The brutality of zero tire clearance, and a reminder of a race...

I just got back from a lunch ride through some muck and mire, and have realized how much having a badass looking fixed gear with about 3mm of tire clearance in the front and back can suck. Bigtime. Sure it's fine on the road and makes everybody "ooh" and "ahh" over how tight your bike's clearances are, but once you're tearing through the mud picking up sticks and stones, forget about it. If you do the above while skidding down a hill, watch the fuck out! By the time I got to the bottom I had about 4" of mud and debris caked on and around my rear brake bridge, and my steerer tube was quickly filling with muck itself.

I had to enlist the aid of a stick to get my wheel spinning free and true again, after which point I didn't build up near that amount of mud but I did give myself a rather attractive rooster tail. Moral of the story: A badass looking fixed gear with zero tire clearance does not a make good cyclocross bike. Bring on the custom frame with fat tires and loads of clearance! More on that later...

I also wanted to remind everybody about a race coming up this weekend. Actually, there are THREE races coming up, but this one is a little different than the rest: it's FREE! 100% FREE! It'll cost you ZERO bones. That's right slackers, no lame excuses like "I'm soooooo broke this week because I spent all my money on shitty beer at a trendy bar and I don't get my allowance until next Tuesday" or anything. This race will cost you NOTHING except maybe a little blood, so what do you have to lose? Here are the details:

Shit goes down at Drungo Ice House at 29th and Rio Grande. Be there at 5pm to get registered, and make sure you're toting some kinda bag because this "messenger" style race will require you to pick up some packages. Sick prize support from Ozone and Drungo, so why not show up and walk away with some goodies for FREE FIDDY FREE! Awesome.

Can you tell I like the free events? And I may be broke, but I promise I'll buy a beer for the first person to show up in EITHER of those hats. Lawrence and Kevin didn't need to rock no lousy cyclists caps to messenger like a pro...