The Keepers

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.

The Keepers:

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The Community:

Velominati.com is less about the articles and more about the conversation. Those of you who read more and poster more, become an integral part of the discussion and help carry the momentum forward. There are several levels of Velominatus*:

Level 4 Velominatus: The casual observer and occasional poster.

Level 3 Velominatus: The regular reader and casual poster.

Level 2 Velominatus: The devoted reader and regular poster.

Level 1 Velominatus: The most committed of reader and poster.

Gray, Black, and Orange Order Velominatus: Once having passed Level 1, the inducted among the Order wear three color badges, based on their rank.

Conduct:

We strive to foster an open, fun, critical, and censure-free environment. Any criticism of our writing, spelling, grammar, or intelligence is welcome and nothing said will ever get you suspended from the site. That said, the code of conduct is governed by Rule #43 and the Piti Principle. Members consistently exhibiting behavior that falls outside these parameters will be warned to check themselves; should warnings go unheeded, we may elect to issue a suspension. The first offense will result in a one-week suspension, the second in a two week suspension, and the third in a three week suspension. A fourth offense will result in a lifetime ban.

Velominati reserves the right to edit posts with the express interest to preserve the spirit of the conversation and the community. Regarding posts that address a grammatical or typographical error, Velominati may elect to take their input, correct the error in the articles where appropriate, and editing posts that point them out. This editorial action is not to serve as a censure entity, but to preserve the spirit of the conversation. That said, we endeavor to only edit those posts that point out a minor issue and only in the event that we make the edit before the post has yielded further discussion. Furthermore, when possible, we will strive to acknowledge said poster for their correction.

Want to contribute a story to the Velominati? Tell us why.

*Levels are calculated based on the previous year’s activity.

1,213 Replies to “The Keepers”

  1. Apart from my home IP issue it is fine, and yes does seem to be much faster.

    Thanks for checking the spam for me after my ‘barking’. I hope you admire the persistence of my belief that anyone might give a shit about whether my comments disappear into the ether or not.

    Oddly enough I’m probably one of the least likely to be sharing my IP with a terrorist – the internet out here is controlled behind a firewall run by the telcos who provide the connections, and it is monitored  as closely as these things can be.

    We can’t access quite a lot of sites and I’m not talking just porn and extremism. For a long time we couldn’t even access Flickr. They also block any VOIP services, but one suspects commercial reasons behind that.

  2. Seems much better by mobile here. All comments are appearing under articles too. Thanks for all the hard work.

  4. and @frank  definitely faster and stays logged in know from any of my devices.

  5. Been lurking for a while now. A ride last night (and reflections thereon) inspired me to join.

    The Ride Starts on Time

    I went for a ride yesterday. Short, but solid and focused on a Category 3 climb (a respectable feat for a relative neophyte). I had planned on going with a friend of mine, but that plan unraveled at the last minute (well, 30 minutes after the last minute).

    Here on the East Coast of the US, it’s getting dark early. Not a big deal, I thought. My companion recently purchase a 180 lumen behemoth, and I had been counting on that to assuage my fears of visibility. When it became apparent that he wouldn’t be able to ride along, I decided to go it alone. Sunset was predicted for 6:01 PM, it was 5:30 and I knew I’d be getting back around 7:00. Dusk, twilight and then nightfall, but I’d be rolling back into the driveway without spending too much time in the true dark of the night. And I was prepared: Two headlights, a taillight and an incredibly Hi-vis Louis Garneau jersey. I would be seen so I set out.

    As the ground under my wheels began to undulate higher and more frequently, the colors of New England autumn started to wash to gray in the fading light. The definition of ‘the gloaming’ I thought to myself. Fear, like the darkness around me, was setting in. But I wasn’t turning back, despite hearing the voice of South Park’s Thumper in my head: “You’re going to have a bad time.”

