{"id":254014,"date":"2026-07-21T12:02:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/21\/laid-back\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T12:02:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:02:59","slug":"laid-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/21\/laid-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Laid Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After mentioning<\/a> the Roaduno<\/a> yesterday I had to run right out and ride it:<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m sure you know how that works:<\/p>\n

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As usual, the bike felt fantastic, I immediately renounced gears as pointless, and then I committed to riding this bike and only this bike going forward:<\/p>\n

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Of course this will never, ever happen, and I completely forgot my pledge as soon as I got off the bike, but I can assure you that in the moment I totally meant it, and its ability to elicit such drunken promises is a testament to what an intoxicating bicycle it is.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I don\u2019t need to commit because I\u2019ve paid my dues as a singlespeeder, having participated in not one<\/a> but two<\/a><\/em> Singlespeed World Champtionships, plus a Singlespeed Cyclocross<\/em> World Champtionships<\/a> for good measure\u2013speaking of which, I noted in the comments the other day that this year\u2019s SSWC will take place right here in my home state<\/a>, even though Port Jervis really should be in Pennsylvania, or at the very least New Jersey:<\/p>\n

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For a moment I caught myself thinking \u201cMaybe\u2026,\u201d but then I realized I don\u2019t meet any of the criteria:<\/p>\n

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Single Speed Wonderland<\/em><\/h4>\n

PrePare yourselves for a total SingleSpeed take over of Port Jervis, NY. This will be a gathering of Friends and Awesome Humans from around the globe and you are invited as long as you can be one, but ideally both of those things no matter what you ride\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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At this stage in my life I am not even remotely capable of being either a \u201cFriend\u201d or an \u201cAwesome Human.\u201d Of course if they add a \u201cSolitary Cantankerous Old Misanthrope\u201d field I might reconsider. Then again, I ride my own personal Solitary Cantankerous Old Misanthrope World Championship pretty much every day, so I there\u2019s no reason for me to travel almos<\/em>t all the way to Pennsylvania for that.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I\u2019m glad to see that the SSWC tradition is still alive, and I do admit that if I still had my Artisanal Singlespeed<\/a> I might be more tempted:<\/p>\n

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Oh well.<\/p>\n

Speaking of ironic rides, Portland (the one in Oregon) used to be the where the most ebullient ones took place. Alas, look how far they\u2019ve fallen:<\/p>\n

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