Rule #22 is perhaps the most complicated Rule amongst the (currently) 85. Part of the complexity springs from the fact that we are all very attached to this small cotton cap. Off the bike, it was once a badge used to recognize one of our own; now it has been taken over by the hipster crowd which subsequently ruined it for those of us who wore this hallowed garment with pride. Our response has been to refrain from wearing this garment off the bike and resort to other badges – such as Rule #33 compliance – to identify our own. That said, some of us, in the spirit of Rage Against the Machine, refuse to lay down arms and are fighting to take the power back and callously wear our caps regardless. (Guilty.)
Further complexity is due to its provisioning one to wear a cap during any activity directly related to cycling; maintaining your machine, while kitting up, placed jauntily askew while consuming a post-ride recovery beverage at your favorite watering hole. We’ve deliberately refrained from laying out a clear definition as to what constitutes a cycling-related activity, but the verbose description should give you a feel of the spirit within which to govern this Rule.
What The Rules don’t touch on at all is what type of cap is acceptable and precisely how it may be worn. This small, simple garment is at least as complex as a pair of bib shorts or a jersey, and just as with those items, there is a Pro way to wear them, and a noob way to wear them. Especially in light of a recent rash of non-compliant caps coming onto the market, I thought it as good a time as any to outline the definition of a proper cap and how to wear it.
The material. A proper cycling cap is made of cotton, and is as cheaply made as possible. They used to cost a few dollars. That’s like a nickel in dollOZ. Now they are upwards of $15 or $20. A small strip of elastic should be somewhat carelessly sewn together at the back. A good cap should have almost no quality-control in its making, leading to each cap having its own size or positioning of panels. Each cap has its unique character and should be carefully chosen based on it. There has been a recent slew of new caps (made by both Pearl Izumi and some by our beloved Castelli) that have a sweatband sewn into the cap. This is strictly forbidden.
The visor. This is the most important part. Visors should be short. This is because the purpose of a cap is to be worn while riding, and when the head is tipped down as you move to the V-Locus, you need to be able to see up the road to where the guns will detonate without tilting your head up in order to see past the visor. As with the above, a new wave of caps (again by Pearl Izumi and Castelli) have been made with a too-long visor. These visors are also strictly forbidden in general and for wearing under the helmet in particular.
The Three-Point System always applies. Especially when worn without a helmet in pre or post-ride activities. No exceptions here; forward or backward, just always, always, always follow this system.
Worn under the helmet, the helmet and cap must form a cohesive unit. Start with the cap, and slide it down over the back of the head to the nape of the neck. Then pull the visor down towards the eyes until the bottom edge of the visor is just above the eyebrows. Smooth out the wrinkles in the cap, as those will feel weird under the helmet. Next, the helmet goes on with the front of the helmet pushed down snug towards the visor of the cap. If part of the visor disappears under the helmet, you’ve gone too far, and if any part of the front of the cap shows, you haven’t gone far enough.
Visors can be flipped up, especially when worn backwards. Worn forward, it is better to keep the visor down, especially under a helmet. If for some reason it must be flipped up, keep the bottom line of the cap low to the eyebrows. If it is being flipped up under a helmet, it helps an awful lot if you’re also in the midst of riding to a win in a Monument, your name starts with Phillipe and ends with Gilbert, or both.
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.
@wiscot
@Ron
You two both clearly don't get fyxo's fotography...
The "look" of his models is part of the trick.
Maybe its a Melbourne thing. I can guess how he would respond to your comments though.
What I don't "get" are the high heels and baggy knicks. If you're going for a certain look with a model then why not go all in with the look. She'd look great in proper kit and cycling shoes. It's as if the photog said "don't have bike shorts, just wear these, close enough." and the woman is all "oh no you don't even ask me to take my heels off". In general, I don't really see the difference between a Hooters Nascar calendar and this. They both objectify the things a certain subculture adore. In our case it's bicycles and women.
