An Ode to Sam the Singlespeed

No, I'm not going to get all poetic on you.  Not really my thing.

When I ride to work, it is typically on Sam the Singlespeed.  Sam is an early 90's Raleigh touring bike that has been converted over to a singlespeed.  There is a rear rack from which I hang a kitty litter bucket pannier with work clothes, my lunch and other odds and ends.

Sam was originally a 12-speed and was my first real road bike.  I rode him for a little more than a year, including doing my first century ride (The Colorburst around the Lowell/Rockford/Ada area).

Once I got Gimli the Road Bike, I didn't really know what to do with Sam.  I liked Sam, probably for sentimental reasons.  The switch to a singlespeed seemed pretty obvious.  It cost something like $25-30 at the LBS.

Whenever I ride Sam, I am reminded of how annoying gear shifting is.  You are always aiming for the "Golden Gear".  You know, that perfect gear that will allow you to glide along with practically no effort and at a high speed.

In case you are perplexed, that gear doesn't really exist.  You get glimpses of it every now and then when wind, weather, mood, and terrain mix together in that elusive mix that leads to cycling perfection.  These glimpses are fleeting, to say the least.

Sam just goes.  We don't worry about gears.  Sometimes we pedaling harder.  Sometimes we pedal along smoothly.  Other times we are not pedaling at all, just gloriously coasting down the hill, Sam and I.

Sam is reliable.  Sam is always there.  Gimli has always been more finicky (must be all those gears).  While Gimli is off getting a pedi-mani, Sam says, "Wanna go for a ride?"

Sam is heavy and slow and cumbersome.  He makes a series of odd noises.  I don't know where most of them come from.  They are just there.

Sam is not pretty.  He is scratched and dinged and dirty.  He gets a nice wash every now and then, but not often.  Still, he is always there.

Once I rode from Midland MI to Grand Rapids MI (107 miles) on Sam because Gimli had something or the other wrong with him.  One-hundred and seven miles on a singlespeed bike.  Sam handled it well.  Didn't even flinch.

Thanks Sam.