Today was my first winter ride with my new single speed bike. Ya, one gear does it all. 47X16 or 79+ inches each rotation of the crank. Not bad on the flat or gentle rolling roads. Just about right for that kind of training. It turns out that gear is a bit stiff for around South Whidbey Island. Like rolling backwards on the steep climbs. Not really. Though it was very very hard to climb some of the steeper climbs in the 79 inch gear. So I went to Half Link, the local shop and discussed a better gear with David the owner. We both agreed that 79" was just to much. Even for a young light guy, that I'm not. So I ordered a 20 and 22 tooth rear gear. 20 tooth cog on the rear gives me a low 60s" gear, 62 or something. A lot better than what I have now. The 22 tooth gear gives me a gear in the mid 50s". So I will try both out for a bit. With a 50s" gear I will be able to climb even the steepest hill around here. It's all for fun. The normal road bike is still the best training. The single speed bike is all about fun and using what I have. I have a very nice track bike collecting dust and I will not be riding track, I think. The track bike has a way nice set of wheels to. Boy, did it ride nice. Just strait as an arrow. Much better than the road bikes. All this time I thought it was me making the bike a little loose. Than I ride a really tight bike and WOW. The bike was so much fun to ride. I was also invited to start riding with the organized rides around here by David at Half Link. That was very nice of David to offer. During the hard winter months having others to train with is helpful. I always ride though. Maybe I can be that extra boost to get others out on their bikes this winter. Well, I'll see about that. That's it for today. Great to be writing again.
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