[rule number=12/] That is a very reasonable opening salvo for the Rule about bike ownership. Three is good and certainly a minimum, and we are talking road bikes here, if there was any doubt. They naturally become ordered: the #1 is ichi-ban, top dog, go-to bike for every and all rides. #2 was the old…
Living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and getting to Italy is not a quick or easy trip. Who’s going to keep the beasts alive? Are we fit enough? Do we bring our bikes? What is the least painful way to get there, in coach? This can go on and on, depending on the…
Or as Bob Roll keeps calling him Bri-ann Holm?! I have three reasons right off the top of my head as to why Bri-ann Holm is a badass. The first is he offered to cut off Dan Martin’s ears if he didn’t finish in the top ten of this year’s Tour de France. Martin finished…
This was going to be an article about Rule #45. It is amazing how much time is wasted and matches burned when professionals stop for that second bike change to get back on their #1. With all the jigs available to team mechanics it would seem they could set up five bikes exactly the same….
It’s a little late to be writing about the road races in Rio…but gawd damn, they were both so good that I can’t help it. Chapeau to the designer of the course, especially the finale. A very tough climb followed by an equally tough descent followed by an utterly flat but long run-in to the…
As a longtime titanium bike owner, I’ve always been jealous of a beautiful painted frame but Ti and carbon frames don’t need paint like a steel frame needs paint. But I want some painted beauty. It’s like buying a white car; I can’t do white, need some color. So between a Ti frame and a…
Forget the skinny climbers for a moment. Let’s talk about these two on Stage 16 and appreciate just why they are the professionals and we are not. Young Alaphilippe has already proven himself to be a monster in his Tour debut. If not for a jammed chain on the final descent of stage 15 he…
How can anyone be such a great cyclist and look so ungainly on a bike? Does this not violate a basic tenet of V-philosophy? Would he not be faster if his knees and elbows were tucked in neatly, aligned with his forward motion? On riding style alone Quintana has a huge edge, he just looks…
It’s been awhile since a book has been reviewed on Velominati. Who has time to read books? I needed some background on Sean Yates and was surprised to know he had written an autobiography back in 2013. This book is a real beauty. The book is stitched together with his own accounts of life and…
This is perhaps painfully obvious to everyone but me and if so, sorry I’ve yet again wasted your time. The other day, after falling off another floating board in the ocean I had to admit my balance might suck. And my coordination too or I might have been good enough at baseball to actually like…
[rule number=”95″/] This festering blight on the Cycling landscape seemed to start with cross-country mountain bikers, who often finish their race alone and have time to stop at the finish line, look around to see if there are any spectators in attendance, then bend over like a shaved praying mantis to struggle with the 7…
I have gone off before about choosing your parents wisely. I wish I had been paying more attention as a youth when those options were discussed. When I saw Bjorn Thurau in the break in Amstel Gold I thought, damn, that kid is tall, he is like mini-Phinney. He is in more ways that one;…
In order of preference: Hang out with William and Alex of Pavé Cycling Classics. You will see the race at three different locations, all the while portaging coolers of Malteni beer and baguette sandwiches. The final location will be Carrefour de L’Arbre where the shit will hit the fan and the final can be watched…
Finally the Dutch are showing their true potential. No one is going to read the Friday-before-De-Ronde post unless it is an exclusive interview with Tommeke and he is not answering our IMs. Four years ago at KT2012 we were there when Boonen took Ballan and Pozzato to the line. Who would have bet against him…
Firstly, all you kids, kindly get off my lawn. Especially you kids who wear too tall black socks with white cycling shoes. Get off my lawn and stop racing in my favorite bike races. There’s no call for that. Why should my Milan-Sanremo enjoyment be ruined by this? It’s a sunny day, no snow, no…
I wonder if Rule #43 should be sublimated on our bibs too. It might be my most favorite Rule. Don’t be a jackass. But if you absolutely must be a jackass, be a funny jackass. Always remember, we’re all brothers and sisters on the road. As a Keeper on the Velominati site, it irritates me…
As I write this, Rule #33 is being hammered on over in The Rules. This is a hell of a Rule, demanding legs be kept shaven at all times. I believe for most Velominati “at all times” is a tough ask. No one is saying you have to shave the guns everyday, unless you have…
Points-of-contact, these are three areas of scrutiny and argument for Velominati; saddles, chamois creme, shoes, socks, handlebar tape so why not gloves? Picking grit out of your palms is bad. Yes, it is very bad. The fear of this might be the number one reason people get into the habit of wearing gloves, and it…
For my money, the best slice of cycling video ever is Francesco Moser, appearing out of the dust, in the 1976 Paris-Roubaix. He blasts by the moto camera on the right, on a mission to get up to the front. Something about him appearing, then almost disappearing down the road. What was that? And there…
Frank’s maddening post about doing things because, well, because that’s the way to do things made me question some of my own questionable cycling behavior. My sensi taught me to clean off my tires immediately after riding over something that might cause a puncture. This was done while riding, finger tips floating over the tread…