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/”/]
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View Comments
@brett
Awesome, awesome, awesome. I hope you guys realize what an experience you're having, from this vantage point it's positively other-worldly. Have fun and ride safe!
@wiscot
I used to think the same thing. Interestingly rode the RVV sportive (135kms) last Saturday and only got through about a bottle and a half in 5 hours. I was surprised about this. No doubt helped by temps not getting above 10C. The real plus was I didn't need to stop to pee the whole ride or else I wouldn't have kept it under 5 hours (4:59:24). As for food, got through 2 Torq gels, a Torq bar, a small yoghurt covered cereal bar collected at a feed and a waffle (the latter eaten in two halves once in the lead up to Kwaremont and then following descent from P'berg). Seemed just about right, although I think I timed the waffle less well than I could have, should probably have got it down a bit sooner. I know a chap who has been out riding with Miller in Girona, he was very surprised at how little water they take with them.
@wiscot
@Ron
I'm in agreement. Two hours without eating is my limit. On longer rides I need to eat each hour stating with the second hour. Do I need to eat more pre-ride?
@kyle
I'd be interested in what Museeuw eats before a four hour ride, if he eats nothing during it.
At news stands everywhere...
@Cyclops
Freakin' brilliant mate!
@kyle
+1 for me - I used to do four hour rides on a just a gel or two and water. I did lose a good bit of weight when I was riding like that, but my performance always suffered and increased significantly once I started filling one of my bottles with some sort of calories (either a mixture of Maltrin QD and an electrolyte drink, or some Maltrin mixed with a little soy protein)
@Cyclops
What have you got against Canadians that you charge them $595.00 more per issue?
this business with no food on rides under four hours... yea, i don't ever see myself complying with that rule. unless i want to ride VERY slowly for four hours. i generally can get through a two hour ride with no food, but generally i'll need a snack afterwards. for four hours...like others, i need a bar or something about every hour.
there is something to be said for approach though. if you're riding hard all that time, you certainly need the calories in order to keep doing so. if it's a more casual ride, you need less. i have a riding buddy that eats a ton on rides and complains about his weight. he rides hard frequently thought. i told him to eat less and ride more casually a few times a week, just like he did when he started riding and lost a bunch of weight. i know that a four hour ride may qualify as that same approach for a pro, but not for me.
also, riding in the big ring all the time... yea, not gonna do that either. not only do i not see myself climbing the local 20% gradients with that, but i also don't like replacing my chain, cassette and chain rings due to the abnormal wear caused by using a terrible 53x25 chain line. again, pro's can accomplish those gradients in the big ring (and probably in a 53x19, 53x17 or higher even); they also have a team of mechanics and unlimited, free bike parts. i do not.
@VeloVita
Customs and Taxes.