    Before long, the hill was in front of me; it’s initial 17% pitch so steep my headlight appeared to be illuminating a wall in front of me. Up I went, too focused on my legs to be concerned with the sun’s location relative to the horizon. By the time I’d crested however, the sides of the road were being lost to the shadows and the rest disappeared quickly from there. There are no streetlights out in farm country, and my lights did nothing to illuminate my path. My descents were slow and careful, and my thoughts singularly hoping that each dark patch I rode over was fresh pavement, and not the gaping voids they might be. I was scared. Not of the dark, not of the fact that black bear sitings aren’t unheard of in my literal neck of the woods, and not even of cars. I couldn’t see much of anything at this point. I had no idea where the side of the road was, and in the dark turns are deceptive. The saving grace of all of this was that there really is very little traffic on backwoods roads and I went by more cars coming towards me that passed me from the rear. (This was a mixed blessing though. While I didn’t have to worry about taking up the road or getting flattened, these dark streets necessitate the use of high beams – a blinding occurrence, further obscuring my scant vision.)

    As I rode back into town, the increasing frequency of streetlights eased my mind. “I’m alive and I’m staying that way tonight.” I arrived home, to find my wife on edge about my ride in the dark and relieved to see me. “How was your late-night ride?” she asked. I responded, “That was profoundly fucking stupid.”

  7. New guy here. Hope to be a worthy member. Old school steel is my horse. Pinarello SL Treviso. Campy Chorus

  9. I like the website updates, I can login and not have to refresh 6 times for it to take effect

  10. Another new guy here, coinciding with the larmchair of the new site, but in no form whatsoever is that a causal relationship.bern visiting for a while now.

    Aluminium bike here, my first. What I lack in years (not) riding, I hope to compensate in enthusiasm.

  11. Help! Unable to order V gear. Link to PayPal not working also unable to log on.

     

  14. Hi, I’m another new guy here after lurking for 6 or more months and enjoying the articles and community here. I got back on my road bike last year but most of my riding is commuting at the moment. I’m contemplating what I can realistically achieve cycling while balancing family life and a dodgy knee. My bike is a Merckx Strada OS with 9 speed Chorus and other Cinelli bits on it I brought in 1997.

  16. @Kieran

    Hi, I’m another new guy here after lurking for 6 or more months and enjoying the articles and community here. I got back on my road bike last year but most of my riding is commuting at the moment. I’m contemplating what I can realistically achieve cycling while balancing family life and a dodgy knee. My bike is a Merckx Strada OS with 9 speed Chorus and other Cinelli bits on it I brought in 1997.

    Welcome!  The more the merrier.  IMHO, commuting is the best way to put in the miles.  Every day, solo, bit by bit.

    I had 9 speed Record and Veloce bits for a long, long, time, and they were solid stuff.  You can’t go wrong with that drivetrain.

  22. Wow! That must’ve been a really big pile of Zip disk! Great work for the move!

  24. That is quite a relief to wake up this morning and see the DNS propagated successfully!

    Still some optimizations to be made in the private section (messaging, activity streams etc) but all should be functional at least!

    Those two weeks we were down did my OCD no favors whatsoever.

    @the Engine

    Try it now; still had to make a final change. But at this point is most certainly is on your end; Pretty much every last bit of code and server hardware has been changed out over the last 6 months.

  28. @frank

    That is quite a relief to wake up this morning and see the DNS propagated successfully!

    Still some optimizations to be made in the private section (messaging, activity streams etc) but all should be functional at least!

    Those two weeks we were down did my OCD no favors whatsoever.

    @the Engine

    Try it now; still had to make a final change. But at this point is most certainly is on your end; Pretty much every last bit of code and server hardware has been changed out over the last 6 months.

    Yeah – it’s something deep within Chrome. Anyway multiple servers and PC’s mean that I’ve cobbled together a work around

  29. Is it back? Oh my!! What a long wait, how pointless my existence has been without the Community! (joking, but I still felt pretty sad when the site was down).

    Thanks for the work in getting it back up, Frank and anyone else. Phew!! We’re getting hammered with un-NC like weather in NC, an ice day yesterday and more snow on the way today. Bike trail I use to get to work is impassable, slid out and onto my hip Monday night on my way to the cycling advocacy group meeting. Darnit, bruises didn’t hurt/bruise as badly when I was a kid.

    Rejoice, it has come back!

