Roubaix is the biggest day of the year, as far as I’m concerned, because it is the proving ground of some of the greatest hardmen Cycling has ever known. And Sean Kelly fits that bill perfectly. This piece by @wiscot is a perfect primer for our upcoming book, The Hardmen, due out in the Commonwealth in…
@kogalover is singing my song here. Bikes are beautiful. ’nuff said. VLVV, Gianni With all those posts on riding in winter and being visible, either by putting Eyes of Sauron or other car melting devices on one’s steed, or by even considering a YJA instead of donning plain black kit, it was about time to…
Let us thank @The Oracle for contributing this guest article. We haven’t been putting up many guest articles so it’s good to have something substantial to begin with again. I don’t think cyclists are any more or any less addictive or OCD than anyone else. We are just humans who love to ride the bike….
Dear readers, let us take a break from the almighty Tour for a few minutes. I am the least qualified Velominatus to introduce an open letter concerning Strava as I’m too shame-based to post my rides to Strava. I have a Garmin on the bike for no particular reason, ok, maybe to occasionally see how…
We are all coming down from another Giro. There were very few mass pile ups, not too many dressed up idiots getting in rider’s ways, no scandals. There was not an epic snow day but the annual race across beautiful Italy with a few quality days in the Dolomites, the winner not appearing until the…
The 2016 Giro d’Italia looms and everyone with a pulse is excited, or should be. The Italian Grand Tour has always been more innovative, ready to shake it up, and we love them for it. And yes, some ideas work out better than others; time bonuses for every stage, including time trials, fuggetaboutit. Wiscot has…
A god I use expletives with, that is a god I can work with; the Buddha, the bikes, the cosmic circle of life, FFS. VLVV, Gianni I think of myself as a sort of casual, armchair Buddhist. I make a little ritual of sitting down to meditate in the morning–but only most mornings and only…
@Bea contributed this Guesty with the note below excerpted. I know The Rules since before I started riding a bike. I mocked my cyclist-friend, asked him why he didn’t do triathlon and he answered with “Rule #42” and sent me the link to the website. Too bad I got that email while watching students during…
Why do we love the cycling equation here? For me, applying equations to deal with the passion we feel for cycling is just always funny. Reducing one’s love to some numbers and square root signs doesn’t work but the attempts to quantify always bring a smile. So sharpen your pencils and break out the slide…
Without the workstand, where would we be? Working on a bike while it leans against the wall is no way to work. Yes, we all put off even buying the first poor excuse for a stand for much too long because those Campagnolo upgrades came first. That would have been another benefit of working in…
Where to begin with this Guest Article? When you start talking about a person who makes Fiorenzo Magni sound like, maybe he wasn’t so tough, that is saying a lot! Who needs an inner-tube? On the sliding scale of Hardmen there are a few outliers, a few data points way out past the crowd. Mick…
@RobSandy has done us a real favor with this article. The old gits among us remember Ms. Burton as a force-of-nature cyclist. She loved her bikes, she loved keeping her bikes working perfectly and she loved hauling ass on her bike. What’s not to love? VLVV, Gianni There is a lot talked on this website…
@Wiscot is back with another tale from the peloton. This will help us roadies get a fix as we struggle through the short days in the northern hemisphere (and dearth of road cycling news). And most of us shouldn’t complain too much as at least we have more daylight than Thor has right now. Grazie @wiscot….
This article could be just about the wearing-o-the cotton cap. That is the Pro look right there folks. It’s too bad this helmet craze has gone and ruined it all. It’s almost reason enough to ride the old timey Eroica Strade Bianche; a natty cap worn backward with no-one having a moan about it. @Wiscot…
Things just land on our desk in the V-Bunker. This is one of them. Not really knowing what to do with it, it seemed best to share it with our fellow Velominati. @del loves his cycling and @del gets “misty”. Though I don’t know what that means I hope I never get that misty. I’d have…
Do we love our inanimate objects too much? I don’t think so. I remember getting home from yet another Sunday ride, completely ruined. I had to thank my bike for getting me home again. I love my bike. Modern centaurs, we are not Cyclists without out bikes. @gaff sent this in from Sweden. He does…
Somewhere in the 10 cm thick Velominati editorial handbook is an admonishment about running articles about rides. @RobSandy’s bit has the word Roubaix in its title, it took place in Wales and more than one Velominati was riding, so we move ahead. It is almost a Cogal without the excessive drinking. Thanks @RobSandy for spending…
@Steamy is on fire here, so listen up. Cycling is a stern task master. She asks too much of your time. She asks you to eat but not too much, not too little. Saturday night talk is cheap; it’s what happens early on that dark Sunday morning that counts. Carpe the hell out of that…
Winning the Ronde, even once, should get a person some long term credits, at least free drinks in every Belgian bar. Yeah, you won Flanders, but what have you done lately? Pay and performance, present pay for future performance, it is sorted business. Maybe it is what makes the world go ’round. @ChrisO takes a look…
If Rule #12 does not smolder deep in your soul, you might not be a Velominatus. I’ll still be riffling through bike magazine porn, from the inevitable wheelchair, in the old folks home. Some of us have hidden new bikes from our better halves. Every known bit of subterfuge has been employed to downplay the…