Maiden Voyage of the Langster (Single Gear Bikes Rule)

I took my first extented ride on my new Specialized Langster today. I was a little worried about riding a single gear bike for a long ride (I am using the freewheel side of the hub for now. My goal is to ride in fixed gear mode by the end of the summer). I had a great time. It is so much fun not to have to worry about shifting gears. Hills are not as bad as I thought they would be and the flats are faster than I would go on a multigear road bike.

Todays ride was originally going to be a local ride but I decided to ride into Red Bank. However, as I was making better time than I expected I hopped on Navesink River Road. Taking Navesink River Road from Rt 35 is the way to go. There is only one really challenging climb although going the other way would be a different story.

I crossed over the Oceanic Bridge into Rumson and I took Front Street through Fairhaven.

After reaching Red Bank (the Jazz and Blues fest was just starting to setup for the day) I decided I wanted to ride much longer. I headed south on Broad Street and took Rt 520 towards Little Silver.

I was originally going to take one of the connecting road back to Front Street but I passed Seven Bridges Road and I decide I would try and ride out to Long Branch and stop by the Peddler (http://thepeddler.com/index.cfm) where I bought my Langster.

Seven Bridges road is a nice straight flat road. I am not sure if there are really 7 bridges. One of these days I am going to count. I took this road into Oceanport and I made a left toward Monmouth Beach.

I stopped by the Peddler but I knew they would be closed. They open at noon on Sundays so they can all ride in the morning. I wanted to get the picture for the blog. In Long Branch I got the first glimpse of the storm coming up the East Coast. Good thing for me it was a slow moving one or I would have had a soggy ride.

Since I knew it was time to start making my way back home I took Rt 36 through Monmouth Beach and into Sea Bright.

I crossed over the bridge in Sea Bright and I took another swing through Rumson and into Red Bank. Stopped at the Smoothie King to get a quick snack and then prepared for the final climb back to Holmdel.

The single gear bike is just so much fun. Climbs are tough. You know you are going up a hill. However, the flats are fast. On Rt 36 I was chasing down and passing other riders.

The bike is very comfortable. I would recommend a Langster to anyone who was looking to add a single speed to there bike collection.

My next ride is going to be a little bit more challenging. Maybe take Kings Highway to the bottom of Navesink and then ride it up the hard way.

I bought the Langster as something to ride while I decided on the kind of Road Bike I want. However, now I am thinking that I might never ride a multi-gear road bike again.