@Marko
It's "art" - everyone sees different things.
careful you don't go getting all Karolinka on us.
@Marcus
Yeah right, my post is like 8 paragraphs short for that.
@Marcus
Stay tuned, we're interviewing the founder of Fyxo in the near future, just as soon as we pull our heads out of our asses here at Velominati HQ.
Cyclops = Idaho State Road Champion!!!
I can't believe it. What an awesome 50th birthday present!
We were a combined class but they scored us separately. They combined us with the Masters C class - 35+ Cat 5, 45+ Cat 4, 55+ Open (the class that I raced in the crit a few weeks ago and got hosed by the sandbagging Cat 1). I was a little worried about the climb right at the start of the race but I was only gapped a little from the leaders at the top and me and a guy in the Masters C class (on another LOOK) worked together to chase back on (while pulling all the rest of my class with us). After the climb it was 40k of BIG rollers and I worked really hard to make sure I didn't get gapped. I was even able to answer a few attacks. One by one there were only three of us Cat 5's left in the lead group. Me against two skinny guys that looked to be in their mid 20's. The big rollers were starting to take their toll on me but I just kept telling myself not to give up and don't get gapped over the top. But then I started to recover and feel better and at one point there was a guy that had been dangling off the front and I thought if I could catch the other two Cat 5's by surprise and attack hard and bridge up me and the dude off the front could work together since he was in the other class. I've alway been pretty defensive in my riding because I always consider myself as the weakest of the bunch but I launched my attack hard on a little rise. It was actually pretty cool hearing the chaos going on behind me as I sped away at over 55kph. I then settled down to about 45 kph and had just about caught the guy in front when we came to an intersection that we had to take a 90 dergee right at and there was a car coming down the other lane so I had to really get on the brakes and lost all my momentum. The Masters behind me had started to close as we approached another big roller so I just settled in for a pack slide and recovery. We got to another big roller and I was at my limit but I told myself not to give up (which is what I felt like doing) so I gave a little extra burst of V and passed one of the Cat 5's and he went off the back.
That left me and one more Cat 5 with the lead group. The heat and rollers seemed to take a toll on the Masters too since we were slowing to about 27-28 kph and the other Cat 5 moved to the front so I got up there with him. But then I found myself boxed in and the Cat 5 jumped. I told the guys around me "Let me through because he's in my class and I have to go after him" and they let me free - actually they let me pull everybody up to him. We had about 8k to go and there were little surges and responses by the Masters and me. Well, evidently the little surges were enough to make the last Cat 5 pop because we were cruising along and the race official (The copper Element in the top picture) rolls up next me and yells "Hey Ken!" Oh-oh, what did I do? I said "Yeah?" and he says "You're the only one left in your group with the leaders." "Really?" The problem was that the Master were jerking each other around and the pace was slowing and I was worried the other guy might chase back on so I took off again. This had the desired effect of having the Masters get their asses in gear and the pace was back up where I wanted it.
As we turned the corner for the finish line I knew I wasn't going to get caught by the Cat 5 so I let the Masters sprint it out and I came across the line with my first victory salute. I'm so stoked. I get to wear the State Champion jersey and as I told Frank recently it's all because Velominati.com made me start taking things serious. When you look and act pro you feel pro and ride like a (lot slower) pro. Thanks for all your support and encouragement!
@Cyclops
Nicely done! Happy birthday as well. btw I wouldnt mind seeing a picture of you sporting that new jersey.
View Comments
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Yup. Visiting family up north, so it got warmer, sunnier and greener. It's like Dante's seven circles of hell in reverse.
@wiscot
@Ron
You two both clearly don't get fyxo's fotography...
The "look" of his models is part of the trick.
Maybe its a Melbourne thing. I can guess how he would respond to your comments though.
