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@thebaldbuzzard
Sorry for a bit of a boring story, but i think it fits here
My dad (now 77) was a great road racer and grass track racer in Ireland in the 50s/60s as i grew up in the 80s/90s he would take me out training and i loved his stories of how training should be a pleasure. All i remember other people saying was "no pain no gain".
Anyway my dad would hang the geared bikes up on 1st October and from then to 1st March it was 'fixed gear' only, adding a tooth here and there to get the power back, i would even have to ride my first few TT's of the year fixed (undergeared), getting faster and faster, desperate to get the geared bike down to finally throw everything at the TT course.
Since those days i have i great fondness for riding fixed, it's just great.
If it's TT and Sportives your riding, fixed will do you the world of good. Keeping a sensible gear stops you blowing a gasket after 20miles, and you will always finish.
My dad told me once that he rode his track bike from cork to tipperary (60miles) for a grass track event (25 mile), with his cane race wheels (wtf!) over each handlebar. Whats more he rode back after!! 145 miles in total on 46x15