It is dark now when I rise. It is dark when I return home from the office. Leaves crunch under the soles of my shoes as I walk in the city. The rides that once occupied a devoted period of each day have now become stolen indulgences of either serendipity or careful planning.
The rain falls more regularly now; the Rain Bike is in top circulation. Bikes #1 and #2 hang from the wall, sparkling still from their last cleaning, now several weeks ago. The Rain Bike is covered in grime more often than it is clean. Cornering is a practice undertaken with great care as the leaves and their rotting remnants provide an abject reminder of Rule #64.
It is easy for the mind to forget it is a cyclist when the days are short and cold. Ritual becomes an increasingly important factor to keeping the cyclist’s rhythm in the body. This is why I continue to shave my legs throughout the winter even though they are covered when I ride. This is why I walk down to the basement to visit my bikes every day, even though I may not ride them. Such things remind us to keep living La Vie Velominatus.
A few months ago, Gianni mailed me his old Super Record front downtube shifter. It mesmerized me. It is a tool from an era long past, but echos in every piece of modern kit we use today. Designed firstly to serve a purpose and secondly to be gorgeous, it represents the duality of uncompromising function and unyielding beauty that fills every recess of cycling.
I carefully polished it and slipped it onto my keychain. Its gleaming form reminds me every day of the grace an elegance that punctuates our amazing sport.
Grazie, Gianni.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
I've been lusting after a NOS Campy Super Record bike at my LBS for a couple months now. All I can figure out is playing the lottery for it.
That's a cool key chain, Frank. But remember the days when bike had complete Campy gruppos except for the DT shifters? The truly hardcore would be running Simplex Retrofriction shifters.
Oh, one more thing Frank. With the picture above, a small file, and a little bit of talent (remember, I got skillz), you might come home to a Cyclops in your basement drinking your IPAs and drooling on bikes #1 and #2.
@Cyclops
You're welcome to try. Of the approximately two-hundred pounds of dog you'll find greeting you loudly, you'll find the most surprising factor to be the 6 pounds of crabby cat which will likely do considerably more damage.
Let me know when you plan to make your attempt; I'll be sure to set up a video camera.
Do Castelli do a catproof legwarmer in Velominati colours? Should they?
..and @Cyclops he forgot to mention the crates of scented candles down there too...are you secure enough in your manhood (as Frank is) to be around those babies?
Great article, Frank. My heart yearns for spring, and this article gives succour to that yearning. I've just vacuum packed my summer bike after cleaning, servicing and oiling and put it in my (damp) cellar until April 4th and I find it all quite depressing.
Awesome keyring - a mental motivational talisman through these dark, cold times.
@Cyclops: +1 on great observation skills, but I'm putting my money on the dog/cat combo, ex-USMC or not.
Hard to argue with that keychain being the shit...very cool. I think all of us feel the pain of rising and coming home in the dark now. Quite depressing actually...right now, spinning in the basement watching the TDF and A Sunday In Hell is keeping my spirits up...and of course looking forward to the spring classics. FML?
You guys need to get into cyclocross - opens up a whole new range of possibilities such as the local park etc - that will get you through the short cold shitty days and will keep the motivation up - or even better hit the velodrome if you live near an indoor one.
To me that seemed like pure poetry. A mesmerising short story. Nice
Would you believe I bought this cross bike last week and the day I brought it home we got hammered with snow and freezing rain? Tis true...it's currently sitting in my basement waiting for a "slightly" better day to go outside.