V-Kit: Zwarte, Witte, Winter
When we designed the V-Kit in the winter of 2010, we thought we’d arrived at the ultimate Velominatus look. But, as it turns out, Spinal Tap Black isn’t for everyone. Apparently, not every climate is like that of the Pacific Northwest, where a heat advisory is issued when the mercury hits 30C (85F) and businesses close when it dips below 0C (32F). Evidently, some places get a touch warmer and colder than that.
Just like having a perfectly curated stable of bicycles ready for each and every possible weather condition, year-round Rule #9 Cycling Awesomeness requires the kit to support it. Which meant that we needed to expand our kit options. With each season comes a different array of requirements. With each climate comes a different set of boundary conditions. Each requires a different bit of kit, and all of it needs to be Rule compliant (though the very fact that any of this is being discussed begs the question whether Rule #5 isn’t being violated in heaps) not to mention that every bit should work in perfect harmony with every other bit.
It is with this objective in mind that we present you with three lines of Velominati V-Kit, Zwarte, Witte, and Winter. (I’m disappointed that Dutch doesn’t have a more exotic word for “Winter” than “Winter”. For the Love of Merckx, would it kill us to put a “V” in there somewhere?)
The obvious place to start is with the easy stuff. The first addition to the V-Kit family was the Long Sleeve V-Jersey, which was released earlier this year; a no-brainer, really. Next came the Obey the Rules Arm Warmers released in the Spring, an even less-brainer than the LS V-Jersey. Based on the realization that there is nothing more disappointing than covering up that beautiful V-Cog on your chest with a garish YJA when the weather turns unexpectedly nippy, we now have the V-Gillet; an uninsulated lightweight wind & waterproof vest that stuffs down for easy storage in your jersey pocket.
Then things got complicated, and leave it to KRX-10, our genius V-Designer, to ask distressing questions that reveal how poorly thought-out our concepts were. Why were we offering a second kit, aside from the obvious reason that the community is asking for it. What was the purpose of a white kit? Would it be a revision of the black, or is it an entirely new design? How would it relate to the overall identity of Velominati? How would it work with the existing V-Bibs? Would we make adjustments to the black V-Kit to better support the white? Would we add V-Bibs specifically designed for the white V-Jersey? Would we only offer them in defined configurations, or would we design it with the flexibility to mix and match? Finally – and perhaps most importantly, what would we call it?
Obviously, the answer to the above questions are somewhere between “9” and “yes”. An all-white V-Jersey is paired to all-black V-Bibs in what we are calling the Witte V-Kit. While the black Witte V-Bibs* are designed to go with the white Witte V-Jersey, they look smashing with the original (now re-named) Zwarte V-Jersey; the women have been rocking this combination all season with the Women’s V-Shorts. Conversely, the Witte V-Jersey looks dapper as fuck with the original Zwarte V-Bibs.
We leave you with the choice: Zwarte, Witte, Winter. However you choose, choose wisely and choose carefully. Place your order by midnight on September 15 for the next V-Kit shipment, scheduled to arrive in early November. If you have already ordered the V-Kit and would like to switch your order to the Witte Kit, please contact us.
*Please don’t attempt to distract us with the observation that “Witte” is the Dutch word for “White” and that the Witte V-Bibs are, in fact, black. They are named in parity with the intended full kit, not individually.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
If only you could find a repro La Vie Claire cap.
@Minion
Ya. Cross season gets a little out of control here. I don’t race ‘cross, but I do try and go watch a couple races a season.
@Steampunk
I know you guys in the Great White North are hard as nails. Or, at least I’ve read about it (I just finished Le Metier). But, and I know I don’t describe it well, there is a quality of air in Houston that just can’t be explained. It has a lot to do with the delightful, piquant taste of benzene. And the mold that grows everywhere. And the heat that radiates from every surface–the roads and sidewalks, the buildings, the cars–even the trees are still warm to the touch at 5am. And there is never much more than a breeze to take any of it away. It’s not even a breeze really. It’s more like a hot, garlic, coffee, and cigarette breath. And then it’s still again. It just lingers. And you can’t get away.
Uh, Nate…what was that you said?
http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?typ=tea&fkid=39&ID=2209
Those lads have pretty much all our Velominati Awesome Old School kit needs covered. I actually try to stay off their site or else I could bankrupt not only my Velo-bank but my regular bank account as well. Tons of awesome jerseys and everything else ya need.
Oh, and happy September to all! Our NZed pals have already had most of theirs unfold. I can’t wait for tomorrow, heading home, no more speed walking as my only form of exercise and salvation. Yeehaw.
@Nate
Ohhhh. That’s a really good idea! I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll start looking.