@Marcus
What I don't "get" are the high heels and baggy knicks. If you're going for a certain look with a model then why not go all in with the look. She'd look great in proper kit and cycling shoes. It's as if the photog said "don't have bike shorts, just wear these, close enough." and the woman is all "oh no you don't even ask me to take my heels off". In general, I don't really see the difference between a Hooters Nascar calendar and this. They both objectify the things a certain subculture adore. In our case it's bicycles and women.
@Marko
It's "art" - everyone sees different things.
careful you don't go getting all Karolinka on us.
@Marcus
Yeah right, my post is like 8 paragraphs short for that.
@Marcus
Stay tuned, we're interviewing the founder of Fyxo in the near future, just as soon as we pull our heads out of our asses here at Velominati HQ.
Cyclops = Idaho State Road Champion!!!
I can't believe it. What an awesome 50th birthday present!
We were a combined class but they scored us separately. They combined us with the Masters C class - 35+ Cat 5, 45+ Cat 4, 55+ Open (the class that I raced in the crit a few weeks ago and got hosed by the sandbagging Cat 1). I was a little worried about the climb right at the start of the race but I was only gapped a little from the leaders at the top and me and a guy in the Masters C class (on another LOOK) worked together to chase back on (while pulling all the rest of my class with us). After the climb it was 40k of BIG rollers and I worked really hard to make sure I didn't get gapped. I was even able to answer a few attacks. One by one there were only three of us Cat 5's left in the lead group. Me against two skinny guys that looked to be in their mid 20's. The big rollers were starting to take their toll on me but I just kept telling myself not to give up and don't get gapped over the top. But then I started to recover and feel better and at one point there was a guy that had been dangling off the front and I thought if I could catch the other two Cat 5's by surprise and attack hard and bridge up me and the dude off the front could work together since he was in the other class. I've alway been pretty defensive in my riding because I always consider myself as the weakest of the bunch but I launched my attack hard on a little rise. It was actually pretty cool hearing the chaos going on behind me as I sped away at over 55kph. I then settled down to about 45 kph and had just about caught the guy in front when we came to an intersection that we had to take a 90 dergee right at and there was a car coming down the other lane so I had to really get on the brakes and lost all my momentum. The Masters behind me had started to close as we approached another big roller so I just settled in for a pack slide and recovery. We got to another big roller and I was at my limit but I told myself not to give up (which is what I felt like doing) so I gave a little extra burst of V and passed one of the Cat 5's and he went off the back.
That left me and one more Cat 5 with the lead group. The heat and rollers seemed to take a toll on the Masters too since we were slowing to about 27-28 kph and the other Cat 5 moved to the front so I got up there with him. But then I found myself boxed in and the Cat 5 jumped. I told the guys around me "Let me through because he's in my class and I have to go after him" and they let me free - actually they let me pull everybody up to him. We had about 8k to go and there were little surges and responses by the Masters and me. Well, evidently the little surges were enough to make the last Cat 5 pop because we were cruising along and the race official (The copper Element in the top picture) rolls up next me and yells "Hey Ken!" Oh-oh, what did I do? I said "Yeah?" and he says "You're the only one left in your group with the leaders." "Really?" The problem was that the Master were jerking each other around and the pace was slowing and I was worried the other guy might chase back on so I took off again. This had the desired effect of having the Masters get their asses in gear and the pace was back up where I wanted it.
As we turned the corner for the finish line I knew I wasn't going to get caught by the Cat 5 so I let the Masters sprint it out and I came across the line with my first victory salute. I'm so stoked. I get to wear the State Champion jersey and as I told Frank recently it's all because Velominati.com made me start taking things serious. When you look and act pro you feel pro and ride like a (lot slower) pro. Thanks for all your support and encouragement!
@Cyclops
Nicely done! Happy birthday as well. btw I wouldnt mind seeing a picture of you sporting that new jersey.
@redranger
I guess I have to wait until they contact all the class winners and get sizes and then it'll probably be about 6-8 weeks.
@Cyclops
well it sounds like you represented Velominati well. and that Look is sweet. keep up the hard work dude.