Anatomy of a Photo: And He Parted The Waters

De Vlaeminck parts the waters in the Trouée d'Arenberg.

No double wraps of bar tape. No arm warmers or bandages for an injured left arm; just some wrappings borrowed from an Egyptian mummy he sent back to the underworld earlier in the morning. Nothing special for Roger on a typical race day in Hell. Just unmeasurably enormous helpings of Rule #5.

The most remarkable thing about this photo? He did that to the water before he rode through it.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Oli says:

Nov 7 2011 at 2:03 pm

@frank
Don't get me wrong, I love Rouleur! But every issue I've read has some important detail wrong, so I'm just being honest. I think sometimes they fit random photos to fit their facts, or vice-versa...hmmm, reminds me of someone.
il ciclista medio says:

Nov 7 2011 at 2:04 pm

@frank
Some people can rock the 'burns, e.g. Eddy and Roger, other can't
Sam says:

Nov 7 2011 at 2:12 pm

@Oli
don't worry about it, La Vie Velominatus is full of opportunities for enlightenment, for example today i discovered some fantastically 80's yellow tinted sunglasses my dad had stashed away, while they are of questionable style their function is undeniable
rufio says:

Nov 7 2011 at 2:56 pm

regardless of the specifics involved, everyone needs to stop what they are doing, bow down in front of their computers, and repeat after me: "we're not worthy, we're not worthy!"
wiscot says:

Nov 7 2011 at 3:01 pm

@Sam
I hear ya. I have an old pair of Bolle Edges with interchangeable lenses. Grey, brown clear, red and . . . yellow. On a dull day you can't beat the yellow! They are also super stylish!
Gianni says:

Nov 7 2011 at 4:32 pm

@Sam
Sam, we have all learned the hard way; Oli is the Source. Resistance is futile.

@Oli

@frank
New avatars? Damn, maybe I should man-up and move on, but change is hard...
mauibike says:

Nov 7 2011 at 4:36 pm

Viva la, the Hardmen.
Souleur says:

Nov 7 2011 at 4:48 pm

here is the clips of video, hey frank, can you paste a pic or tell me how to, i am computer stupid
it indeeed was the 1973 Paris Roubaix, and the video shows it all, it shows them taking out w/goods and evidently he just threw them to the side, i suppose he may have taken the stitches out too and just tossed them bastards out but the antifreeze in his veins would have leaked for sure

http://youtu.be/ftZkzaarq4E
Benj says:

Nov 7 2011 at 6:28 pm

Damn, you know you're a proper hardman when you're bunnyhopping puddles on the cobbles. FNG here, thought I'd finally make a post after reading for a long time. Despite being nowhere near as badass as Roger this photo kind of shows how I was feeling on the commute home last night in the rain (it's not something we see a lot of this time of year).
Thanks for the inspiration for another evening ride (probably) in the wet. Rule 9 here I come.
frank says:

Nov 7 2011 at 7:17 pm

@Noel

Okay, this doesn't really pertain to this awesome photo, but can anyone direct me to some good tutorials on how to wrap bars in some manner other than the crappy one I use? I've only done it a half dozen times or so and have yet to be successful. Fully rule compliant except for this (is A+ bar tape even a rule?). Frank, maybe you could film a tutorial? You certainly seem to be a master at it.

I can do a video some time, for sure - good idea. But truth be told, while I find my tape job to be absolutely impeccable when I'm done, it is a slowish process; some of the videos of the Pro Wrenches rocking a tape job are much more impressive.

In the end, it's all about constant pressure, and smooth, continuous motions. Make sure all the loops are equidistant from each other and awesome. Not too much pressure, by the way - depending on the tape you'll have a massively lumpy job of it. With Fizik, you want to pull pretty hard and get a very even wrap, while with Cinelli and it's imitators in the varying types of cork and pseudocork, you'll want a firm but not too tight pressure to make sure you avoid the big lump in the middle of each wrap. Be careful on that one, even the Pros will wrap too tight.

This is an art, not a science, and you can watch videos for tips, but really you just need to practice.