, as many of you have experienced, it was difficult to find people to ride with, and I got a lot of funny looks. It really isn't my usual crowd. I would have drunk alone the entire weekend had I not found a couple of SS/MTBers.
I know there are a growing number of men and woman out there doing long distance and hills on their track bikes these days. But, many of us are shy about sticking out in the crowd. These rides are a lot more fun if you have friends to ride with. I would love to see small groups of track bikes getting together at these organized rides. Century rides offer a more relaxed approach to cycling. The "Hilly" is certainly challenging on a track bike, but if I can do it, I know there are other people out there that can do it. I would love to see a dozen or so track bikes at next years "hilly", camping out with skid comp's and trackstands in the parking lot, and, having fun in our unique way. It would be a great way for us to introduce and integrate ourselves to the larger cycling community. Just a thought.

Congrats. The weather was certainly not on your side the first day. I had intended to do that ride, but plans fell through. Otherwise there would have been another fixed in the mix. What gear did you end up using?

Again, congrats.

I rode a 42*16 on saturday and a 42*18 on sunday.

Elletsville is in the southeast, near Bloomington, In. There are some good 18% climbs. It might not be Colorado, but it is about as good as you can find in the midwest. For a look at the inclines check out https://hillyhundred.org/ and check out the Route.

You are probably the guy I saw riding fixed. Good on ya. One question: did you walk any of the hills?

Unfortunately on Mte Tabor, while weaving through the mayhem of cylists I managed to fall off the road three quarters of the way up. I am not saying I would have made the climb had I not screwed up. I was hanging on by a thread. But, I was pretty close. Maybe, next year.

I've always found the greatest danger on Mt. Tabor to be the cyclist in front of you putting his/her foot down and messing up your momentum.

Tabor is a 20% grade. That's pretty severe.

Doing the Hilly fixed...you have my respect. Take care of those knees!

props, fixietwist. i've contemplated the hilly hundred fixed but did not go for it. perhaps next year? i've ridden both of the michigan ms150 routes on a track bike and gotten many weird looks from other riders, but really there are no hills to speak of and it's more of an endurance thing, how long can you spin with out stopping to rearrange things. for a couple of months i've been riding to work on a low-gear fixie, hope to ride it all winter if possible, so i may be working up some spinning/climbing ability. if i get the urge next year i'll try to hook up with you; it would be nice not to ride alone (passing everybody!).

so what's next - six gap century? assault on mount mitchell?

If you are geared properly the "hilly" is a do-able ride on a fixed, without crushing you knees. The climbs are pretty steady and steep, so gear low. And, I am not the type of person that won't ride with you if you use brakes for slowing down on the backside. But, the reason that the ride is so popular, I found, is that it is broken up into two days. You are given eight hours to do fifty miles in one day. That makes the ride accessable to riders of all ranges.

Hey Ann Arbor is my home town! I'll be back there in week or so.

Six Gap in Ga. looks great! Two weeks before the Hilly? Any other suggestions.

Way to go fixietwist!! When I was in college, I rode that ride, but on my road bike. The Mt Tabor climb is crazy steep...we tended to avoid going up it on our rides.

How was going down the hills? Are you riding brakeless?

edit: oh, and way to go! Thats very impressive.

LOL...what is that avatar, Dirty Dan?

Yeah, it's been freaking me out for weeks now. It was bad enough before I saw the mouth move.

I came across the image years ago while doing a search for "glasses".

I went brakeless for the weight savings. On the descents I tried to keep pretty good control of my speed and spin, always looking over the edge before I let my legs loose. A couple of times, I put a little rubber down to keep things from getting out of control. I just tried to remember to keep to the right, and kept aware of who was behind me. A lot of people that I passed on the climbs would go by me in the descent.

So , a fixie is a fixed gear bike, a track bike. I was just about to ask this question. Cycling sure attrats the independant types. Thats whats so cool about cycling I guess. Got any more trendy cycling words for me.I'll try to think of some hip London / UK terms for you guys across the Atlantic, but Im afraid they wont be cycling terms, as Im a necomer to cycling. Like "chav" and "bling bling" for instance.

Niall

I am no expert, but my understanding has always been that fixie or fixed gear is the broad term for bikes with no freewheel. Track bikes are specific for velodrome racing and are recognizable for their square geometry and rear-facing drops. My bike falls into the category of fixed gear conversion, because it is an old touring frame with a fixed gear. I use the term "fixie", though it is not my favorite word, as to not piss off my friends that ride track bikes. Comprende?

yeah myself and a few others did the MS 150 city to shore in NJ a few weeks ago on fixies. It was a really good time. I would say there were maybe 10 fixed gear bikes total out of over 6000 riders. We joked about having a skid comp at the finish area but it never happened... maybe next year...

It is good to know that there are other people out there taking their fixed gears out of the city. I have friends that tour fixed, but most are messengers and have never tried an official organized ride. A lot of these guys would rather hull all their food and tools, than pay twenty or thirty bucks for sag stops and a sag wag, and a few thousand strangers on everything from hybrids to colnagos. But, I gotta say, it's a lot of fun to get the weight off the back. It is the wrong time of year to start planning to crash some of these rides. Everybody is a little more conscerned with staying warm. But, next year, I'd like to see some skid comps at the finish line. Why not?

organized rides can be ok...been thinking about the dalmac (lansing to mackinaw, mich.), but i have to decide and commit now cause the thing books up really fast. the hilly hundred sounds fun too... i have already commited to do a benefit ride for the alzheimers foundation (june next season...i believe) two days 150 miles in southern ohio. i will post details...

as for the skid, trackstand, and footdown competitions @ campsites and finish, i have but two words to add

bike polo