Anatomy of a Photo: Just Go Faster

Phil Anderson does the Cipolini "Where are you guys?"

This photo of Phil Anderson’s genuine surprise at the gap between himself and the guy who won at losing reminds me of a story my dad tells of a crewmate from his boat at Laga. My dad was the stroke in a boatful of guys who went on to the compete in several World Championships and the Olympics, some of whom actually won medals there.

Two of the guys even became World Champion in the double one year, winning the race by a few boat lengths. During his post-race interview, one of the two was asked what the secret was to their dominating win. In all seriousness, he responded as follows:

For an important race like this, I’m a little surprised the other guys didn’t pull on the oars harder.

I loves me a good, Stead Up with More Speed Paradox.

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

frank says:

Oct 6 2011 at 10:42 am

@frank
Cycling Arts got a great section on the Brotherhood of the 'Stache. Classic!
Nate says:

Oct 6 2011 at 10:51 am

@frank
Might be worth mentioning that 'stache in Rule 50 but only in the spirit of Pantani's goatee. Like the goatee, it is in the category of exception that proves the wisdom of the rule -- as an accomplishment beyond the means of mere mortals.
wiscot says:

Oct 6 2011 at 11:18 am

@frank
I'll be happy to draft something.
wiscot says:

Oct 6 2011 at 11:27 am

@Nate
I hereby nominate two exemptions from Rule 50. The aforementioned Urs Freuler and Danny Clark, the hard-as-nails trackie from Australia. Read this and decide if you'd want to go mano-a-mano on the boards!
http://pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7999
Oli says:

Oct 6 2011 at 12:27 pm

@frank
Are you freaking serious? That whole blog was created in about 5 minutes as a direct mockery of the slammed stem philosophy espoused here, where "it looks cool" seems to be more important than "it fits good"!

I don't care if you have no spacers, spacers, a negative rise stem, or a positive rise one, or any combination thereof if you actually fit your bike properly.
frank says:

Oct 6 2011 at 12:51 pm

@Oli
No, I wasn't serious. One look at this comedy gold and it's obvious you're being just as silly as we are.

So much for internet sarcasm. I do seem to have struck a nerve, though. I think it's important to remember that anyone who reads the Rules and hasn't said, "What a bunch of fucking idiots" within two minutes gets that it is all just a big laugh.

Ride lots, whatever that means for you, even if you just ride a stretch limo bakfiets.
frank says:

Oct 6 2011 at 12:53 pm

@wiscot

@Nate
I hereby nominate two exemptions from Rule #50. The aforementioned Urs Freuler and Danny Clark, the hard-as-nails trackie from Australia. Read this and decide if you'd want to go mano-a-mano on the boards!
http://pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7999

Impressive stuff! Here is is riding so fast, he's handing off to himself from a parallel universe in the Madison.
frank says:

Oct 6 2011 at 12:54 pm

@Nate

@frank
Might be worth mentioning that 'stache in Rule #50 but only in the spirit of Pantani's goatee. Like the goatee, it is in the category of exception that proves the wisdom of the rule "” as an accomplishment beyond the means of mere mortals.

Absolutely the lines I was thinking along as well.

@wiscot

@frank
I'll be happy to draft something.

Go for it! Post it inline here or on The Rules and we'll croudsource it.
Nate says:

Oct 6 2011 at 12:59 pm

@wiscot
Class. It all comes down to the fact that they don't make mustaches like they used to. The 70s-80s were the heyday.
Nate says:

Oct 6 2011 at 1:01 pm

@frank , @wiscot
How not to grow stach: