Bike stuff...

For those of you who aren't familiar with my inane bike ramblings yet via some other source, I'll tell ya a bit about my penchant for bike stuff. I've worked in the bicycle industry for way too long, but it goes back a bit further.
I guess, like a lot of guys, there's the instinctual drive to have and work on mechanical things. Some tinker with cars, some RC airplanes, maybe a couple hop up vibrators, for all I know. Anyway, that I'm sure is part of the fascination. Most "bicycle enthusiasts," as the marketing geniuses refer to us, are all about the latest bleeding edge technology that's fresh off of Gran Prix motorcycle racing, or Supercross, or the aerospace industry. Probably the next largest segment are all about collecting vintage bikes from whatever era they deem is right before the world went straight down the shitter.
I belong to a smaller, but growing subculture. Singlespeeders. Bikes with only one gear. While some might look at bikes with one gear and automatically push us into "retro-grouch" status, there's a hell of a lot of guys here that spend thousands on new tech.
I don't have anything against new tech. Or old tech, for that matter. I do, however, have something against innovation for innovation's sake.
So I like simple bikes, ones that rely on hard work to get you to the top of a hill, instead of all that mechanical advantage. Sure, it's harder, and there's a bigger learning curve. But I do this because it's harder. If I wanted easy, I'd get something with an engine to get me up the hills!
To that end, I've been riding fixed gear bikes, or fixies, lately. If you're not familiar with the term, it means that the bike doesn't coast. Direct drive. If the wheel's turning, so are the pedals. Now, if you live in a big city, you can see your local bike messengers riding fixies. Simple, low maintenance, very few parts to replace, weather resistant. And thieves usually don't want to steal them. Pretty good attributes, if you ask me. So I started riding fixed on the road, like most people. Then, last year, I see this guy racing against me at the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race (this is an off road race) on a fixed gear. Well, maybe that's not completely accurate. He didn't so much race against me, as blast me back into the Stone Age. So I got to thinking, and thinking, and sure enough, within a few weeks I had set up an off road bike fixed.
Now, I have a fully custom built, just-for-me mountain bike that's never had a freewheel on it.
I love riding fixed off road. It's a bit slower, especially on the downhills, but it's great! You really need to focus on the here and now.
Alright, that's it. Here's some pics of my bike. Sorry for the double on the headtube shot, but I'm not very good at this computer-thingy.

Keep the rubber side down,

Los