  30. Happy Pi Day to all the Math Nerds!! Once in an eternity; I hope you all layed down some massive V in honor!

  31. @frank @keepers how about a Velominati Hall of Fame? The longer you leave it the longer its going to take to get it up to date. Each entrant should have a nice bio, awesome pics, best steeds, best quotes and where they are still alive maybe even a little interview??

  32. Hong Kong’s winter is over.   Our three week window of opportunity to wear anything but short sleeved gear is gone!   Overshoes, long sleeved or long legged clobber and full finger gloves can now be returned to languish in the humid darkness of a big poly bag that lives in a suitcase under the bed.   Maybe next year?

  33. Hey guys, I’m exhausted. 18+ years, somewhere between 7000 and 8000 classes. I’m Spun out. I thought we’d own that shite by now. Oh well, it is after all synthetic cycling. Spinning/Indooor Cycling I’m talking about. A field of ninnies, off-ended by the latest “hey look at me” movement. Something about Soul or Fly or whatever the latest uncredible idea of “fun” on a stationary bike. I’ve held fast to the theories laid down after the due diligence of preparation for such a franchise. After all, how could a group of Master’s Degrees and PhD’s, in different forms of exercise physiology, release, with their name attached something that would be unsafe for anyone.

    Ah, how fast the time goes. The certification passes 3 hours or a day, like a blink, and off they go. “None are as righteous as the newly converted” a wise man once said. With their “passioned” inspirational language in tow, they really should wear helmets. For where they go is into this dark roomed, rave like, bumping and thumping of music, They’re all so enthralled by the “Master Instructors” qualified by who knows what. Some self appointed at the credibility of their own education offerings. CEU’s after all are not even necessary in the Fitness Industry. There are but a few Gym Management( and I use that term loosely) that even sit in on a class to see what’s going on. Like some sort of Night Club owner afraid to find illicit drugs or sex happening. What a forecast Chris Meadows made of the “sport” in that skit from SNL. One instructor, in passing conversation, pink hair, pierced nose and easily 45 years and a mother. She had just been to a concert by the “artist” Pink. I asked what she thought of the memo from the Vice President of the company, that held many points of safety and company policy. “I don’t read any of those. I’ve been doing this so long, I don’t need any of their information”. My mouth fell open, ready for flies, and the words flew out instead “Unbelievable”. “What?” she said ” you think I should read that stuff?” Again, as if once wasn’t enough and my filter of kindness shut down by shock, “Unbelievable”. I turned and walked out of the “studio” and up toward the front of the gym. Feeling dumfoundedly drunk and amazed at what I had just seen. I went to the chap, the GM of the facility and begged his ear for a moment. Not as a report, but just to share what I had just witnessed. I explained to the young college man, what had just occurred, only after securing the confidentiality of it only being to converse, not to report.  He replied with steady head, chin up, by saying “Oh, isn’t she really pretty?” “Well, yes.” I replied. “And isn’t she really nice too?”. “Yes, she’s very nice” I said. To which he replied “Oh, okay.” And turned and walked away.

    I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, and am not, as much as I’m concerned for the world that I live in, when Managers of Exercise Facilities are so focused on sales that the actual safety of the customer is second to the bottom line. “Unbelievable”.

    So, after the time that I have spent, sincere in focus of safe, as it is no coincidence that is where the results are. Body mechanics is a priority for performance and training. The bike must be adjusted to be within the tolerance of stress/workload being directed into the muscle, as that is where we are meant to deal with physical stress.

    Bipedalism. What a great word. Simply put, stop leaning on your hands. Instead, as any good biped, lean in to bring the canti-lever of your upper body, to the feet.

    Leaning on the hands, typically with hyper-extended wrists, locked out elbows, protracted shoulders and rounded back, is so unnatural and puts stress into the connective tissue like cartilage and tendons. Burn calories, not cartilage. Sub acute pain is a drain of energy and repetitive stress injury is a slow, silent killer of an active lifestyle.

    Longevity needs to be the focus, only distracted by success in performance where aero supercedes body mechanics (shoulders).

    It takes a bit to harness, if you’re not familiar. Give it time, be patient with yourself. It’s a change in postural dynamic of 180 degrees.

    The true potential is to find a full chain of muscle availability from hands, through the shoulders, through the core and obviously the legs to the feet.

