Hey you don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked ridden the streets of Bakersfield?
I like to ride and would everyday if possible. I really like the connection to my fixed gear bike.I do not do any tricks like some do. I leave that trendy stuff to the X and Y generation. Also, my gearing is probably too high but, I prefer speed over the fancy stuff and frankly I'm too old and scared to try some of that shit those kids do.
I run a 48T x 16T gearing which I think is around 80 gear inches and not totally downtown friendly for stop and go. I also run a front brake. It is my pacifier and also helps to slow down. I'm fully aware of the potential to endo but, it is a compromise between looks and safety. Yeah I know some say ditch the brakes for the aesthetics of the clean lines of the bike. Some say what is wrong with you keep the brakes. I say I will do WTF I want.
This bike is definitely fast and I have gotten up to around 27mph while sprinting and when in top shape can maintain 20-23mph.
Riding the streets of Bakersfield is like playing dodge ball with retards. Seriously... The biking culture is just starting to take off here but, still there are plenty of people who think cyclist should not be allowed on the road and who are more than willing not to share the road. I try to ride mostly the bike paths and outskirts of town. I like to ride fast with little stopping so I suppose that may mean I'm not part of the sub-culture of the fixie crowd. However, I have had my share of close calls and fun.
Hell even on the bike path some people are ignorant to the fact that a bicycle is a moving object and if you stop and stand in the middle of the bike path with your girl friend, family, friends or pets both parties stand a chance of getting seriously hurt. Some of the tough guys around here like to play the "I'm not moving out of the way" as a test of their man-ness to own both lanes of the path. I'm not sure if this is due to the ignorance of another biker being rude to pedestrians or just the fact that we have so many bad-asses in Bakersfield.
One day while riding down South Hst this woman and her teenage kids in a Ford Exploder almost hit me I was as far right as I could be (in the gutter) but, apparently that was not enough. She honked her horn and her kids yelled out the window at me. Funny thing is there was a stop light about 500 feet ahead. She was a few cars back at the light and as I pull up I noticed all of them are texting on their phones and all the windows are down. I pull up slowly and get to the back window and shouted as loud as I could SHARE THE ROAD!!!! They all jumped out of their skins and as their phones flew out of their hands and up into the air I decided it was probably not good idea to go in the same direction as them. I guess they all thought I was number one because as I moved to the sidewalk and was watching them pass through the light they all gave me the finger LOL.
Another time I was heading south on Chester and this lady was parked in the bike lane on the side. She made eye contact with me through her rear view mirror of her truck. I thought that was odd since it was a few seconds before I would pass the driver door. As I approached closer I noticed her looking at me through the side mirror of her truck. In an instant it dawned on me. I thought REALLY? no people are not that crass are they? In any case I decided not to trust her so I veered a couple feet further out from her truck while passing her and low and behold that bitch opened her door at the exact time I was passing her. Well she got the number one signal from me and a loud FUCK YOU LADY!!!
One beautiful summer day I decided to take a long ride from my house to Ming lake. This would be about a 40 mile round trip. No this was not a fixed gear ride as there are two many steep grades. I rode my touring bike (a 1992 trek multi-track setup with rack and panniers etc). Most of this route takes the city streets, then some bike path and finally a highway. About 3 miles out from Hart Park these guys in a Saturn Vue think it would be funny to throw there pop bottles at me while driving 60 plus mph. I'm fairly certain they did not take into consideration that what ever object they toss out the car would also be traveling at that speed. As fate would have it they were driving the only Red Saturn Vue that was parked at a picnic area at hart park.Geniuses I guess they did not think we were both heading in the same direction and that I possibly would be pissed off and try to find them while I was passing through the park. LOL. Just so happens that I find the car parked. But, it looks like a Mexican wedding with lots of folks partying and having a good time. Am I stupid? well sometimes but, not this time. I ride around the park until I find a park ranger and as luck would have it some sheriffs were setup for search and rescue because during that time of year people get into the river and drown. So I ask them if they could contact a park ranger for me. They ask me why and I tell them what happen. Two park rangers show up and I give them a description of the vehicle. One stays with me and the other tracks down the people who own the car. Soon the ranger relays back to his partner that he has found them and to come on over.
I ride over and the one ranger asks if I would like to press charges I say no but I would like to talk to them. The other ranger says you are not going to doing anything stupid and I respond not today. I meet the guys responsible and they are falling all over themselves apologizing. Obviously, I wait until they are finished and yes of course I chastise them. I tell them like them I'm a brother, a father, a husband and a son, I'm also an uncle and friend. I tell them that although what they did seemed harmless they could have seriously hurt me. That could be them and I could be them. I get on my bike and ride to Ming lake. Not too shortly later one of the rangers pulls up to me and says I do not know how you did it (from loosing my cool) and that I was more than a man than him. I thank him and think to myself not in my eyes but, thank you.
Every so often while riding fixed I forget that I'm riding a fixed gear bike. Not sure if in my case it is because I also ride quite often my mountain bike which is multi-speed or, if it is just brain fade. I haven't stacked yet knock on wood but, it usually happens when least expected. For example, the other day I was coming down an over pass on my fixie and was hauling ass; once I knew I was going to make the light I started sprinting. After I nearly passed thru the intersection, for some reason I thought I could coast. Luckily I have toe straps so the bike did not throw me but, it tried and I bet I had the stupidest look on my face as well as the spectacle being shot off the seat then pulled back down by the momentum of the bike. I almost shit myself. The shock of being shot out like that caused be to almost loose control the front end went left to right to left to right until I straightened out and started riding smoothly like that was some sort of trick riding I was doing.
I have forgotten my bike was in fixed mode a number of times it seems it is usually when I'm tired or taking a sharp turn for what ever reason I think I can coast... The one thing it always does is give me a rush of adrenalin and of course I look around to see if anyone has caught me LOL. I mostly ride for fun and fitness and absolutely love all of my bikes. My wife however is not as enamored with them as I am. Hopefully I can convert her.
