Tribuddies are so cool

[Bluetree]

Ok- stupid question. Why can't you coast on a fixed gear? Is it because the pedals move when you're speeding downhill. Sorry such a dumb question, but I've never seen anyone riding a fixie or seen any of the velodrome races (there aren't any for hundreds- or thousands- of miles around here).

I'll bet that WAS weird, tho! Scary going down those descents, huh? The TDF boys sure make it look easy!

Did you enjoy the tour de California? You'll have to tell all about it (unless you already have and I've missed it- been away a while).

Tanya, yeah, you have to be superstrong to ride a fixie in the mountains, and I won't sugarcoat it... it IS dangerous, as Grog said. Esp. since a lot of fixie riders can get very macho and refuse to put a brake on their bike. I nagged and badgered my friend until he relented and put a brake on. He still doesn't use it much, but at least it's there.

Riding a fixie is like having one gear or level on a spin bike, set at a pretty high resistance. Pedal faster to go faster, to slow you have to pedal forward, yet apply backwards pressure to slow down your forward momentum (kinda hard to describe). Like I said, you have to be pretty strong. David has to slow gradually at the end of a descent, so at a certain point he waves me past and I fly down the hill by myself. Then I wait anxiously at the bottom for him, hoping he didn't crash and comes around that last bend. There is a certain mentality when it comes to fixie riders, and the few I know are devout about it. I value my life too much to ride one on the road, much less a mountain.

BTW, I did post note about my tour weekend:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=13707

And my experience with a bike from a Neutral Race Support team:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=13689

Had a blast! And I actually touched Paolo Bettini! And another thing... during the final stage of the Tour, which was a 70 mile circuit race, a breakaway got away early and led for almost the entire race. A few laps to go, the peloton cranked it us and started chasing. They were going so freakin' fast!!! The best part was when the peloton swallowed up the last lone rider of the breakaway... right in front of us! It was an incredible thing to see. It was like watching a huge, humming swarm of colorful bees swallowing someone up. It was merciless. I'll never forget that sight.