Anatomy of a Photo: Full Gas

This qualifies.

We are just about done with our next book, The Hardmen. At its core is the question: how hard is hard enough when it comes to effort.

None of us really know the answer, but when you can’t stand up after winning a Tour de France stage, even with the help of several adoring fans and staff members, you got pretty close.

Chapeau, monsieur Millar.

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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MangoDave says:

Nov 22 2016 at 9:20 am

@Cary

@MangoDave

@Cary

Me too. not sure about this or the spring classics, but I really want to experience all of it. Plus, I spent part of the day researching a Jaegher frame, would love to pick it up in Belgium.

i’ve never seen a Euro race, road, track, or cross. the thing about track and cross races is that it seems like you get to see more of the race. i don’t know about sitting in a field, waiting to watch Tom Boonen pass at 55kph, then go home, although maybe i can understand sitting in the velodrome for hours, waiting to see the winner. am i missing something? i know there’s a lot of people here that have seen a LOT of live racing. looking for some input, please.

I haven't seen any Euro races in person, either. I'm in the US - growing up it was hard to find anything here, and TV coverage was almost non-existent. I might have been willing to sit in a field to see the peloton fly by, just because it would be better than nothing. I did see Davis Phinney dominate a crit here, but even that was hard to watch how the actual racing played out.
ChrisO says:

Nov 22 2016 at 9:49 am

@Cary

@MangoDave

@Cary

Me too. not sure about this or the spring classics, but I really want to experience all of it. Plus, I spent part of the day researching a Jaegher frame, would love to pick it up in Belgium.

i’ve never seen a Euro race, road, track, or cross. the thing about track and cross races is that it seems like you get to see more of the race. i don’t know about sitting in a field, waiting to watch Tom Boonen pass at 55kph, then go home, although maybe i can understand sitting in the velodrome for hours, waiting to see the winner. am i missing something? i know there’s a lot of people here that have seen a LOT of live racing. looking for some input, please.

For sure if you want to see the race unfold then TV is the best option, but it's just a different experience.

People follow the TDF around and enjoy camping or riding the route ahead of the race or sitting by the side of the road with a barbecue and beers. Then there's the publicity caravan ahead of the race, and afterwards if it's a summit finish the riders often come back down through the crowds. In a TT stage you can wander around the team bus areas and watch people warming up.

Some of the spring classics with finishing circuits can be fun in the spectator areas where you can watch the race go past then go back to a big screen and pick up some frites on the way and be part of a big crowd cheering the finish. But you aren't going to be able to give a succinct account of how events unfolded.

What I would say about the racing in Europe is that as a cyclist you really get a lot more out of it if you also take the opportunity to ride the routes. Once you've been up the same climbs or over the same roads your appreciation for the riders and the races reaches a whole new level.
Spaghetti Legs says:

Nov 25 2016 at 6:43 am

My brush with the hard man David Miller. Scene 2011 TdF time trial in Grenoble. My 11 yr old son and I are flagging down riders for autographs on a gravel pathway after the finish. We're having about a 10% success rate when Millar comes through. I yell and he locks his rear wheel skidding to a stop. He's still breathing about 60 times per minute, can barely form a full sentence. I ask him how it went, he replies something like "bleeding painful mate". He signs my son's jersey and we let him go. I'm a fan forever!

Hincapie comes through a little later, blows off my son to talk to some girl and makes him cry.
Buck Rogers says:

Nov 25 2016 at 7:18 am

@Spaghetti Legs

My brush with the hard man David Miller. Scene 2011 TdF time trial in Grenoble. My 11 yr old son and I are flagging down riders for autographs on a gravel pathway after the finish. We’re having about a 10% success rate when Millar comes through. I yell and he locks his rear wheel skidding to a stop. He’s still breathing about 60 times per minute, can barely form a full sentence. I ask him how it went, he replies something like “bleeding painful mate”. He signs my son’s jersey and we let him go. I’m a fan forever!

Hincapie comes through a little later, blows off my son to talk to some girl and makes him cry.

Fuck! Perfect story and sounds absolutely like what I would expect.

Super story. Thanks for sharing!
RMFRuss says:

Dec 6 2016 at 2:01 pm

F.U.C.K. Millar.
Barracuda says:

Dec 21 2016 at 9:29 pm

Reckon from memory young Jack went pretty deep chasing 60 minutes