Gracias!
@Ron
AWESOMENESS. Nice. Nice. Nice.
@Ron
‘Zactly.
@Ron
Can’t wait till summer is really over. I just heard on the radio that this summer was the 2nd hottest in the record books.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
That one’s OK, though it’s not the best cap I’ve ever had.
Here are the bad ones:
Or this one
As opposed to this where the visor is the right size.
And there are more examples. You can tell the visor is too big, as compared to a proper cap.
By the way, this is also a disaster; hadn’t seen it before. Back in my day, we just lopped off the top of a regular cap and sewed it down crappily. It was class.
@RedRanger
Hold your tongue. We don’t get much of it round these parts and we like to keep it as long as we can. The arm warmers are already coming with on most rides these days.
@Ron
Awesome site; I could bankrupt myself on cycling caps. Especially old school ones like those. Too cool for school.
@frank
Just to make you guys a little more jealous, we’ve just finished winter here in South Australia with an August that had an average daily max temperature of 18C and September has just kicked off with one day at 25 & today’s on its way to 26.
Can someone say perfect riding weather? Tan lines are already being formed.
Not to get in a pissing match abou the weather but in Southern California it’s almost prfect riding weather year round…When it gets really really cold ( like 65f or so ) I start out with arm warmers but the usually are off by lunch.
Frank..the cat’s cock? I never heard that. The dogs bollocks yes..but the cats cock. Are cat’s cocks really all that ??
@frank
After I get my A&P I’m heading up your way to escape this shit. It was well over 41c!
my typing is so not that cats cock.
@paolo
And the Dogs Bollocks are all that?
@paolo
More like you typed with a cat’s cock…
@frank
They’re probably harder to type with.
Where do the Ducks Nuts fit into all of this?
@frank
Sherlock Holmes approves the first one.
@frank
I’m starting to worry about you. Arm warmers in August? Sunny pics, too? By the looks of the White Ladies, they don’t seem to have got much of a tan, either: I’d be very disappointed to learn of any Rule #23 violations…
@frank
Yeah. They really are.
@G’phant
I did….so fucking small..and he wriggles a lot.
@mouse
The drakes face probably.
I apologise to the keepers for bringing this thread down to base animal porn. I blame the metric century today and hydrating on alcohol. g’night.
@paolo
Well played mi amici.
Thanks for making me look an idiot breaking out in laughter on a crowded train.
Just so you know, in dutch adjectives often are declined differently according to use, with a base word and a suffix (often ending in ‘e’ (always?)) attached when the adjective is put in front of a noun. E.g. in dutch the base word for “white” is “wit” (“het is wit” / “it is white”), and ‘-te’ added for prefixing nouns (“de witte trui” / “the white jersey”).
Basically, the word for “white” is “wit”. Similarly, the dutch for black is “zwart”, declined to “zwarte” when prefixed to nouns. And the title should maybe be “Zwart, wit, winter”. ;)
Apologies for being a language dick.
@Paul Jakma
inspiring work, I assume you are Dutch
@Paul Jakma
Precisely right, mate, which is why we are calling it Zwarte, Witte, Winter: Zwarte Kit, Witte Kit, Winter Kit.
So long as you’re being a dick about anything- language, cycling, nationalities, you’ll fit in well here. It’s 99% of what we do. We just try to be funny dicks. Welcome.
@Dr C
Must be. Which is the equivalent of saying he’s awesome.
@frank
Well, I was cycling to school on my own at around age 6, on fietspaden, so I’m a bit dutch, yes. Though, now when I go back to visit family, it’s obvious my spoken dutch is quite rusty and doesn’t flow well, and, sadly, I even have a bit of a foreigners accent. ;)
Ordered more v-kit… Heading to the plasma center to pay for it…
The weather here in central NC has changed just enough that I can feel & sense fall is on the way. Last night was out riding & the sky told me autumn was on the way. The cool thing is that I actually have such nice fall/winter gear that I’m looking forward to cool, wet riding. (I know I’ll regret this soon enough, but oh well.) That’s one reason to outfit yourself with nice kit.
Gotta get in shape for cx racing though. Five weeks off the bike the past two months. I’m really going to work hard this month, see if I can snap myself into decent form.
@Paul Jakma
Spent the weekend at home with my parents; while I speak so much English at home these days, I still dream and think in Dutch, so that helps me keep my Dutch OK, though my written Dutch, because I virtually NEVER do it, is almost lost.
But coming back home, I”m finding myself speaking Dutch to the VMH, which doesn’t work. Those wires cross back quickly. But my Dutch is antiquated as well, when I go back, I get made fun of for speaking 70’s Dutch.