Last night I was all primed for a jaunt around the Bays on the Langster. The temperature had dropped a bit by the time I knocked off work, so the 10 minute get dressed ritual was in full swing. Feeling brave, I opted for knee warmers rather than full legs. Locking up the shop and swinging out into the street, I was met with rain. By the time I'd ridden 100 metres, my exposed calves felt like ice. My glasses were rendered useless, and the Bay ride was quickly put on the back burner. But there was one final task... the climb up Carlton Gore Road. Usually I take the longer, not-as-steep option of Maida Vale Road, but the direct route would get me home earlier, but not necessarily drier. Now as any fixie/singlespeed rider knows, you have to attack the climbs or suffer the ignominity of walking. Up ahead I saw a red flashing light and made it my prey. This guy was going up at a good clip, spinning a nice cadence at a good pace. Asd I passed him I offered a cheery 'hi', not wanting to seem like some show-off wanker. That's the conundrum... because you have to stomp it out of the saddle, you can seem to others as some sort of commuting hero. But on the upside, climbing on a fixie is faster, more painful and definately character building. And when you sit down, you have to get 'in the drops' to generate some power, which has the benefit of making you feel like Pantani... forza fixed gear!
And now for today's eye candy
2 comments:
I wish I could commute by bike. Some of the folks that work at AT&T Labs and live locally commute by bike. Getting into Manhattan from here is hard by bike. Unlike California the NJ Transit system is not bike friendly.
Wellington is great for bike commuting. Back in Australia I hardly ever rode to work, but I will be doing it more when I get back I think.
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