Categories: Anatomy of a Photo

Anatomy of a Photo: Depletion

One eye open and dreaming; were the building on fire, I suspect this shell of a man could hardly be bothered to move from his bench.

As a Cyclist, the enormous weight of the total exhaustion felt by LeMond at this moment fills my spirit with equal measures of dread and envy.

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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Gianni says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:14 pm

@Nate

Merckx bless LeMond and his ilk, like the Badger, for being GC men who'd still go out and shatter themselves at Paris-Roubaix in April.

yeah, my thought's exactly when I saw this photo. Lemond was ready to waste himself in April and on through the summer. He was trying to catch Kelly all year long. Who is the modern day version of GC Hardman? Thor, but he is really not for the GC. Maybe none, too specialized now.
Jim says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:33 pm

1976, races at Fort Mason San Francisco, CA. A newer VW Van parked next to my funky one, "Hey, how you doin'?" They were Bob and Greg Lemond. Nice folks.
Calmante says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:41 pm

@Gianni

That may have been the case before the accident, but not really after. He did always seem genuinely excited about Paris Roubaix, though. I have a feeling that had a lot to do with the neat toys he got to debut each year there.
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:54 pm

@napolinige

Wow! What a photo.
I suggest a photo contest for those of you going on the Keepers' Tour. Best attempt to emulate this photo.. you may swap out the Coca-cola for beer.

We've already discussed doing a Quickstep photo, except with Cobblestones.
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 6:57 pm

@wiscot

Another great thing about this photo is that in this day and age, the showers at Roubaix are primitive to say the least. In other sports the organizers, or more likely the riders, would demand state-of-the-art facilities. Not here. The showers are part of the hell of the North deal. You ride the race, you take a shower - and if you win, you get a cobblestone trophy and a shower stall named after you. It's about tradition, history and putting yourself up against those who came before you. You're on the same stones as Hinault, RdV, Merckx, Coppi, van Looy et al. Riders come and go, the cobbles - and the pain - stay the same.
Mind you, if you've just done the kind of ride GL has done, you probably don't care what the showers look like - the suffering is over.

Thats one of the magical things here - the roads haven't changed. These are old, fucked up stones that were made for cattle and wagons, not bikes. It really is so incredibly cool - all the cobbled races are amazing, but Roubaix stands out for how ancient some of the roads are.

The Belgians and Dutch are actually pretty good at making cobblestone roads. The French, from the evidence at hand, suck at it - and they were worse when the Romans had a say in it. And I fucking love them for it. Vive le Keepers Tour!
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:01 pm

@SOL

When the fatigue sets in during tomorrows ride, that is the picture I will have burned in to my mind.

Word. I chucked this up right before heading into the deluge on today's Rule 9 ride. (The of Rule 9 Moses was talking about.) As I got colder and wetter, it just kept creeping into my mind. Allez!
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:02 pm

@Nate

Merckx bless LeMond and his ilk, like the Badger, for being GC men who'd still go out and shatter themselves at Paris-Roubaix in April.

YES!!

And I'm so glad the coke can was mentioned - I noticed it before my ride, but I wanted it after my ride!
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:04 pm

@itburns

@Roadslave525

@chris. Starting new job on Monday... Let the dust settle, let me get feet under desk and build cover story... Then we shall drink, and talk about @frank's Diva tendencies
BTW FUCK ME.... Track senSATional this evening... I thought WRs were rare.... But, wow! I *heart* Pendleton

The start of a job is the only chance you have to set the bar. Go for an eight hour V session on Sunday followed by a good piss up. Work will think a limp, glazed corneas, and whiskey cologne is normal. Smooth sailing from then on.

I use the Castanza Model myself. Walk around with a furious look on my face and anytime someone asks me to do something, I wave my hands about and say something to the effect of, "I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE ENOUGH TIME!! I'VE GOT A FULL PLATE RIGHT NOW!"

And then they leave me alone. And then I go have a leisurely tea.
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:09 pm

@The Oracle

Does anyone else think he looks like Ryan Gosling in that picture?

No. If Ryan Gosling* underwent a full-body Rule 5 cleanse and a rigorously studied "Not Being a Pussy, A Beginners Guide" and then learned to ride a bike and then became a Pro who revolutionized the sport and then rode Paris-Roubaix and sat in the shower like a wet fucking sock, then maybe Ryan Gosling would look like Greg LeMond.

*I actually like Ryan Gosling, but lets not mix apples and hardmen.
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:14 pm

@Calmante

It was challenging to see your hero in such a vulnerable state.

Yes and no. Its also inspirational. That's one of the great things about Cycling - the human aspect of it. We build these guys up, but they are made human very quickly in moments like this. It inspires me to ride harder, knowing this is the result, no matter how effortless it looks when they are putting in their efforts.