Anatomy of a Photo: Injustice
One of my favorite pass times is to chuck a cycling term into Google’s Image Search, set the filter to Large, and see what turns up. It is incredible how much porn you have to sift through, by the way. I would really think words like “shaved” and “hardman” would be innocent enough, but take it from me – that is not the case.
I have found, however, that through perseverance, determination, and a dash of grit comes reward, and this photo is evidence of that. I don’t know who this strapping young stud is, but he wrote at least one of the chapters in the Book of Awesome. The hair, the cap, the brazen expression, the jersey, the guns, the Chuck Taylors, and riding cross on slicks. And that’s not a fucking compact, either. Well done, my son. It is an injustice beyond comprehension that you did not become a Giant of the Road.
“It is incredible how much porn you have to sift through, by the way. I would really think words like “shaved” and “hardman” would be innocent enough, but take it from me – that is not the case.”
True dat. In the early days of the world wide interweb, an NZ netanatic was demonstrating search engines at a semniar. Being a Kiwi, he chose to do this by entering “all blacks” and absentmindedly clicking on the first site suggested before turning his back on the slowly-loading screen while he addressed his audience. Members of said audience gradually became more and more alarmed / agitated / interested as the giant screen slowly loaded a picture which had nothing to do with rugby (albeit a lot to do with full contact “sport”).
“The hair, the cap, the brazen expression, the jersey, the guns, the Chuck Taylors, and riding cross on slicks.”
Not to mention the Pantanti-esque climbing technique.
Awesome photo! Makes me think that maybe he was an extra for “Breaking Away.” Definitely has that “Cutter” look to him.
@Buck Rogers
Dave Stoller’s stunt double?
Dude looks kinda familiar though… I guess the V is transcendant.
Well I haven’t searched for “hardman” as that isn’t really my cup of tera but “shaved” that’s one I may have accidentally typed into YouPorn to find several examples. Innocent wasn’t really a descriptive either?
Great photo by the way & love the slicks while doing cross
A hardy hello to fellow Velominati. It’s been too long. My probation officer gave me back internet access, but only if I don’t Google such words as: shaved, hardman, lube, chain, position, velcro, stroke, etc. You know. You’ve all done it. But enough of that.
I have the answer to the mystery cyclocrosser. It is Clark Natwick. He was quite the Junior Badass in the late 70’s. He then became a Senior Badass in the 80’s with a few National Cyclocross Championships.
The picture was probably taken at the Surf City Race Series in Santa Cruz, California, in around 1976 or so.
Now if I could only ride with this stupid electronic ankle thing.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Outstanding sleuthing. When your parole ends you should think about law enforcement. Unless that’s what you were doing when you got caught. Anyways, Frank – that man deserves a decal.
@G’phant
Funny you should mention law enforcement. Dad suggested I contact the CIA and the FBI regarding employment, as both are advertising ON THE RADIO in Texas. If the CIA is asking for applicants from the dearth of geniuses who still listen to terrestrial radio, we’re in a big steaming pile of shit.
I can only assume the CIA would scan my hard drive through the IP address from my online application. That would pretty much end the job interview.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Yes! Clark Natwick!
What a legend…here battling it out with Gary Fisher:
And… just like Sven Nys, he has a race named after him.
@jeff Give that man a bar of soap! I dunno if Pacifica is in or around Santa Cruz or not, but that photo was taken in December, 1977 at the Northern California Championships, Pacifica, California, apparently.
@Brett
Hey, I’ll go with Pacifica in ’77. Good find!
There are certain pictures that elicit respect. Both Brett’s and Frank’s pics are glorious examples of who we are trying to achieve. I’d say what we are trying to achieve, but it is the soul of the V, the essence of a hardman that makes it who we are trying to achieve to be. Clark, you have real arms too.
As a keen cyclist and photographer I could not ask for more.
Both of those photos are grand. I’d never have noticed the CTs unless they were pointed out. Clark Natwick is an awesome name too.
G’phant – that is a pretty damn funny story.
Natwick was one of those kids that had results in Velonews all the time back in the day when it was a black and white news print affair and yes I too thought he looked familiar. Thanks for digging this up and trust some one like Jeff here to put it together – well done. My cute probation officer would be very upset if she found any of those nasty words in my search history…
@G’phant
Oh dear.
@Buck Rogers, @Brett
HA! He totally could be!
@mightyninja, @Jeff in PetroMetro
Is it wrong that I giggled like a school girl when I read that?
How cool is this start line?
I guess he is involved in coaching now. http://www.clarknatwickcoaching.com/
Looking through the Workouts section, I’m surprised not to find any mention of drinking DuMonde Tech, eating worn-out cogs, pump flagellation. Apparently he could use some help in the marketing department.
http://www.clarknatwickcoaching.com/workouts
@frank
Damn! Pump flagellation???? Pretty sure I’m not going to google that term either anytime dsoon!
Googling cycling hardman get this:
I wonder why everybody in the picture is smiling?
@Cyclops
I think they must be quite pleased with their own crankarms, by comparison.
“Seriously, honey, it’s not my fault! I was on my way to searching for ‘how to adjust a brake caliper’ and only got to ‘bra’ when it started showing results!”
@G’phant
That is an awesome story. I can picture it. An image slowly filling in from the top of the big screen to the bottom at 1200 baud in front of an audience. Oops.
@Cyclops
Ludo Peeters says, “Here, hold this for me.”
The guy smiles and gives thanks, “Thank Merckx he meant the bike.”
