Post 5 >> Free/Themed Post

  Dear students,

It is time to our fifth blog session, in which we have a free or themed post.

IMPORTANT:

Remember! After your writing activity you must read and leave comments on my blog and on 3 of your classmates' posts.

This is a 160 words post (as a minimum).

Riding a bicycle without brakes sounds like a rash move, but a new wave of cyclists is eschewing traditional bikes for a stripped-down machine known as a fixed-gear. 
It is one of the most basic machines you can build with two wheels. A fixed-gear bike – or fixie – has no derailleur as it has only one gear, so as long as the wheels turn, so do the pedals. Its rider can’t freewheel and the only way to brake is to stand on the pedals.


The fixed-gear’s renaissance supposedly stems from West Indian immigrants in New York working as cycle couriers in the Eighties. They had used them at home because they were cheap and easy to maintain, and continued using them in the US. Their popularity spread throughout the courier community, crossing to the UK and some Latin American countries.




As the fixie craze has taken off so has the number of new riders who enter ‘alleycats’ – unofficial road races consisting of a series of checkpoints on a set route. Alleycats originated in America and were organised for and by cycle couriers but now inexperienced riders participate.

These races now take place in Santiago and threaten to colour public opinion of the growing urban cyclist subculture.