Fixed Gears and DOMS

Ok, so I finally joined the club and bought a fixed gear. Not a track bike or some converted 1980's road bike, but a Van Dessel Country Road Bob. I've wanted one for a while, and a used one finally came my way. It's the original version, with curved tubes in a glaring Kawasaki (or Nickelodeon slime, depending on your frame of reference) green.

My justification: I've always wanted a fixed gear to participate in mythic "fixed gear winter training," and with the flip flop hub I can race single speed cross, too. What a deal!

Slinging waffles makes any real attempt to race totally futile, so I may be able to do one or two races during the season but with no focused training or good fitness. Therefore I can't justify a really nice 'cross bike (although I covet them). And racing single speed allows you to race at whatever level you want - there are really fast guys and really slow guys and everything in between in the single speeds. You can always feel like you're racing. And no derailleurs to ruin.

We'll see if racing happens. For now it's my fixed gear commuter. My maiden voyage was Friday. I have a nice commute, thirteen miles each way with a few rollers (some up to a mile in length) and some traffic navigation. It's great as a set of intervals or an easy recovery ride. On a geared bike, that is.

I had no idea how much work it was going to be on a fixed gear. The flats and uphills are easy enough as long as I remember to keep pedaling. The longer downhills (especially with traffic lights) were a workout. I was all over the bike using everything to slow it down and stop. My shoulders were very tired by the time I got to work. Going home seemed pretty good and I thought it was a success.

It's Saturday night and I am icing my legs because I can barely walk. My quads feel like someone punched them thirty times each. All that back-pedaling equaled hundreds of squats. And I have not been lifting weights since last fall. DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. And I'll be loading/unloading my truck and standing all day tomorrow. I'll let you know when I can stop wincing when I walk.