Cycling is a mighty sport with a rich and complex history. Every company, racer, piece of kit, and component has a legend, a story behind it; in many cases it also has a personal and nostalgic connection to our lives. While this particular sport is steeped in tradition, it is also fiercely modern, a fact that serves only to deepen its complexity.
All these factors combine to provide an unique atmosphere and breeds devoted and loyal disciples of our great sport. We are of a peculiar nature; we seek out the highest mountains and the roughest roads on which to worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. Our legs are what propel us; our minds are what drive us. We refer to our shaved legs in the third person – the legs – and speak of distance in kilometres and measure sizes in centimetres regardless of what country we are in. We adhere strictly to the Canon of Cycling’s Etiquette: The Rules.
A Velominatus is a disciple of the highest order. We spend our days poring over the very essence of what makes ours such a special sport and how that essence fits into Cycling’s colorful fabric. This is the Velominati’s raison d’être. This is where the Velominati can be ourselves. This is our agony – our badge of honor – our sin.
I have a unique way of looking at bicycles. A good bicycle and it’s components are beautiful things to me. I’m not just talking about appearance, but also how the frame and components show the dreams of those who made them.
– Gianni Bugno, Hardman and Italian cycling legend
Perhaps we are too wrapped up in the past, but the Velominati don’t believe that to be the case. After all, the greatest lessons can be learned from the past and those lessons can then be applied to the present and may then allow us to more fully experience the future.
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View Comments
I love that The Rules have permeated the pro ranks as well as just we mere mortals (citation: Katy Archibald, who in my mind is a cycling rockstar https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/katie-archibald-column-ironman-tattoo-361038)
We'll always have that, even if the deeper state of affairs is less pleasant.
@RobSandy
Just having a look. Yikes, that escalated quickly! I've never had any personal backlash about my tattoos; I'm surprised that people in this day and age still have such strong feelings against them.
@Del's was a little gnarlier than anything I'd go for myself, but to each their own. But yeah, wow, that is some serious vitriol. "I won't ride with anyone showing ink" – just wow!
@mulebeatsdrums
Ah, right... I was showing some rare restraint there, particularly given my own inked-up status.
I've always thought that people who say 'You'll regret that later' just don't understand why people get tattoos.
But on the other hand it's also why I would never get one of a person or brand. Maybe Frank is keeping the site live so Del doesn't feel bad.
@ChrisO
I'm sure I'm in the 'don't understand' camp but each to their own.
I was just thinking, where is Del now?
@mulebeatsdrums
Katy Achibald is one of us, no doubt. She's a fucking legend.
World Champion 3 times, Olympic champ, Commonwealth champ and national champ in too many disciplines to count.
I love it when she turns up at a Road Race and puts the hurt on the whole peloton.
If there was a way to remember something I have to do!
i LOVE Jan Ullrich. there, but for the grace of god, go i:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/jan-ullrich-pens-open-letter-about-his-substance-abuse-and-road-to-recovery/
@sthilzy
remember = http://www.velominati.com/2016/09/the-justifier/comment-page-2/#comment-911751
@RobSandy
Well clearly there are many, many reasons but a common response is that the tattoo is about the time and place and context in which you got it.
It's like you don't look at it in the current context, you look at it as a visual piece of your history - you can't erase what's happened to you, just like you can't erase a tattoo. Maybe the equivalent is a cycling scar - they just tell a story, maybe ine that only you fully understand.
If you got a tattoo when you were young and fit and strong and now you're 75 you don't think "well it doesn't suit me now", you look at it and think about when you were young and fit and strong.
You don't regret it unless you regret the context in which you got it. But that's why getting them of people and brands can be a bit of a minefield.
Not sure if any of that makes sense but it's the best I can do !
@RobSandy
Agreed. I get the feeling she'd be a good laugh on a club run as well; no need to prove herself when the road goes uphill, you know?