- A fixed path -

It's one of those facts of life that there are only so many hours in a day, and you only have so much energy to do everything. After about 6 years of 100-hour work weeks (starting a new biz ain't as easy as it looks) I am certainly not the svelte athlete that I was before this endeavor. Looking back on the photos of "skinny me," it's perplexing to remember how badly I felt I needed to lose a couple pounds at the time.

So here I am, starting the training regime again, and as always I am relying heavily on hours spent on a fixed-gear bike to provide serious base fitness in a hurry. The beast that I have built for this task is actually a modification of the track bike that we showed in Las Vegas this year (perched on a stand in the Pedros booth - we like the Pedros guys...). The frame is a combination of 6/4 and 3/2.5 Ti with some massive dimensions and wall thicknesses. The frame has been CHT/T treated. The fork is an old 38mm rake AlphaQ EX fork that has been resprayed (the glitter finish that came on it was hideous). AlphaQ also takes care of the stem and bars. Tektro brake levers are comfortable and cheap, and DA track cranks and BB and some trusty Zipp wheels finish it out.

For the first time, I decided to use a "doubler" so that both brake levers would work on the front brake. It looks like a pig up there, but I certainly appreciated the option of using both levers to lightly bleed off speed on some of the steeper downhills. Sure I could have done it one-handed, but for some reason my "road" brain just copes better with the modulation that two levers provides.

So here's to hours spent on a fixie, and the fitness that it brings. And watch out Meatball, I'm gunning for your spot on the team at Paris Roubaix next year...