Current Projects chat and miscellany

Hi there, first post.

I was in heavy traffic in Central London and cautiously moved out behind a bus to overtake. Although I was still on my side of the road, as I moved out behind the bus, coming down at full speed in front of me was a courier on a Fixie He was fully in my lane. He had no way of stopping and so instead kind of bounced off the bus and then did a wierd flip over the handle bars and hit the floor with his shoulder. Thankfully he didn't crash into me, which would have been bad.

Can anyone here please exlain how to perform an emergency stop with a fixed wheel bike? And please explain how track bikes like this work in heavy traffic in Central London?

It's funny because as I looked at him on the floor, I realised that this bike would probably work fantastic on a kind of track with no opposing traffic, but are ridiculous to be used in London - unless of course one's aim is to travel faster than it's possible to stop safely.

Every now and again, our civilization is advanced by an 'agent of change', and i feel that Okay may be one such figure; an almost mystical being who moves among us bit is not, quite, of us. As such Okay richly deserves are thanks and reverence. Until i read his post today i had been falling off my bike several times a day, yet the reason for this painful routine remained elusive. Of course, now, thanks to Okay's erudition, Eureka! it's dawned on me why.... all this time i had been riding a fixed gear bike. Knowing this will surely safeguard me from future mishaps. And, conversely, the knowledge that I've been riding my great-great-great grandfather's penny farthing for many years now at semi-professional track racing events across the UK will surely mean I no longer finsh last with quite such alarming regularity. Thanks once again, Okay!