    When you get it, you’ll be relieved of the distraction of sub acute pain in all of the classic pain locations, typical with many cyclists.

    A flat spine is a healthy, long lasting spine. Retracted shoulders to enable muscle and protect connective tissue. Same for unlocked elbows. And wrists should never fold back. Straight out of the forearms to enable the full chain starting with the forearms.

    As it is in any sport or activity, we lean in to bring the leverage of the upper body to the feet. Without the interference of the arms. Instead, the arms poised and ready to draw on the upper body in support of the legs as they squat against more effort and held in place with the backboard of the upper body.

    The root of the pedalstroke, is the hands.

    Try to sprint or climb sitting without it. And then try with it. More power, strength and endurance.

    It is not wasted energy. It is all 8 cyclinders, applied.

    Lean, through your core, to your feet. Don’t lean on your hands. Not any more.

    Perhaps this could be a rule. If I might request it be held until #97 as that would be a nice thing for me.

    Bipedalism. Stop leaning on your arms and hands. It has no benefit, but instead risk. Burn calories, not cartilage.

    Merci beaucoup.

  34. @Frank Not a complaint here but has anyone else had the following? I can post no problem fro my iPhone but since the site upgrade I can’t post from PC. In the dialogue box I have no visible cursor, yet if I take my time and write a post, even though I can’t see it, when I press submit it appears! I’m on Explorer.

  36. @gilly

    In my experience, any issue with the site is usually solved by clearing the cache in your browser.

  37. @Frank

    A question. It’s no biggie, and a mere curiosity thing, but 3 months ago I was Grey. Then after the website update I was pegged back to Level 1. Then yesterday, I was Grey again. And today Level 1. My wife is just as fickle with her moods, and I think I’ve cracked how to please her now.

  38. Hi guys, I’m not sure if this is the correct place to post this, so please feel free to move it if you so wish.

    Is there anyone on this fine forum that resides in/near Hunters Creek in Florida?

    I’m visiting my in-laws there in mid to end of September and I’ve been trying to find out if there is a local cycling club or chain gang that I could tag along with….or just individuals would be fine.

    I’d also need to hire a decent road bike – so any advice afforded to this would be most appreciated.

    Kind regards,

    Paul

  39. @Welsh Paul

    Try posting it in ‘the rides’ or ‘the bikes’ section. There is always lots of readers there who are very helpful folk who might be able to answer your questions.

  40. Hi Keepers, any idea when V Winter Jerseys will be back in stock? Don’t want to look unprofessional come the autumn.

  41. Hello Keepers,

    I want to order two Name Badges but I don’t get any result when using the shipping calculator (for Netherlands), and so I’m not able to place my order. Please help

  42. @Karel Delvoye

    Hello Keepers,

    I want to order two Name Badges but I don’t get any result when using the shipping calculator (for Netherlands), and so I’m not able to place my order. Please help

    Hi Karel – shipping is free for the name badges, so you shouldn’t need to do anything for that…

  44. @Karel Delvoye

    @frank

    Hi Frank, but when I press order it ask me to choose a shipping option…

    It’s solved, when you click on calculate then the shipping option error showed up.

  45. Great to see the kit ordering window open but having an issue completing an order. Checkout link to Paypal produces Error 402: Unable to complete order. Please try again. Several attempts produce same results. All mandatory info boxes filled. This seems to be the only payment option. Any suggestions please?

  46. @JohnB

    Great to see the kit ordering window open but having an issue completing an order. Checkout link to Paypal produces Error 402: Unable to complete order. Please try again. Several attempts produce same results. All mandatory info boxes filled. This seems to be the only payment option. Any suggestions please?

    Error 402 on both Mac and PC

  47. @frank I’m getting a security violation when I try to login this morning warning that the login is potentially being intercepted as the security certificate is from a different site.  I’ve tried from multiple computers with the same.  Do we have a problem on the site?

  48. @Teocalli, @Frank: I also have issues trying to log in. Message I get reads:

    Failed to establish a secure connection to

    https://www.velominati.com

    This proxy and the remote host failed to negotiate mutually acceptable security settings for handling your request. It is possible that the remote host does not support secure connections, or the proxy is not satisfied with the host security credentials.

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