Categories: Defining MomentsLa Vie VelominatusLook ProNostalgiaThe Rides

Speed

Pierre-Roger Latour goes more faster at the 2013 Giro d’Emilia. Photo: Pedale.Forchetta

I wasn’t anywhere near old enough to hold a driver’s license but my dad had already bought me a motorcycle. It was a late seventies BMW R100 RS, dark blue. I loved that bike; I polished it fortnightly even though it never left the garage. I spent hours sitting on it, twisting the throttle and squeezing the clutch, diving in and out of turns on a twisty road somewhere in my imagination. My dad sold the bike not long after I got serious about Cycling, making the shrewd observation that if I was able to land myself in the emergency room as often as I did under my own power, then from a Darwinian standpoint my chances of survival would be dramatically decreased by the introduction of a 1000cc engine.

To this day, I love speed. I feel it in that layer between skin and muscle that science will tell you doesn’t exist but that anyone who has ever taken a risk will tell you does. On a bicycle, it doesn’t even have to be high speed; descending, cruising along a valley road, or climbing – any speed that comes as a result of that familiar pressure in my legs and lungs is a thrill.

Cornering at speed will amplify the feeling of speed as your muscles press against the change in tangental velocity. But even the slower speeds of climbing can produce the exciting effects of speed; diving into a tight switchback on a fast climb can provide the distinctive exhilaration that comes with needing to brake and lean while climbing. There is no sensation in Cycling that will make one feel more Pro than needing to control your speed while going uphill.

Cobblestones and gravel also provide their unique doorway into the feeling of speed. The bouncing of the machine under you as you push a big gear along the road will amplify the sensation of going fast with the transitions from tarmac to rough roads and back again playing their own part to demonstrate speed through the power of contrast.

Riding along a road that has a lot of shrubbery or tall grass that hugs the roadside, my peripheral vision will quietly inform me that the blurred motion at my side is the direct result of my own burning engine and the effort I’m putting into the pedals. To experience under our own strength that which others require a motor to accomplish is what makes us stand apart. We are active participants in speed. We are Cyclists.

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.

Next The Rules: Coming to the US May 5 »

Previous « La Vie Velominatus: Rebirth

View Comments

Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 13 2014 at 9:35 pm

@DerHoggz

On the other hand I got hit going straight through a green light, so even with all the right precautions you're pretty much fucked.

yup, had a very close call with a dumptruck full of moron this morning when climbing around a blind bend. Genius decided to crawl around me (wouldn't have been going more than 5km/h faster than me) straddling the double solid lines (no passing). When the traffic came he naturally pulled to the left, luckily for your truly the hillside wasn't flush against the road so with an impromptu cross session disaster was avoided. See below:

Red = Truck

Blue = Where Mikael escaped to
PeakInTwoYears says:

Mar 13 2014 at 9:56 pm

@Mikael Liddy

This is when one momentarily wishes one had a shoulder-fired missile.
Teocalli says:

Mar 14 2014 at 2:17 am

@frank

The most important tip I think anyone has ever given me on any kind of technical activity, whether its riding in traffic, through a CX course, doing a tough MTB climb, or skiing trees: Look where you WANT to go, not where you DON'T want to go.

Too right - first tip of skiing in trees - look at the gaps not at the trees!
antihero says:

Mar 14 2014 at 3:43 am

@The Pressure

@antihero or Foolish

Utterly foolish, of course. Tell me something I don't know.
antihero says:

Mar 14 2014 at 3:58 am

@frank

@The Pressure

@Rob

@antihero Gentlemen. Be smart. Enjoy your speed. Acquired taste or not, 'playing' with traffic can only end one way. Cheat it at your peril, but if you try to occupy the same space as your four-wheeled friends, the result isn't worth the thrill. Not to mention the ill will you are spreading darting in and out. Commute? Then commute. You want thrills? Find your descents as you contest townlines. I like reading your entries...be safe.

I'm not sure anyone is talking about taking cars head-on here; surely these guys are riding at the side of the road, just racing the traffic?

I strongly believe in taking the lane whenever a situation gets sketchy, you have to hold your position because cars don't realize the danger they put you in when they pass in those cases. That said, you have to have the chops to go the speed of traffic to stay there or have the courtesy to only take the lane so long as your safety depends on it. As soon as you have a chance to pull to the side, pull over, slow down, and always wave a thanks to the traffic that waited for you.

@frank is correct here: at no time do I ever violate traffic laws (save perhaps for the speed limit on a good day.) As a Velominatus (in training) I am an ambassador for our sport, and not a some idiot messenger boy.

I always take the lane when riding in the city - it's the only safe option in many places. Riding next to the gutter in the city is a sure way to 1) Have flats every day, and 2) beg drivers to intimidate you. The faster you ride, the safer you are. Like @frank said: if you start holding up traffic, you pull over and let folks by with a friendly wave. Or, you just lay the fucking hammer down and give folks in the cars a show.

It's been months since I've had even the slightest trouble with from driver, and I'm out on the city streets every single day. Vehicular cycling and good manners are the key. Plus speed. Lots of speed.
sthilzy says:

Mar 14 2014 at 5:01 am

Il Re Leone, got style!

FILM BOND from Mcipollini on Vimeo.
DerHoggz says:

Mar 14 2014 at 5:49 am

@Mikael Liddy

@DerHoggz

On the other hand I got hit going straight through a green light, so even with all the right precautions you're pretty much fucked.

yup, had a very close call with a dumptruck full of moron this morning when climbing around a blind bend. Genius decided to crawl around me (wouldn't have been going more than 5km/h faster than me) straddling the double solid lines (no passing). When the traffic came he naturally pulled to the left, luckily for your truly the hillside wasn't flush against the road so with an impromptu cross session disaster was avoided. See below:

Red = Truck

Blue = Where Mikael escaped to

I had this thought on a bridge the other day that all it takes is one car swerving to avoid another to throw me off into the abyss.
Pedale.Forchetta says:

Mar 14 2014 at 6:22 am

Domenico Pozzovivo (the Pianist), Giro dell'Emilia 2013
unversio says:

Mar 14 2014 at 6:25 am

@antihero

For some reason I can't quite explain, I get my jollies from playing in traffic at speed.

My commute home has a lovely set of hairpin turns that terminate in a long straight runout of perhaps a mile. It's two lanes per side with heavy car traffic in this spot. The turns are tight enough that I can beat the cars out of the corners every time, and then it's a flat-out sprint to the bottom of the hill. Drivers won't usually play along, but every now and again some kid will pull alongside and redline his engine. Makes my day.

There's another lovely dead-flat run of about 1.5 miles by the river where the winds are almost always at your back and the speed limit 2omph (which of course means they go 30/35.) There is no excuse for failing to stay on a car's wheel for the entirety of this run. Bliss.

You'll eventually take some sort of badge for this matey.
unversio says:

Mar 14 2014 at 6:28 am

Don't draft cars (30, 35) only trucks (40, 50). Cars will stop on a dime. I won't draft trucks anymore either -- you're too close to fully see what is coming.