The Essence of Riding Fixed

Last night when I was out on my ride I was reminded of this video that Jake Ricker and the Seattle crew put out several months ago...



I love this video. And not just because the riding is fantastic and the feel of the edit is really incredible. The thing I like the most about this vid is the fact that the entire first half is just footage of Zach cruising around the city on his bike.

The best thing about riding fixed is the riding. Just going out and ripping around the city. Maybe stop somewhere and mess around with a few tricks, and then cruise around some more. Bootleg Sessions is all about the messing around of course, but the riding is always underneath everything. It's implied.

I think that's what people who don't ride fixed (and some who do) don't really understand... the tricks are just fun. That's it. They're not the core of everything, they're not the sole purpose of being on the bike. And you know what? That's what makes them fun.

When I was riding flatland quite a bit, I would put my bike in my car, drive to a spot, and stay there. If I was having a bad day and couldn't pull anything, or if I didn't learn anything new, it felt like I had just wasted my time. I don't get that feeling on my FG. I'm just on it to ride my bike, and if I want to stop and goof off for awhile I can.

Please note that I'm not writing this to start any controversy. I know it's hard to interpret the sentiment behind things that are written on the internutz sometimes. I'm writing this from a sense of pure positivity. I had a great ride last night, I'm feeling really good, and this is what came out of it. That's all.