And turned it into this (with some help from a guy I know who works in a bike shop):
It's a worthy and capable machine and plenty of bike to give me a taste of the single-speed craze that's become so popular. A racing machine it is not, but nevertheless I wanted to give the track a try and this was all I had. So I took it out to the Northbrook Velodrome on one of the last "beginner" nights of the track season - nights designated specifically for newbies like myself to get acquainted with track riding and racing.I was nervous for a couple reasons. First, though I was proud of the bike I'd built (note the fancy photoshoot picture), I knew it had no business visiting a velodrome. It was an old Fuji touring frame I'd stripped down and built up with the cheapest eBay scraps I could find - so long as they were red and looked cool I didn't really care. There was a real part of me that expected the bike to explode into pieces the first time I put any real torque into the pedals. Thankfully, it never did. Second, I'd barely ridden a fixed gear bike in my life, save for a few trips around the block and making circles in the nearest parking lot. Tonight, we would be riding in a pack and even doing some mock racing. I was there to have fun and get some experience on the track but had no idea what I was doing so was a bit anxious that I might do something stupid and wreck the night. I didn't.
I've done my fair share of road racing over the past few years, but this is very different. With no gears and no brakes, it is a very purist form of cycling, and scarier and less scenic too. We spent some time just rolling around the track, warming up and getting comfortable while getting some introductory lessons on proper track etiquette from the coaches. Then out of nowhere they said, "Okay, go ahead and sprint," and everyone took off at full speed. "Oh shit," I thought, here comes the moment where I prove just how bad an idea it was to bring this bike here. I wasn't about to sit it out though, so I took off with them. My gearing was too low so I was spinning like crazy to keep up, but I was keeping up. It's hard to explain the feeling the first time you hit the bank of the turn at full speed. You lean into the turn and your brain tells you that your pedal is going to hit the ground so you want to keep that inside pedal up - but that's not an option - so you spin through it and it never does touch. I went through the first couple turns at speed convinced I was going to die, my heart rate shooting through the roof with dread, bracing for the inevitable carnage. It took a couple laps for my brain to fully accept the reality that I couldn't touch a pedal down even if I wanted to.
The rest of the night is a blur. I was having so much fun I didn't want it to end. I was sad when they made us leave. It was my only trip to the velodrome last summer, but I knew then that I'd be coming back for more. Which brings me to the best part - my new toy:
See you at the track!
