My work has me spending much time on college and university campuses. Among the myriad fads that are sweeping the dirtbag and hipster college student sets these days is riding the retro bike around. My feelings on this fad is “more power to them”. I’ve got no qualms with college students on meager incomes recycling…
The Archives
Perusing the Velominati Archives of Cycling Photos Liberated from the Interwebs (VACPLI), I stumbled across this little gem. I’m sure they are lovely people on the inside, but this photo showcases one of the most unflattering examples of spectators we find along the roadside of the Great Races. I’m not sure how you can be…
In my imagination, I don't think there is anything cooler than a civilian – one of us – being allowed to take the red pill and go behind the lines with a Pro team. Oh, wait. There are two things cooler than that: the first would be to have that individual be asked to be…
The above photo was liberated from a Dutch website which appears to be dedicated solely to a book about Dutch and Belgian riders both old and new. I can’t read a lick of Dutch, in fact, I’m not even 100-% sure it’s a Dutch site (based on the “.nl” though I’m pretty sure). The website…
Daylight Savings always represents a turning point for my cycling season. In Fall, it represents leaving my season’s goals behind as I find once again the simple pleasure of riding my bike for the sake of riding my bike; the sensation of the rhythm, the hypnosis of rain dripping from my cycling cap’s brim, the…
With the spring racing season upon us, there is a lot of talk about the pros– what it means to be pro, how to look pro, and so on. There are two things that distinguish the professional cyclist. The first is talent, which is a mysterious thing and best left for another discussion. The second…
Occasionally, we find ourselves removing our proverbial tongue from cheek and getting a little bit serious. Try as we might, a good cause just can’t always be avoided, and here we have Steampunk returning for his second Guest Article to discuss his latest project. Enjoy the read, and if you feel so inclined, jump over to his…
There’s been a lot of talk around these parts lately, a lot of strange, crazy talk. Grown men discussing their weight and height and BMI, discussing how sensitive we are to the offence caused by the terms with which we describe our female riding (and life) partners, grown men talking about other stuff that probably isn’t…
I’m not particularly fond of this photo, but it certainly tells you a thing or two about Le Blaireau. A man more comfortable speaking with his appendages than with words, he was patron of the last peloton that truly represented the working class sport that cycling originally was; one where riders escaped a tough life of manual labor…
The Strade Bianche. Now here’s a race who’s name change I can get behind. Strade Bianche sounds so much cooler than Eroica, no? Mind you I speak no Italian but I know cool sounding words when I hear them. I do own the full Rosetta Stone Italian set, however, and plan to learn one day. The term,…
Our lives as cyclists are made sweeter by the occasional intersection of our world with that of professional cycling. Spotting a pro out on the road, stumbling across a team training ride, sneaking onto the back of said team training ride, even stealing a conversation with a pro or ex-pro can leave a lasting impression and provide…
Update: On Monday, July 18th, this product has been demoted from Reverence status due to imprecise machining of the 3mm and 4mm allen wrenches. Please see the updated Reverence article for it’s worthy successor. My apologies to anyone who has purchased this product based on this article. I am truly sorry. Yours in Cycling, Frank — In…
In honor of the first Australian to win KBK it seems appropriate to give a Chapeau to our mates down under. Congrats to perhaps the greatest up and coming cycling nation on earth and to Chris Sutton for a show of strength in what was a free-for-all to the finish in Kuurne today. Lest our…
This weekend proper bicycle racing starts for the season with Omloop Het Volk (yes, I know it’s not called that anymore but I like the old name better and it’s easier to spell for my dumb American ass) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Now that riders have stretched their legs in the TDU, Oman, Algarve, Qatar and various…
Whenever I send out an Out of Office reminder at work, I take special care to indicate where I’ll be, which is always Awesomeville. It amazes me how few questions this raises, but I chalk it up to it being a foregone conclusion. Imagine my surprise, then, when upon my return from Maui someone asked me where, precisely,…
It’s a call to arms. No, it’s a call to legs, hearts and minds. Just as the Illuminati would stage their fabled, and somewhat feared Cabals, we the Velominati will this year stage our own modern-day versions, the Cogals. A meeting of like-minded misfits brought together by the promise of beer, preceded by a bike…
Shifting is perhaps the most pure expression of our art as Velominati. It is the conduit through which we control our cadence; it effects our power, our breathing, our heart rate. When those essential things come together with the rhythm of the road, we are cast in the spell of La Volupte. The more in-tune with our bodies…
Without a doubt cycling is dominated by males. Stop for a second and make two lists. One list including all the male pro cyclists you can think of off the top of your head, male riding companions of yours, and other male Velominati. On the other list, jot down all the female pro cyclists you…
I didn’t think this article would ever need to become reality. I thought we could safely file this one in the “Obviously Not Allowed, Fucktards” bin alongside the Rules for reflectors, kickstands, and recumbents. But I stand corrected. I’ve been playing around with clever, subtle ways of phrasing this, looking for the right touch to…
There’s an air of Shakespearean tragedy to the death of Marco Pantani on Saint Valentine’s Day in 2004. Once the most famous cyclist in the world, he died alone in a hotel room on a day devoted to love. But his love – Cycling – had betrayed him. Once a fixture of the Nineties European…