Cobbles, Bergs, Beer, and Legends. Putting the V Back in Vlaanderen.

We'll be flying the Velominati Keepers Tour Banner at the RVV and P-R Roadside.

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Velominati Boardroom as we’ve been scrambling to finalize a few partnerships and get all the products for the Keepers Tour customers designed and produced. Suffice to say, fists and beers were slammed in tandem as we feverishly worked out the final designs.

Producing V-Pints, V-Shirts, and V-Musettes seems a simple enough task; and we also needed a flag and banner to fly at the roadside of the various races we are due to watch from the roadside, including de Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. There was also a the small matter of getting our hands on musette bags, which aren’t commonly found on the market, as far as we could tell. Fair heart, never worry; Gianni and his VMH took matters into their own hands and made them up from scratch. If their other business ventures fail, musette-sewing may be a good fallback, they Look Fantastic.

The most significant effort due was for the Keepers Tour Cobbled Classics 2012 design; enter our graphic-design mastermind, KRX-10. We tossed a few emails across the net and settled quickly on the notion of using a variation of the Lion of Flanders. “Now we need a public-domain vector graphic. Race you to it”, was the last word from KRX10 on the matter before the design was finalized. Then it was on to deciding on a tag line, with the result being perhaps the best example of what happens when the Keepers argue long enough on such matters.

With that, we proudly present the official artwork for Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2012:

The last two weeks I’ve felt like a kid waiting for Christmas as orders were placed and we entered into the torturous period of time while we waited to lay our hands on the final products and see the fruits of our labor. And I have to say, this round may have produced our finest products yet; the V-Lion and tagline turned out magnificently, as did all the other items. The flag and banner are actually breathtaking – waving in the wind. We hope you like it as much as we do.

A few items of note: Attendees of Keepers Tour will receive a musette packed with their V-Shirt and V-Pint along with a few lovies from our sponsors, and will also have the honor of commenting for the next year with the V-Lion badge. Also of note is the matter that these products are not available for sale and will never be; the only way to get Keepers Tour products is to attend a Keepers Tour, so bear that in mind next time around. Finally, if you’re looking for a real photo of the V-Pint, you’ll have to wait until we arrive in Belgium, as they were shipped ahead while I was away on business and as such they have not yet been seen by anyone, even me.

Please also get yourself acquainted with our Twitter and Tumblr sites if you’ve not done so already – we’ll be reserving the site for major updates, and will be posting minor updates in those to locations throughout our trip, with Twitter being used for small updates, and Tumblr for the ones that are too much for a tweet and too little for the V.

VLVV.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Keepers Tour CC2012/”/]

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

ChrisO says:

Mar 27 2012 at 3:13 am

@Chris
Thanks, and sorted...

@Dr C
Don't worry about that - I am like a camel now. My only fluid requirements will be post-ride recovery ones.

Regarding kit - whether for the tour or generally - my greatest wish remains a Velominati cap, in any or multiple styles.

In lieu of which I will be sporting a selection of caps. Unfortunately the Brooklyn cap clashes with the Velominati kit so I may have to go plain white Giordana, or purple Rapha.

I'm even considering wearing a helmet, given the possibility of coming off on the cobbles and actually having the type of impact they are designed for. But that may be an altogether too radical step.
They're not compulsory in France are they ?
Chris says:

Mar 27 2012 at 3:17 am

@ChrisO
Compulsory in France, I doubt it. We might bend over to the EU's every whim but the French are much more selective in their compliance with the rules.

You're more likely to be told off for not smoking Gauloises as you ride.
Dr C says:

Mar 27 2012 at 4:00 am

@ChrisO
No helmet.....like I say, Buck Rogers is the man for the skull fracture advice

For myself, I am trying to fit this in my bike bag - I may have to rent a bike when I get there, as there is no room for it in the bag now
Chris says:

Mar 27 2012 at 4:48 am

@Dr C
Just don't expect any assistance getting back up!

Is that hole on the middle of it's forehead for the recovery fluid IV?
ChrisO says:

Mar 27 2012 at 5:00 am

@Chris

@ChrisO Compulsory in France, I doubt it. We might bend over to the EU's every whim but the French are much more selective in their compliance with the rules.You're more likely to be told off for not smoking Gauloises as you ride.

Well they did have a little burst of insisting that cyclists had to wear bright reflective clothing etc.

I've usually worn a helmet when riding in France (and Belgium) but that's because it's been part of a cyclosportif event where the organisers demand it.

I'll see how the packing goes, and I may try to bring it and wear if it is wet.

Dr C and Buck, just remember I'm of more use to my family completely dead than brain damaged so if I'm not moving someone should 'accidentally' run me over with the support car to make sure.
marko says:

Mar 27 2012 at 5:03 am

@itburns
I like it. Not crazy about the font. Our regular font with V-cog I think would be the way to go but that is cool. really cool.
frank says:

Mar 27 2012 at 5:34 am

Arrive in Amsterdam. No bike. Its Europe. Whatever, though I do sincerely hope it shows in time for our departure to Lille.
marko says:

Mar 27 2012 at 5:51 am

My goal for the KT is that someone tells me my sideburns give me a nice RDV look.
Ron says:

Mar 27 2012 at 6:18 am

In order to help me feel slightly less p.o.'ed about not being on the Keepers Tour right now, would anyone like to share their reasons for not being able (allowed?) to go?

Mine was mainly Budgetatus related. Fingers crossed that this becomes a yearly thing, since I should be much more financially sound in a year. Then again, I'll probably be in better shape because I'll have a job, which I don't have now. The complexities of being a Follower.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 27 2012 at 6:34 am

@frank

Arrive in Amsterdam. No bike. Its Europe. Whatever, though I do sincerely hope it shows in time for our departure to Lille.

One would think that, by 2012, airlines could get a box to arrive with its owner. The logistics must be much much harder than I imagine. Somehow, I doubt it.