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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  • @ Frank- great photo selection. Looks like LeMond has eaten three of four sandwiches already... probably a few more to go. As a kid I played soccer through college. I was never very talented, but rarely got outworked. My Dad used to grab me before every game and tell me to "Leave it all on the field." When I was little I didn't understand what he meant. When I was in high school and college the message hit home. The old man passed a while ago, but every time I click in before a bike race I can hear him telling me to "Leave it all on the course." This photo of LeMond is a perfect display of that premise and why he was such an amazing cyclist to watch. No bullshit, go ride your heart out and see what happens. You may not always win, or podium, but when you look at yourself in the mirror later you will respect the person looking back at you.

  • He looks like he can hardly chew his food.

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

  • Great photo! I can only imagine what is must feel like to ride a Paris-Roubaix. The distance! The cobbles! Ouch.

    Just back from 3.5 hours of incredible riding on my newly cabled, taped bike. What a way to spend a Friday morning! I absolutely love being all the way the heck out in the middle of nowhere without anything but your legs, some bidons with water, and a banana. It's exhilarating to say the least!

  • Great shot, great post. Love the empty wrappers and Coke cans laying about. Hopefully I'll look better after I ride most of the CA Cogal Day 1 route tomorrow. Two weeks left, kids!

  • Busted, contented but not broken. I don't know the history of the photo but that looks like a man at peace with himself.

    Who was the photographer? Echoes of Don McCullin.

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