Finding My Right Ride - by Britney Dub
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 11:37AM For me riding bikes never sounded like a good time. Of course this was when I was still in High School and would have much rather preferred staying in my room painting, or blogging on live journal than going outside and getting some fresh air. I blame this largely in part to the fact the bike I did own, was a 30lb beach cruiser, which despite having gears still seemed like more of a chore to ride than a leisure activity. But all of that seemed to change when I was about 22 and found the art of fixed gear. For Christmas I had asked my mom for a new bike, and was stoked when she agreed and told me to do some research and find exactly what I was looking for. Leaving it up to me was probably her way of making sure that she wasn’t going to spend another $500 on something I would just let sit in my garage.
At that time, a lot of my friends were riding the Bianchi Pista, a steel brakeless frame, that to be honest sort of intimidated me. However Bianchi with its reputable name and vast selection of bikes in my price range, also offered the San Jose- a cyclocross bike that came stock with front and rear brakes. I was sold. Shortly after receiving my bike for Christmas I was out everyday riding all over the city. It was around that same time that I had moved from the city of Orange to Costa Mesa and found a few group rides starting with Orange County Critical Mass. Critical Mass (a slow paced 15 mile ride that was open to anyone and everyone who owned a bike) not only introduced me to so many people who road locally in my area but also provided a sense of community like I had never before experienced. Some of my closest friends were made through that bike ride, including my current manager at LBFG Citygrounds (a local specialty bike shop located in the East village of downtown Long Beach).
It wasn't long after that I became more comfortable with riding that I had decided to make the switch from single speed to fixed. Another provided feature on my San Jose that I had looked for when purchasing my bike. However what I didn’t know at that time was the meaning of a “gear ratio” and the fact that my bike was set up for cyclocross and not for basic street riding. So while my friends were pumping away and gaining speed, I was trailing behind spinning and spinning but going nowhere fast.
I knew what had to be done it was definitely time for an upgrade. And so in the summer of 2008 I was given the bike I still ride today, a 2006 Fuji Track Pro. It’s aluminum frame and larger gear ratio were just the tools I needed to keep me up with the pack. Little did I know all that time I had spent riding the Bianchi was slowly turning me into a strong competitive rider, just like Lance Armstrong training for the tour.
Britney Dub is a 26 year old SoCal native. She graduated with her Associates in Art from Orange Coast College in 2006. She's traveled to over 15 countries world wide and loves painting and riding bikes in her free time. By day she works full time at LBFG Citygrounds in the East Village of Downtown Long Beach, and by night she's an amateur taxidermist specializing in animal preservation using alcohol and salt. In the future she plans to sell her creations to local businesses and perhaps one day have her own shop.