It's not so much a zen thing really...

(That's a damn sexy man right there. Photogenic too. But check out that reflective tape. Holy Cow!)

If you read articles about fixed gear bikes, most of them will tell you that riding a fixie is "totally a zen thing, man". In fact, if you google the keywords "fixie" and "zen", you get 32,700 responses. (The best of which is BikeSnob NYC's - http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2007/12/genuine-article-reporting-on-fixed-gear.html). The general gist is that fixies are supposed to be purer, and let you experience a greater connection with the bike and the ride, and a lot of other horseshit. Irrational enthusiasm for fixies is to cycling what critical theory is to academia - moderately entertaining occasionally, excruciatingly pretentious the rest of the time, and of dubious value long-term.

So why did I buy one? Well, because I'd heard how much fun they are, and because I wanted a road bike instead of the commuter conversion mountain bike I'd been cruising around on, because mountain bikes have a fair bit of rolling resistance and aren't very fast. Since I'm not a small man, I figured a bike without derailleurs might be good, since I'd probably blow out all but the high end models, and I didn't want to spend 4 figures on a bike. Plus, I'd heard that they offered a much better workout, since your legs are in motion the whole time.

So is riding it a zen thing?

Well, so far, not so much. In fact, it's much more of a Protestant Work Ethic thing, in which the effort I put in now will hopefully be rewarded in the future.

Sure, it is pretty much silent (except for the occasional creaking of the bottom bracket protesting the fact that it's carrying the weight of a tandem touring team in the form of one rider), and I am DEFINITELY getting a better workout, but there is a lot of effort involved.

The last two rides I've been on, I've flatted, which has been a drag. So I've finally bought slime tubes, and I've been OK so far. (12 or so bucks well spent!)

But now that I can ride without constantly flatting, I've become aware of just how uncomfortable a road bike actually is. Especially a bike designed as a track bike, with some serious drop between the saddle and the handlebars. Then there's the issue of using toe clips, instead of the platform pedals I'd been used to riding.

I had been working on adjusting everything, assuming I'd find the right fit and get everything sorted. But after a couple of rides in which adrenaline fatigue and the awkward position made me start having to choose between being able to reach the brakes and having a comfortable ride, and almost swerving into traffic because I couldn't get my shoes into the toe clips, I realized changes needed to be made.

So it was off to REI for a stem raiser, a shorter and steeper stem, and some mountain bike toe clips.

So now my fixie looks like it was designed for touring rather than the track.

But that's OK. With the handlebars at seat level, rather than WAY below, I can ride in the drops easily, which means there's not a trade-off between braking and comfort. With the double pronged MTB toe clips, I can get in and out of the pedals easily.

Now I just need to ride it more. I bought it so I'd have something faster than my MTB, but between my naturally high level of caution and not being particularly fit, I can't go up hills very fast with no gears, and I can't go down hills very fast without my legs getting spun out, so I'm getting passed by other people on mountain bikes right and left.

Maybe my effort will pay off, but right now, it's totally not a zen thing.

But it is pretty sweet on the flats, and it is a kick ass workout.