One gear? Really?
This was the typical reaction from my friends when I told them I was competing in the UK Single Speed Champs in Drumlanrig. For those of you who don’t know Drumlanrig is in Dumfries and Galloway and is amazing place to ride - racing or not.
The race took place on the Drumlanrig estate which contains a lot of history in the shape of a huge country house with a little cycling folklore to boot. The course that we would embark upon on that rainy morning was already a challenge to riders with gears but to us single speeders it was much more. Standing about four hundred yards away from a veritable sea of bikes we contemplated what lay ahead. Go! We all ran to our bikes, some poor folks struggling to remember where they had left their steed. As I mentioned the course was quite technical at the best of times. A lot of ups coupled with tonnes of rocks and tree roots to negotiate. We were to do three laps (if we could) and were allowed to take a few short cuts on the way provided we chugged a beer at the proper stage on the way round.
Resting wasn’t really a problem as the high volume of riders meant that we all stopped at one point due to congestion. I was lucky enough to witness some super fast riders that weekend giving me incentive to ride my single speed more. I had a great time in Drumlanrig and I can highly recommend you check it out, single speed or not.
Should you want to try this single speed madness there are loads of options available to check out from Trek, Cannondale and Genesis plus loads of custom build options for those of you with deep pockets. You may still be thinking “only one gear, why?!” But I promise you once you try it; it becomes a very addictive past time. Join the cult and maybe I’ll see you at the next event and we can have a beer and ride some bikes…