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a night-time revelation |
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I'd always dismissed those who said that singlespeeding at night was the most fun you could have on a bike. Until this year. Previous experiences had been terrible. Progress was slow and I tripped up on every obstacle. I hated it. If there was somewhere derailleurs ruled it was in the dark. Never mind that the jockey wheels fell out once or twice. That's just shoddy maintenance. Never mind that everything clatters and graunches and all the wildlife in a 2 mile radius scarpers. If you wanted to get over things gears rocked. But now I have seen the light. Or rather the lack of it. I have embraced the darkness on a one speed. Stealth one-speeding is where it's at. Surprise the wildlife at the last minute. Ride smooth or fall off. Three things changed my mind. First off the ground got dry this year. As bikers we're a bit more attuned to the weather than the average person. Assertions that a summer was good can be refuted instantly. Your arguments are based on the number of times you commuted in the rain/clogged the washing machine/lost your bike at the bottom of a particularly large puddle/sat looking out of the window then went out anyway. I can assure you that we haven't had a consistently good year since 1996. Mud plugging on a singlespeed was never easy at night. Never enough light to plan the necessary "thrutches" in advance. Result: Hit mud. Stall. Put foot down which disappears past the ankle. Swear. Take gears out next time. Secondly I've got a sensible gear. Instead of an inherited 34/16 which worked well in daylight (and doesn't hurt as much as you'd think up the hills) I've got a 32/16. Little obstacles are now a lot easier. Thirdly I've been motorbiking. It's not just downhillers who can benefit from this you know. This has taught me a better ride position. After years of knobbly tyres I have finally shed my roadie heritage. The long/low race position has been replaced with a more upright nun-with-a-basket stance. And elbows. Get 'em forward and out. There that's better. Winter is coming. That time of year when gears destroy themselves and one-speed simplicity rules. This year it rules at night too. October 1999
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