I appreciate all the help from listers in helping me understand that I do not want to try L'Eroica on a fixed gear, at my age or half my age. Maybe even a third my age, when we could conquer everything.
But that does not end the technical issues:
I do not understand the nature of the unpaved surfaces (or for that matter, the paved surfaces). Esteemed Brethren and Sistern, is there a consensus on minimum tire width that is comfortable and steers well on these surfaces? Best choices? I have lots of great wheels for sew-ups, but no wide sew-ups. I have some candidate wired-ons, but some are 27" (presumed hard to get spares Over There, and we will be staying a bit and hopefully riding some), and some are straight rims, instead of hook beads, so they have fairly strong pressure limitations.
FWIW (too much) my weight ~190# = ~86 kilo.
Thanks in advance,
harvey sachs
mcLean va