dumb \ ˈdəm 1 a : lacking intelligence : stupid This past weekend my buddy somehow talked me into riding a gravel race of 71 miles with 7,000 feet of climbing on single speeds. Um, but the event did not have a single speed division. So we signed up for our age group. We normally ride a gear ratio of around 42x16 around Raleigh, so with that much climbing, we decided we would run a ratio of 42x19. Now there's nothing smart about running single speeds. Regardless of how much time and energy and thinking you do with choosing a gear ratio for a ride, it's inevitable that the gear you pick is going to suck at some point along the ride. This ride was no different. At times, I wished I had a 42x15 and other times I wished I had a 42x42, especially on the Whetstone Mountain climb: a 1 mile ascent at an average gradie