If one heads due south from Washington DC into the real world, keeping the Potomac to his right and the Chesapeake to his left, he does not fall off the end of the earth, but he does get to Leanardtown, MD, 5 mi. from Hollywood, in very pleasant country. Every fall, the local club (Patuxent Area Cycling Enthusiasts) sponsors a really nice and very well supported Century ride. I decided last minute to ride it, attraced by the announcement that it was mostly flat to rolling, with a few hills. It inspired me to pack both the Cinelli SC and the old Roma Sport fixed gear in the van and get up before civilization arises.
The good news was running into Our List's (whoops, Dale's list's) Paul Raley, who greeted me warmly and modestly showed his lovely deep red Bottechia. Paul's first reaction was that it might be a bit challenging on the fixed gear. His second thought was that I could make it, and that I should ride with him and his buddies. With them did I set off. On the fixed gear. This was nuts.
I rode my bike swap-meet Roma Sport, with FB HF hubs, track rims, sew-ups de jour, Magistroni cranks and a magnificent "patina" of chalky paint and rusty chrome. With an oval fork. Must have been built on a Monday, but a lovely ride. For the occasion, I changed out the many-cracked Brooks Swift for a modern saddle on an Ideale microadjust clip, and added an old Avocet cyclometer. And a Weinmann 500 brake...
About a mile out, it started to drizzle, which was a great excuse to drop out of fast company before they got fast. They finished in under 5 hr. After the drizzle lightened up, I got back on the road, and finished relaxed and a bit sore more than 7 hr. later. With a 67" gear, that is just over 94,000 crank revolutions. But hill climbing is no different from stair climbing. If you live in a 15 story walk-up. As expected, the downhills were more challenging than the ups. Let's see, 31.5 mph on a 67.5 is a cadence of 160, according to my old Cyclo-Pedia. That's why I used the brake to keep it down in the low 20s (mph) most of the time. Now, climbing at 8 mph = 40 rpm, just like stairs.
I really hadn't planned on doing this. That darned Ken Sanford set me up for it by telling me how much he enjoyed a fixed-gear century in Alabama last month. If he can do, can't I? Hubris is the mother of soreness, but your mileage may vary.
Harvey Sachs
McLean VA