The sun is shining on you, the city is restricting you, a breeze is blowing on you. Perfect. The tram is [again] crowded − I don’t care− because it’s finally the right time and the right weather to put back my Fixie on the tarmac. A Fixie ? what’s this you may ask. Everyone who knows & appreciates are likely to be out on the road.
Fixies are road-going circuit bicycles. A framework including the saddle, two wheels, a handlebar and a catchy, rigid crank-pedal combination. Everything else is bells and whistles. A straight, smooth paved road, and you’ll reach close to 70 km/h . Nothing else is needed.
But enough of wikipedia’an phrases.
Apart from the countless broken bottles, Rostock is perfect for fast cycling. Smooth streets. Uphill-
downhill stretches. A perfect harbor view near the Neptune shipyard hall. The road along the coast and the Promenade. The view of the sea in Warnemünde. Above all, the country roads between unspoiled nature and small villages are magic. ‘So a tour can be about 100 km long’ as E.A., a Fixiebuddy, told me recently as he was trying to entice me into such great lunacy. By the way, a typical type − no fear, no mercy − just pure desire and pleasure at ridin’ a Fixie.
But it’s not just the trips persé. It’s the craft, the flaunt, the subtle but distinctive features that make the bike unique. Sure, this is could be seen as a more male-dominated undertaking at the moment − but girls are following suit.. The eternal contest for the most beautiful, best, most unique single-speed. But the endless possibilities of combination of parts and the knowledge that your bike looks and works the way you could imagine transcending a hobby and turning it into a lifestyle choice, to something sublime that separates you from A-to-B-traveller. In a good way.
AND. You are not alone. There are so many founding fathers here; all the known faces with the bikes which can be recognized from afar but only seen when you’re fast enough. As part of my daily lounge in my favorite cafe [short Ronja-promotion-filler] more and more new faces on Fixies can be seen.
Why should I drive a Fixie instead of a normal bicycle? – no one forces you to do anything. For me it’s a special feeling I get while ridin’. The fact that I don’t have breaks and gears in combination with a unicycle technique gives me something I can’t explain. You have to see it for yourself. On the open road an impression [wait, it’s better to say an emotion ] arises, that you can’t compare .You have to experience it.
What else can I say than climb on and drive off.
Fix your fear.
[aero]