Fixed gear means that there is no freewheeling - fixed gear bicycles cannot coast. If the rear wheel is moving, the pedals are moving. The first thing you do when you try fixed, is get one foot in the straps/clips, push off with your weight on the one pedal as normal and get thrown off as the pedals start to rotate up.
Once you do get going and get your arse on the seat, you realise that getting your other foot in the straps/clips is going to be pretty tricky as it's now a moving target. Within 10 seconds you will have your first proper 'moment' where you forget you're on a fixed gear bike. Maybe you'll look over your shoulder 'cos you've got to pull out around a parked car. Whatever, you'll forget for a split second and rest a leg on a pedal, leg locked straight like it's a normal bike. A few milliseconds later the pedal will kick you up and give you your first near-death experience on a fixed gear. I'm serious here - it is completely insane. From here on in, you'll spend 90% of your brain's processing power keeping a mantra-like reminder that this is a fixed gear bike. This will keep the near-death experiences to around once every hour.
So why do it? Because bike messengers ride them. There are some other reasons. If you do stay alive long enough to get used to it, you can achieve a kind a cycling nirvana, becoming one with your bike. You can slow the bike to a stop using your legs not a brake. You can track stand at lights better (the bike is stationary, balanced upright with your feet on the pedals).
The popularity of fixed gear bikes has increased recently and they have attained a kind of cult status. Check out the fixedgeargallery for an endless supply of beautiful creations, like the one above.
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