Merckxy Christmas, and a Coppi New Year
It has been a crazy year, this, with our first annual Keepers Tour sorted, partnerships with the industry’s leading icons including Johan Museeuw, Pavé Cycling Classics, DeFeet, Fizik, and Lezyne – and a book deal to boot (deadline looming large on January 1st). We couldn’t have asked for a better year, and would like to remind you all that none of this – not one part of it – works without you, The Community.
It is a dream come true to be part of Cycling and to have some perceived value within this amazing community. Thank you all. From the bottom of our hearts, we wish you a very Merckxy Christmas, and a Coppi New Year.
Merckx bless you, one and all.
– The Keepers
@Enoch
Bravo!
@Deakus
Ha! Well played, sir….usually by weight watching I mean, observing myself get fatter and on the holiday I turn a blind eye to it and simply get fatter with blinders on!
Santa delivered a wheel truing stand today, one of the very last things I need to have a proper shop. It’s 11am and the Bloody Mary’s are already flowing.
This goes out to @G’rilla mostly, but to all the other lovers of cantilever’s on road machines. Merckxy Christmas to all y’all:
Old school ‘cross circa 1930’s
@Deakus
This isn’t a Christmas song, but the sentiment sort of sums up the holiday season, and how things should always be. Thanks for reminding me just how brilliant the The Traveling Willbury’s were. Merry Christmas to all!
I’ve been more of a lurker this year, with the occasional post. Keep up the good work. You all help motivate me a little on Rule #9 days, and I have to remind myself to HTFU frequently. I also have been accustomed to hearing the phrase “that fucking bike” before I ever knew of this site. Now I know I have a support group to help me through…..
A touch of the old & new make up my cycling swag this year. New jersey from the local cafe & then a le Coq Sportif l’eroica merino jersey for apres velo wear
With a casually deliberate balance of reverence and irreverence for cycling culture, the Velominate have helped me through 2012 – my best year ever on the bike. I even carved out the beginnings of a cyclo-sanctum in my basement and pushed the n+1/s-1 envelope with one more mosheen. Looking forward to next year.
May the Prophet be with you all.
Feeling blessed today. My VMH and the Velominippers put a brand new set of Mavic Kyserium Elite S with tires under the tree for me this morning. Unfortunately, there’s a fresh 20cm of snow outside, and in this part of the world that qualifies as a natural disaster. There will be no roads cleared for days, so I’m likely to be housebound, staring longingly at my new hoops, dreaming about getting them out on the road.
@Spun Up
Ha, frustrating. It was bucketing down in London yesterday, all morning, and the thought did cross my mind that I felt sorry for any kids who got a new bike for Christmas.
Then as we were on our way to velomin-laws for lunch we saw two cyclists not far from our place navigating their way through potholes and small ponds. One was an older guy all wrapped up tight in his cycling gear and rolling pretty casually, the other was a teenage boy looking a little less certain and slightly wobbly on a very bright green and shiny new road bike.
Kudos to him for starting with Rule #9.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all!!!!
Loving the new top cap from Secret Santa!!
@936adl love it…where’d that come from?
@Mikael Liddy
What Mikael said ……….
@Barracuda
My brother in law got it for me from http://www.kapz.co.uk. It’s really nice quality too. They do a full custom service and will make pretty much anything you want.
@936adl
I take it they therefore now have a base drawing that the rest of the Velominati can order….do you know if the rest of us could now order or would we have to submit a drawing ourselves…I could do with at least 2 maybe 3 of these..
@Deakus
He must have the base drawing so I’m guessing you can just re-order. I need one more myself. A chap called Simon Keane made the original order if that helps at all?
@936adl
Thanks I might tap him up for one or two.
Coppi New Year everyone. Thanks to the Keepers for all the fun. Got the pedalwans out for some Rule #9 action this morning — it was much needed after a day inside yesterday.
Thanks to the Keepers for all the work & good luck on that Jan. 1 deadline. I’m officially setting myself a Feb. 2 World CX Championships deadline for my “book” to be finished. Gotta make it happen!
Some awesome gifts have been received! I needed nothing but got: very nice t-handle allen wrenches, a second of my favorite helmet in witte to counter the zwarte model I have, a really cool mobile of bicycles made from recycled metal, and some hand degreaser, always useful.
Happy holidays. I’m about partied & visited out. Looking forward to some long rides, some focussed training, some less indulgent consumption, and some peace!
@scaler911
I love that shot from Belgian Boys!
G’Rilla, congrats again on a great season.
Spoiled today, my xmas gifts were late (due to a shipping problem, I guess) but Mrs. graham d.m.’s gift arrived in the post: fizik antares saddle (she’s a good woman) and the fulfillment of a gift card purchase arrived also: a Kask k50 evo helmet (to replaced cracked Bell). Add these arrivals to a morning off work, spent sledding with the kids…..pretty great day, indeed
@scaler911 Nice! One race left for me in January.
I bought all the parts for a full wheelset. Waiting for them to arrive and reading up on Sheldon Brown in the meantime.
@G’rilla
If you remember or have the time, share your thoughts on the process here. I’ve read all the blogs and articles on wheelbuilding, but still went chicken shit and bought a custom wheelset instead of trying to build it myself. Would love to get feedback from someone in my shoes: eager as shit but possibly incompetent. Well, the incompetent part is particular to me, not you G.
