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As part of my trip to the shops, I pass the local skate park. As I’m an after-work shopper, the place is usually packed with kids on their BMXs and skateboards busting monos, aerials and shins.

Honestly… I’m jealous that they can do that stuff and I can’t… but that’s another story.

Anyway, for going to the shops, I have a shopping bike. Makes sense huh? An old Repco Clubman with comfy swept back handlebars and a saddle with bent rails. Of course, as happens in a garage-with-too-many bikes, I can’t always be bothered getting my shopping bike out from under the pile, so I sometimes ride one of the other bikes.
One thing I’ve noticed in riding past the skate park, is that the kids stare… but only when I’m riding the fixie. More often than not, I pootle past on the old Repco or sometimes the Blade. Heck, I’ve even ridden past on the bling-bling MTB before. None of these bikes even raise a glimmer of interest.

Yet, the fixie always seems to get their attention.

The thing is though, it’s not the smile and wave attitude that I get from fellow commuters. Or even the cool and almost imperceptible roadie nod that you get when you pass someone heading the other direction on a desolate stretch of road.

It’s kind of a cool stare that shows very little emotion. Interestly, the only other time I’ve been on the receiving end of this is when I was MTBing out near Narbethong and we came across a campsite of moto riders. No friendly “G’day!”… just a cool stare that followed us until we were out of sight.

Heck, the other day, I even had a kid ride along side me on the footpath and pull a manual, while looking across at me on the road. Due to me being too damn scared to try learning to pedal wheelie my fixie, I replied with a fishtailing skid around the roundabout.

Due to a difference in gear inches, I soon left him behind… thankfully… because I was all out of tricks.

So what’s with the interest?

Maybe it’s all the fixed flatland and park videos floating around YouTube these days. Maybe their annoyed that they’re being edged out of the scene by skinny blokes with tight jeans and no bums.

Heck, I know I would be!