Adventure Pace Running

There’s no doubt that fixed-gear cycling was the spark behind my love for cities—or at the very least, a major contributing force.
Especially New York City.
Monstertrack.
Fixed culture.
Alleycats and the like.

It bred a dark, gritty endurance underworld that I found utterly captivating.

Riding fixed defined my early twenties and stretched well into my early thirties — until a few too many close calls in Boston made it clear:
My love for adrenaline,
the pull of the fixed cog,
and the hypnotic flow of weaving through traffic —
It was going to kill me.

And just like that, the All-City Big Block was retired.

But what I’ve found since is that urban running has come to fill that space in an unexpected way.
It has scratched the same itch:
that mix of endurance and adrenaline and exploration.
It’s meshed the two in a way that feels far safer—
no helmet required.

And yet, elements of the fixed-gear mentality still trickle into my city runs:
The exploration.
The adventure.
The quiet thrill of going where you shouldn’t.
The endless permutations of streets and avenues.

Of slipping past boundaries—trespassing, perhaps—just enough to feel alive.
Venturing through infrastructure not designed for a cyclist or a runner

So as I ride this commute on my non-fixed gear bike,
I pay tribute:
To the fixed-gear bicycle.
And to urban running—
its quieter, sneakier descendant.