@roger Yeah, I’ll definitely write it up. Both people I asked to help me said it’s so easy that I don’t need any help. We’ll see.
@G’rilla are you using a dishing tool?
@roger
Good for you G’Rilla! When you are ready to build your dream CX wheels with the Chris Kings, I will have a set of rims for you!
@roger Strip an old wheel down and rebuild it. That will give you the confidence to eventually go with new parts, plus you can keep stripping and assembling it over and over. When you are ready for new parts, let me know.
good luck!
@Mikael Liddy That le Coq Sportif l’eroica merino jersey is absolutely amazing. So nice. Would not mind one myself!
Man, it’s been so long since my last comment that I almost forgot my password. Sooner or later, I’ll be able to get out from under the shit-ton of work I’ve been stuck with and read the backlog of articles that I’ve missed.
Anyway, have a Coppi New Year, you fucks.
My body gave me a lovely gift for the holidays. I was riding the rollers doing a Sufferfest workout last Thurs and having a really hard time. Tried again the next night with even worse results. Long story short, since I currently only have one hand to type with, I had a stent put in a 99% blocked coronary artery this afternoon. At least I know the pain wasn’t from switching from a 17 degree stem to a 6 degree one. Happy New Year everyone.
@seemunkee
Dude. Very glad you’re typing.
Buddy of mine had a quad bypass this spring after a minor heart attack. He’s *way* fitter and happier now than he was for the previous couple of years when he thought he was just getting older and fatter. (When I found out, I was really pleased that he decided not to have the heart attack when he and I were way the fark up in the high country hunting mule deer the previous fall.)
Get better soon.
@seemunkee
You are the 99%! Occupy seemunkee’s return to form!
I’m not sure what the hell that means, except get better and back on the bike soon.
@seemunkee rest then ride!
get well
@seemunkee
Great to hear you’re recovering. I caught a bug a few years back that went to my heart and put me in an ICU for a few days so I know a tiny bit of what you’re going through. Enjoy the rest and enjoy being back on the bike when the time is right.
@PeakInTwoYears
I hear you. Friend of mine had chest pain at the airport on our way home from a horseback riding trip out West. He ended up with three stents right after we got home. While we missed out on the opportunity for a Navajo burial ceremony, he’ll be around to go out riding again.
@seemunkee
Get well soon!
@seemunkee
Good Lord, Brother! Thank God that you got checked out and stented before irreversible damage was done. VERY scary but now you can come back stronger than ever!
Really makes you realize how every day really is a gift, huh?
Take care, heal well and listen to your cardiologist! Best of luck on the come back!
Thanks all. Home and getting some rest. right now I have no desire to ride, by next week it will start to get hard waiting for the OK from the doc. I’m looking forward to getting fit for the spring.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Happy New Year, as well.
Just knocked off from my last ride of what has been a painful, albeit extremely enjoyable year on the bike.
Some stats from 2012 c/o Strava:
188 rides
7,250km
119,000m climbed
3 bikes (1 of which has survived)
1 collarbone shattered
And most importantly a metric fuckton of fun.
Enjoy your new year celebrations, leave the bike alone tomorrow and hit it hard again from January 2nd! VLVV
Completed my final ride of the year earlier too. A good year all told, and many many memorable rides in the bag!
2013 is already looking busy, and the training will be starting early door the Bristol Cogal in April.
Happy New Year to you all!
Last ride of the year complete. Decided to dress formal (Sacred Garments) for the occasion. It was an overcast day with steady drizzle – a typical Seattle day – a very atypical Houston day. Rain is usually a full contact sport here – violent downpour and then gone.
Started out toward a local park picnic loop when a leaf became stuck in my front brake and started making a repetitive noise. Came to a stop and realized the leaf was actually a clean puncture of the front tire that, in combination with the rain, was spitting like an angry cobra. Great. I was still close to home and the tire was leaking slowly. Turn around? Hell no.
Sat down to change the tube. Of course, that is when the real rain began. So there I was, sitting out in the rain changing a tube almost within walking distance from my house, when everything went completely quiet. No cars, no people, even the dogs went silent. One of those eerily muffled moments that usually only occur at dawn.
Got things sorted and rode hard for an hour on almost deserted roads. Never thought a flat in the rain would be an excellent way to end the year.
A few weeks late, but oh well. Had a nice holiday, did some fun riding in a national forest on dirt roads on my cx bike. Also got far too many gifts but they were all great & thoughtful, including Robert Penn’s “It’s All About the Bike.” Been incredible so far, really cool personal pursuit for a custom bike + a history of the sport.
I’d also like to say that as the year gets going I am thankful to be a contented Velominatus. Not riding as much due to work, but that’s okay. I’ll be back at it in a few weeks. And what is really nice, I’ve realized, is how well set I am. I have my bikes in fine order, my kit is well stocked, I have two of most things so I ride on two wet days in a row, and most of my stuff is darn nice. When not riding that much I find it really satisfying to go into my cycling drawer, pull out some nice stuff, chose the right helmet and shades and shoes for the day, and then ride a silent bike for a few hours.
Hope everyone is set for a big year! Good luck.