I recently converted my single speed bicycle to fixed gear. If you’re not familiar with this, a fixed gear bike is different from a “normal” bike in that you can’t coast when you stop pedaling; the pedals are directly coupled with the rear wheel, so as long as the rear wheel is spinning, you also need to keep pedaling. Learning how to ride fixed gear is basically like re-learning how to ride a bike.
During the first few minutes of struggling to ride fixed gear, I asked myself “Why am I even bothering to re-learn something I’ve known how to do just fine the ‘normal’ way since I was a kid?” At that moment, I had the realization that if I couldn’t get myself to learn fixed gear, what does that say about my willingness to learn new skills or try new experiences in my career or in life? I decided to keep trying and after about 30 minutes of riding, I felt like I was getting the hang of it, even figuring out how to slow down to a stop without using brakes!
My experience was very similar to this person’s:
My first lesson from this experience is that it’s worth trying new things, even for something like riding a bicycle, which is a skill that becomes so engrained in human beings that we have an expression for describing skills you never forget once you learn it! “Just like riding a bike.” But riding fixed gear is not “just like riding a bike”. :) It’s easy to just assume a job is a job; why consider changing roles or changing companies? Or that once you’ve learned how to manage client projects one way successfully, there’s no need to learn other methodologies, right?
My second lesson learned was persistence. Part of me wanted to give up after just a few pedal strokes. It’s hard to break free from inertia. Sadly, most people you work with and interact with will pigeonhole you and maintain a static perception of who you are and what you’re capable of. Will you simply accept that and maintain the status quo? Or do you believe you can be so much more than others see in you and put in the work hard to get there?
I’m glad I made the plunge into learning how to ride fixed gear. It gives me some more variety in an activity I enjoy. I’m also glad for the opportunity to challenge myself and persevere in re-learning something that was second nature to me. Finally, I’m grateful for how this exercise has given me perspective on life. Happy riding!
