Rides: FIXIE Militia!

Fixies by Giant.

Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

That is right, there were enough fixed gear riders (Nate, ED, and I) at the AJBW Thursday ride that we considered ourselves a militia. The term militia generally refers to a group of civilians that temporarily augment a legitimate army, but in this case militia refers to a niche of cyclists that augment no one, and instead of attacking human beings with the intent to kill we only attack to ride faster.

I have to recap the last nine days of riding for personal riding journal purposes.

On Wednesday, the 2nd of May, I rode a one-hour lap on Range Road.

On Thursday, the 3rd of May, I attended the usual AJBW ride. We conducted hilly interval training on Parkway, Damascus, Aumond, Boy Scout, and Monte Sano before the Lake Olmstead cool down. Afterward, back at the Fort I ran on the Barton Field track for an easy 10 minutes.

On Friday, the 4th of May, I did not ride, but as you readers may know I purchased my first FIXIE (see picture somewhere below)!

On Saturday, the 5th of May, I busted out the FIXIE for an exploratory and easy ride on Powell Road in the Grovetown area. Powell Road was lovely and I decided that it would be most appropriate to conduct further expeditions into the Grovetown area on Sunday.

On Sunday, the 6th of May, I did take the FIXIE for a much longer ride into Grovetown, as promised. I followed a somewhat preplanned route from Fort Gordon to town of Harlem and back to the Fort. The ride begins by going out Gate 1 and riding up Powell Road to Lewis Road, which connects to Reynolds Road. At the end of Reynolds Road I made a left turn onto Wrightsboro Road and rode through Grovetown all the way to Harlem on the Grovetown – Harlem Highway. In Harlem I made a right turn onto the Harlem – Appling Highway and eventually made another right turn onto Old Union Road. At the terminus of Old Union Road I made a left turn back onto the Grovetown – Harlem highway and rode to Grovetown. Then, I essentially backtracked to the Fort by riding down Reynolds, Lewis, and Powell Roads to complete the ride. I do not have a computer on my FIXIE, so I have no idea how long the ride was.

On Tuesday, the 8th of May, of course I road with AJBW! For your information, the Tuesday evening ride is now designated as the geared ride and the Thursday evening ride is designated as the fixed ride, that is, if you have the corresponding bicycles. On Tuesday, the group had a killer ride on the landfill route in which Nate made mincemeat of me and everyone else, but it is always a great work out to chase Nate for miles and miles. Afterward, I returned to the Fort for a 15 minute run on the Barton Field track.

On Wednesday, the 9th of May, I had a light ride scheduled, so I rode what I always dreamed would one day be the route for the first alley cat on Fort Gordon, always knowing that no such event will ever occur. I will not go into details. It is a secret route for FIXIE riders only! (Bring your messenger bag too and we will make 100 foot skid marks).

So, finally, on Thursday, the 10th of May, the militia was formed and we rode the hilly interval route, but this time I felt every hill deep within my legs, as I was unable to shift gears, EVER. Exhausting, but refreshing, I loved every moment of it. Hopefully, the troops can be rallied every Thursday, or I suppose Nate and I will have to hold it down alone as a duo and not a militia. Afterward, I ran for 15 solid minutes on the Barton Field track. My legs are tired.

Thank you, Andy Jordan, for selling me another great bike!

Get riding!