Cupcake = Badass?

Let's take a minute to talk about Cupcake and why she is "different".

Any bike you see around town (with the exception of a beach cruiser) usually has gears. The gears help you change how much power you pedal with. Analogy time - gears are like the resistance stage on a treadmill/elliptical. When you go downhill on a bike you don't want your pedals going out of control, so you change gears, giving yourself more resistance so your legs move the pedals slower, but the wheels still go the same pace. When you go uphill you don't want it to be impossible to tackle it, so you switch gears and your legs move the pedals faster (with less resistance so you won't burnout) and the wheels go the same pace. That's what gears are for.

Now there's Cupcake. She is a single speed bike, which means she has NO gears (only goes one speed). That means no matter if I am on a flat path, going uphill, or downhill I don't get any assistance from gears. It's all me people! Pedaling my heart out to go uphill (and there are LOTS of hills around me I have learned).

So my friend Stephen comes in the shop yesterday to look at a road bike for a race he is going to do in California later this year. Of course he asks about my bike and here's how the conversation goes...

Stephen: So you ride?

Me: I'm starting too, I just got a bike a little while ago.

Stephen: What kind?

Me: Oh, it's just a single speed that I retro-fitted.

Stephen: You mean, no gears?

Me: Yeah.

Stephen: So you're pretty much a badass.

Me: hmmm...I guess so.

I never really thought of Cupcake being a badass (esp. with the name Cupcake) since she doesn't have any gears. But I guess Stephen is right...since I get no help on hills and whatnot, I have to use MY leg power to handle her. No help from the gears from me. And I always thought those cyclists were crazy riders...now they're just wimpy cyclists with gears (ok, so maybe they are still pretty ridiculous even with gears, but still).

So now her image in my mind has changed a little.

Before she was nice and sweet Cupcake:

"I love all those who share the road!"

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Now she's hardcore Cupcake:

"Get outta my way or Imma cut ya!"

Well, looks like biking might be a little more fun now with her new attitude :)

- apes -