Bicycle Fixation Weblog
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07/12/2009: "Fixies & Trailers"
A stunning Southern California day today, warm and clear and clean, with a light breeze, so I rode to the beach for the first time in many weeks. down Jefferson to the Ballona Wetlands, along Pershing past the west end of the airport, then through the hilly beach towns--Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach--to the little square at the foot of the Hermosa Beach pier. A pastry and a bit of desultory wandering later, I headed back, this time along the beach bike path, watching the people in their festive ease, and stopped at the Bridge at Playa del Rey, my regular hangout on these rides.That's where I spotted this nice little fixie, complete with extravagant carbon-fiber front brake and big yellow kid trailer behind.
Turns out the rider was Ken Yamakoshi, owner of Parkpre Bicycles, and designer of the fixie too. Not to mention toddler-chaser, as his kid was hilariously active this morning!
A friend of his was with him, riding a CF Parkpre--also with Burley attached!
The fixie, which was stickered "Jaxson," was a nice clean design, with Soma "sparrow" handlebars. (Sorry that the Crappy Cellphone Picture shows so little detail.)
But the sweetest thing was to see a guy who mostly makes dedicated race bikes also involved in a practical bike--and my tens of thousands of miles riding fixed in LA has convinced me that fixies are eminently practical for urban riding.
I don't need a kid trailer--the kid's twenty-three--but it might be nice to have one for hauling wool and inventory around downtown, instead of walking it on a dolly, as I do now!
