Singlespeeding versus Geared bikes. What do you think??

Singlespeeding to freedom. 42x18  and 42x15 fixed on the other side. 700x33mm Rivendell Jack Browns. Rivendell Quickbeam bike.

So I was having this thought while riding the Demi-dirt a couple of weeks ago. I started the ride quite stiff and feeling kind of painful at the start at 330 am. Soon enough my legs started to loosen up as I went up and down the hills. I spun out the gear and was churning at about 18 miles per hour. I had a little fear in thinking of tackling 200 miles in this way. I truly thought I would have a horrible day with my cocky, dumb decision. Who was I kidding? Who was I trying to impress? I guess I just wanted to see what would happen. 

In just 3 hours we had made it to Sycamore and my legs were fresh. No pain, no nothing. At around mile 150 I got sick and tired of spinning my legs off. We had a slight tailwind and I just wanted to get home. So I flipped my wheel over to the fixed side which is 42x15. It felt great to have a higher gear and I instantly brought it up to 20mph. 

I felt awesome riding this way. My feet were killing me with my old shoes and the Flite Max saddle that I was trying out was killing my behind. I should not experiment with a saddle on a 200 mile ride but I should did find out the Max is a no go. 

This past Sunday I rode 105 miles on my Gunnar Geared Cross bike. This bike has a 34x45 in front with a 11x34 in rear. All day my legs felt heavy. All day I searched for the right gear with no avail. I spun out and I mashed the heavy gears. I arrived home tired and sore. I went straight to bed and fell asleep. 

Why is this? Why did I end the 200 mile ride on the singlespeed fresh?? Does not thinking of shifting have something to do with it? Does having only one gear  condition the legs to work with that gear alone???  Is it easier to ride a singlespeed in long distances??? 

These are the questions I have and am working on. IF you have any ideas let me know. Ben Shockey, Troy Krause, Jay Barre and others have finished Trans Iowa on singlespeeds.  

I need to find out. Soon. 

Ari 

Early Riding times.

It hasn't been easy but I am trying to adopt to riding early, early morning on Sundays. This means getting to bed early on Saturday. That doesn't work since I am serving at the restaurant until late. But once you set your alarm and just jump out of bed it gets easier. I also have all my stuff layed out the night before. I put a little extra pressure in my tires so by morning they are pumped right. Bottles in the fridge ready to go. So, I wake up at 330, get ready, and by 4 I am rolling out there. At this time there is no traffic. All the drunks are home. There is a couple of delivery guys out there and you pretty much have the whole place to yourself. 
So last time I left at 4 am and got home at 1130 am with 105 miles on my legs. I napped and had the rest of the Sunday to enjoy with the Family.
Give it a try and let me know if you want to ride with me. 
Ari 

Ogden ave is a ghost town at 4 am on Sundays. 

The new Stearns rd.  project. Truly impressive. 

Fox river over Stearns rd. 

Making it into 2013.

As most of you know I am not very techy at all. However, we at the shop are making an effort to be up with the times. We have been updating our facebook account so you know what we do. Also good friend Ricardo passed onto me a Garmin 705 so I can learn all about GPS. I think it is a valuable tool for when I get lost out there. Here is what I did today. Departure time was 4 am and I arrived at 1130 am with 100+ miles.
Thank you again Ricardo,
Ari

T.J.'s Macho Man Disc

Certain people can ride certain bikes. T.J. can only ride bikes that are well made and bombproof. His Pugsley has seen endless miles and variations and is one of his favorites. Then he added an All City Spacehorse and fell in love with it. It's his do it all bike. Now he has added the new Macho Man Disc. This bike is amazing and he says that it handles like mad. I can't wait to see it live and throw a leg over it. 

Ari 

Demi-Dirt 200 August 18th, 2013

The long awaited Demi-Dirt came and went in a flash. I had to work at the restaurant on Saturday so I knew that I was not going to get a whole lot of sleep.  Jay on the otherhand was out in Chicago doing some festivities and he somehow told me he would meet me at my house at 3 a.m. 
Was he going to Sleep?? Was he crashing in my driveway? I dozed off to sleep and in a blink of the eye B.K.'s phone went off. My eyes were burning like hell. I jumped off the bed and made myself ready. By 3 am I was dressed and ready. Jay rolled into my driveway with the allnighter look on his face. 
We started the Demi-Dirt at exactly 330 am. DBD time. We rolled down Ogden and started to churn the pedals. Jay was on his trusty Prototype Gunnar while I was on my Rivendell Quickbeam. I was turning the 42x18 singlespeed and my legs liked it. We were riding on rte 64 while a small pickup truck creeped on us. It was Ron trying to catch up to us. He had missed his alarm and in a jiffy he parked and was on the bike. 
The pace was brisk and I later found out Jay was hurting a bit. We made it to Sycamore in 3 hours flat. We got some food and met up with Bonk King, Jakey La Cruz, Dereek Von Weider and the famous LLama. He had decided to join us and I was really happy to catch up with him. 
We rolled down 64 and were really cooking the pace for a ride that would last 200 miles. Ron rode fantastic with a smooth pace that was unnoticeable. Jakey La Cruz rode with 15 stitches in his back with a recent surgery. He wore a short sleeve dress shirt so his would would not sweat. The Bonk King tucked in his aerodynamic position rode like a champ. 
We made it to Polo,IL by 11 am with a hundo in our legs. We ate at the Subway and started to roll back. The singlespeed was doing me good and the more I spun the more I wanted. AT mile 100 Jay started to come through and feel better. We came back towards Oregon and then stayed off 64 since traffic had gone nuts with Harleys and weekenders. 
We got on the Great Western and the 42x18 was starting to mentally destroy me. I wanted a harder gear. I flipped my wheel around to the fixed gear side and the whole world was a better place. We arrived home trashed. Wifey and my Sister in Law had cooked up a marvelous dinner and we ate like monsters. Jay was done, I was destroyed with a saddle issue and pain in my feet. I tried a new saddle out and it did not work for me. My shoes are so worn out that my feet were in pain. Other than that I could have gone longer.
It was a pleasure to ride with the Llama. He has really learned to Dixon, Polo, Oregon area and he showed us some awesome roads. His Salsa Warbird is amazing and I could not stop looking at it. Here is a list with riders and their rigs for future reference.
Jay  Gunnar Crosshairs
Bonk King Salsa Casseroll
Jakey La Cruz   Salsa Casseroll
Dereek V. W.   Singular Peregrine
Ron N.   Gunnar Crosshairs
Llama  Salsa Warbird
Ari   Rivendell Quickbeam
The ride as a blast and I thank you Gentlemen for coming out. 
Thank you very much!!!!

Ari 

Leaving at 330 am. 

Jay and Ron

Jakey hammering down 64

Gang in Oregon, IL. 

Llama and Dereeka

Jay on his trusty Gunnar

Polo IL. 

Near Polo,Il. 

Ride is finally done. 

All smiles with sore legs.




Thanks .
Ari