@frank
I think that you may need to change the title and the last sentence of this post, with the unearthing of ‘Grim’ Natwick’s identity. Maybe ‘Justice’ would be more appropriate, as that what he served to the US ‘cross fraternity for years on end…
@Brett
Word. To be fair, it’s still injustice that he rode during a time when the US Cross scene was hardly noticed. What a stud. I would have loved to see him race in Europe against the likes of Boom and Nijs.
@Cyclops
Years later, nothing has changed.
@Pedale.Forchetta
@Cyclops
No. Enough. Just … stop. Sheesh …
All subsequent posts to this article that are not accompanied by a photo of a cyclist’s ass will be automatically removed.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Club Endspurt…you can just make it out on Clark’s jersey. Likely not on slicks; cross tires at the time were not much bigger than 25 mm. A file pattern would hardly show in the picture. The start line picture is Tilden Park Berkeley. Maybe ’74. The start was 100 yards of grass, a stream crossing, a short single track, followed by another mile of wickedness.
@Jim
Hail fellow Velominatus. You sound like a man with first-hand knowledge of the Northern California ‘cross scene. Stories, please? We like tales of a time when men and machines were made of steel.
@Cyclops, @Pedale.Forchetta
Stand by; I’ll make sure to have Gianni photograph me changing out of my man thong into my cellophane skinsuit before starting the climb up Iwishiwasdeadalugi.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
You do have to admire the vision of the porn industry, though, right? I mean the rest of the world was going, “Hm, I wonder how we can use this to spread knowledge and increase productivity” while they were like, “Oh, Internet + naked = money, Fucktards.”
@Jim, @Jeff in PetroMetro
I’m not easily impressed, but – wait, that’s not true. I’m very easily impressed and easily distracted by shiny thing and carbon fiber – but I’m not easily impressed by people’s ability to pull cycling shit together but this was…well, this was impressive.
On another note, I bought the SI issue today and read the Pharmy article. The US has definitely lost a hero today, but we have a new one – his name is Clark Natwick. I’ll drink to that.
@frank
Yeah. There are some good folks in the peloton. Sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone is a complete twatwaffle. Well, quite a few are twatwaffles, but not all of them.
But back to more important things. How does the porn industry make money when it’s out there for free? I don’t understand the business model.
Club Endspurt? Really?
….Money strokes, indeedy.
I think this might fall under the “bike porn” nomenclature.
Two more things illustrated by the Clark picture: barend shifters, a cap that fit over your hairnet helmet.
On any cx weekend these guys would school me on dirt. You could line up with:
Lawrence Malone, multi-US champion, reported to be the first guy to bunny-hop a barrier at a major Euro event. (The crowd went wild.)
Jim Gentes, who would create the first Giro helmet and found the company.
Danny Nall, the godfather of US cyclocross.
Gary Fisher, you have already heard of him.
Before a cold, damp race in Santa Cruz, most of us were wondering what we were doing there. Gary Fisher flings his bike frisbee-style into a muddy pond, stomps out into two feet deep water to retrieve it, and says to the effect, “OK, now let’s get started.”
@frank
I have to get that issue as well as it sounds like a bit of a lnadmark article. Not normally an SI/ESPN sort of guy but this one has actually reeled me in.
@Jim
PURE. FUCKING. AWESOME.
@Jim
It sounds like Fisher was the unattributed original inventor of the Millarcopter. Fishercopter?
@Jim, @Jeff in PetroMetro
Reminds me of the tale Spankles told on Project Zero:
Legend.
@Geoffrey Grosenbach
Spot on, mate.
Three points.
Clark Natwick is as porn a name as I’ve ever heard
I have loved the use of both “fucktard” and “twatwaffle” in the above conversation. Chapeau.
I love even more (from @Frank’s photo at post #18) that the boys doing the cyclocross start were all in aero positions. While standing still.
No, because that’s exactly what I did & am still giggling re-reading this!
The original photo now has me longing for a long, gnarly climb. Just me and my bike against some steep, seemingly unending singletrack. Preferably with some tight switchbacks. And my determination to get to the top without putting a foot down. And nobody would ever give a rats ass but me when I made it, and that is the way I like it.
@Il buccaneero
Right. That is exactly right.
And yet, here in the PetroMetro, if I want to climb anything, I have to go to a highway overpass. I’m at 16 meters above sea level. A 2-hour ride in any direction gets me to 20 meters. It’s a 3-hour drive west to Austin where climbs can be steep (short but steep). It’s an hour drive north to the Sam Houston National Park where there are rollers, but anyone from a climbing region can do them Belgian-style in a big ring while singing at the top of their lungs “Friggin in the Riggin” by the Sex Pistols.
Oh, and that’s my training goal for 2011. I have great aspirations.
Warning–NSFW. None the less, a classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhHAVaOEO8g
@Jeff in PetroMetro
I don’t know how you do it. I grew up in Fort Worth and spent 4 years in Galveston, where the steepest climb would have been going up over the curb. And your Rule #9 is summer-based.
After looking at the startline photo more closely–
Number 12 is Clark Natwick, number 11 is Jim Gentes. This is a junior race. The guys in the grey jerseys (actually orange) are from the Velo Sport Club. Velo Sport was a shop in Berkeley owned by Peter Rich (not a porn name) who provided opportunities for a lot of talent to go racing. Mike Neal and George Mount (not porn names) are two that made it to a high level. Velo Sport always had a squadra of juniors. Sorry I can’t name more in the photo.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Hey Mate! Where do you live currently? I just found out that I am moving to Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio this summer for two to three years minimum and have NO IDEA of the terrain there. Any rolling hills at all?