The "Hey Fixie!" flyer

So I have had too people mention to me before and after Nik Cee mentioned it again and sent me the poster, I figured it was time to get off my ass and write about the "Hey Fixie" rides occurring at Science World on Wednesday at 7pm (see the calendar or click on the poster).

The "Hey Fixie" ride apparently stems from what has been happening on the streets, as one fixie rider yells to another to hook up to ride and learn some new skills.

And all you have to do is take a gander at the poster and you know you will be in for a good time. Their objective is getting you to rock your fixed gear machine as fast as possible and apparently they have mad skills at giving people the tips they need to learn how to do no hander trackstands, to one leg over the handle bar skids, to backward circles.

Yeah, but I already know what I am doing

Well that is what I thought too until I learned a little lesson about skidding. Skidding I have recently learned is less about stopping but more about surfing. Right after I got my fixed gear, a few years back, I learnt how to skid, probably within the first week. But to me it was for utilitarian purposes. It was a way to regulate my speed without using rim brakes (although I do ride with a brake, I like to use them only in emergencies). To me the whole point was to see if you were smooth enough rider not to need brakes.

When I initiated skids I would keep my weight back, hope the bike to initiate the skid, and hold it from strength in my legs. I would often remain in the saddle or even be leaning to the back. I knew a lot of people would lean their weight forward to unweight the rear, but I thought this was defeating the purpose since I wanted to stop, therefore I want to keep as much weight on the rear as I could.

Later I would learn this was a major mistake. Not from the perspective of stopping, but from the perspective of FUN. And boy-O-boy was I missing out on a world of fun. I was totally wrong. Stopping is just a secondary by product of the skidding process. Skiddign is all about taking your bike and surfing the pavement, something that is hard, intimidating and should not be the source of so much fun. With your balance point up front you can slide the bike around where ever you want. It is absolutely intoxicating and addicting, and I have no idea how I forgot these facts for the piles of tires I used to go through as a kid skidding my BMX across a dirt lot.

A Learning Environment

So don't make the same mistake I have been making... learn from others. If people are doing something there is probably a damn good reason for it, and that is why you should come out to these types of rides. There are a lot of cool things in this world that can take an awful long time to learn. Why not take a short cut and learn from others!

So if you are located in Vancouver or are coming out soon, well then make sure to hit up the "Hey Fixie!"

Update

There is now a hey fixie group that will has its own calendar and its own posts etc.