No brakes!
Interesting piece by the NYT on fixed-gear bikes.
Dad built me a fixed-gear bike when I was 10, complete with drops (and brakes). I won my age group in what was probably the precursor to the Jacksonville Cycling Classic back in the early 80's. I remember the bike being so highly geared it took me a while to get it to speed, but once I did I was flying. All of the other kids were on BMX bikes and spinning their brains out. The next year I moved up an age group and finished second. They also changed the rules that year and outlawed drops in the single speed category. Too bad aero bars were still a couple of years away.