Categories: Anatomy of a PhotoLa Vie Velominatus

Anatomy of a Photo: Bike Love

The look, of love... Photo via Oli's Tumblr

I got new wheels last week and got them mounted with tires by the weekend. Then @Haldy had to help me with a clearance problem on Sunday (27mm FMB Paris-Roubaix’s get to be more like 29mm tires after Francois finishes his lunchtime bottle of wine). When I wasn’t looking, @Haldy put orange cable ends on all the cables. A Velominatus can’t resist doing that sort of thing, you see.

Between the new wheels and orange bits, I feel like I have a new bike. I brought her up into the dining room and have spent yesterday evening and today morning working from the dining room table so I can gaze at her while “thinking”.

I’m tempted to bring her to work today, but I’ve got a few client meetings and I’m afraid my customers might think it a bit strange if I walk into the conference room wheeling my bike. The key thing that separates us from the rest of the world is that we think its normal to stare lovingly at an inanimate object.

We are Cyclists; the rest of the world merely rides a bike. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

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

Haldy says:

Mar 31 2015 at 8:11 am

@frank- you know, we can always get some orange cable housing too....
PeakInTwoYears says:

Mar 31 2015 at 8:21 am

@Haldy

@frank- you know, we can always get some orange cable housing too….

I want to see that. I have been wondering about that.
Tobin says:

Mar 31 2015 at 8:23 am

My bike spent two days in the living room after I put new bar tape on...
Haldy says:

Mar 31 2015 at 8:27 am

@PeakInTwoYears

When @frank gets back from the Keeper's Tour we will have to wrestle his baby away from him and make that orange housing happen. I am sure it will need another thorough cleaning after crushing some souls across the fields of Flanders and Northern France.
HigherGround says:

Mar 31 2015 at 8:28 am

I once asked a coworker who also rides if he ever went out to the garage at night to look at his bike. He laughed and said no. I didn't get the joke.
RedRanger says:

Mar 31 2015 at 8:37 am

My bikes live in the living room. I spend a lot of time looking at them.
Ron says:

Mar 31 2015 at 9:09 am

I've got a new wheelset in the works, rims coming from Italian. Having never waited very long for bike stuff, this is a long, slow spring. Oh well, I can still stare at my other bikes, all the more reason for n+1s.

Replaced the FSA BB on my commuter last night. Good lord, external bearing BBs are quite a bit easier to work on than loose bearing ones. I didn't even have time to finish my Recovery Ale during the work.
cognition says:

Mar 31 2015 at 9:12 am

In college my dad and I worked together to build a rack/display stand for the two bikes I had at the time -- a candy-apple red Paramount and a white Ritchey mountain bike. It was build out of slats of 1x2 that nested together and adjusted the height so that it ran from floor to ceiling. Not only was it one of the last pieces of woodworking that we did together, the thing was just downright pretty, in an almost craftsman style.

But then, hanging two bikes on it...

That stand and those bikes were the center of attention in many apartments for the years afterward. It almost made having the bikes in the living room socially acceptable to the public at large.

Not that I cared about the general public opinion. The bikes were staying in the living room one way or another. But it helped my roommates tolerate them, and the (few) girls that came over didn't look at me like quite so much of a nutjob.
mcgroup53 says:

Mar 31 2015 at 9:29 am

Cleaned up my spring/fair weather training wheelset last night, replaced the tubes, and installed the wheels on road bike, La Velominatrix, last night. Spent some time checking out how the Easton decals complemented the rest of the paint job on the Giant TCR Advanced 1. Next up I'm replacing the stock bars with nice new Zipp SSC flattops with Zipp CX Service Course tape (black, of course). Freaked out my 9-month-old Golden Retriever puppy, but the bike looks awesome sitting on the Park stand in y kitchen nook. Looking forward to an awesome ride today.
Optimiste says:

Mar 31 2015 at 9:29 am

As a young teen I kept my first road bike in my room. I was fully immersed. As time passed, the bike was relegated to the garage with the riff-raff of family bikes, and my interest waned. Now, in middle age, I keep the #1 in my room again. I am immersed.