Tell us about your weekend ride

There's one major difference for both examples you use, racing.

An 84" gear is a bit low for racing really, but for general on road fixed riding it's excessively high, and the damage it could possibly do to your knees is only something you'll find out about after it's too late.

There's a reason why a gear in the mid 60s to low 70s has become the norm for road riding over the years, because it allows you to maintain a decent average speed whilst allowing you to tackle most hills you'll encounter in the UK. And it won't trash your knees.

Did a 100k Audax from Thorne that plodded around the East Yorkshire/North Lincolnshire fens. As it was pan flat I thought it would be a great opportunity to do my first audax on fixed. It wasn't as there was a high wind that meant I alternated between undergeared and overgeared, grinding into a headwind with nothing to hide behind. By the end I was begging for a hill to hack up and spin down.
I also though it would be a good idea to bring it up to a 200k by riding over from Sheffield so at least had a few lumps at the expense of riding through Doncaster. Still, I have now managed to up the furthest distance I've ridden on fixed by 20 miles.

Andy p spot on.
the fella whos does 100k Aadax dont even need to mention what gear he did it in..

i did a 5 hour MTB/ Run navigation race, got 480 point which was same as the winning solo female, and the ride and run routes I chose were very satisfactory,
really happy with choices I made.
proper muddy endurance fun,
pics and results here
http://t.co/Kcgx5cu3
I was 14 / 66
http://www.openadventure.com/results/1112/quantocks/male_solo.html
reiew here-
http://www.run247.com/articles/article-1968-weekend-review%3A-january-7-%26-8,-2012.html