I find professional athletes – cyclists in particular – an impressive bunch. They are hard, disciplined people who ply their trade in some of the most atrocious conditions imaginable. To become professionals, they have to be good at what they do, and smart enough to learn how to continue succeeding despite the gaps between the…
The Archives
The migration to electronic transmissions in cycling is inevitable. Cables have lots of inherent problems; they stretch, rust, break, and get clogged in their housings. Worse, they are part of an imprecise mechanical system that requires constant maintenance and adjustment, and one that can by design only work perfectly in one gear and gets progressively…
Getting each new copy of Rouleur is almost a religious experience. It is printed on heavy paper, and has a particular smell about it; the pages are printed with a mat finish, so the heavy, rough pages feel a certain way in your hands as you turn them. There is no other periodical that I'm…
I suppose cycling has always been flush with enthusiasts such as us, The Keepers, and readers such as yourselves. One of the greatest things about the web is that it lets us, the irrationally-impassioned, freely speak our voice should we want to, and freely share our ideas and work with others. This blog, for example,…
Sad news today that two-time Paris-Roubaix winner Franco Ballerini was killed in a car rally accident. A man who lived for the cobbles, a true legend of that particular race, and the sport. R.I.P. Franco. [dmalbum: path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Ballerini/”] More here.
In 1998, Marco Pantani staged one of the most prestigious coups of cycling by winning the Giro-Tour double. He made this run aboard what I believe to be the most beautiful bike in history, a Celeste steed with a yellow section of frame starting at the seat collar and spreading out down the tops of…
The aroma. The taste. The ritual of the preparation, and the anticipation. It’s more than just a drink. Coffee is an integral part of cycling and cyclists lifestyles. But, like Campa versus Shimano, or white socks versus black, the way we imbibe the magic bean can be just as polarising. We received an email from…
This is the tale of the day I caused Paolo Savoldelli to crash out of the Tour de France. It happened in a flash, and the details are fading into the cobwebs of my horrible memory; if you're interested, you can read a more detailed account in my original post on the subject. Our trip…
At first glance, you might cite a whole host of Rules being broken here. Bars too high, not enough set-back on the saddle, lack of chain, to name a few off the top of my head. Furthermore, the rider of this particular bicycle lacked cycling-specific eyewear and was wearing knee pads, and was doing nothing…
Those of you who have been studying our catalog of The Rules will have noticed that eyewear is to be cycling-specific, and should always accompany you on your rides. There is a functional reason for this: your eyes are a valuable asset which you want to protect from UV rays, debris, and wind. There is…
Tan lines are to the Velominatus what a drug overdose is to a rock star, or a Victoria Cross is to a returned serviceman. It's a badge of honour, and while neither of those comparisons are glorious in their deployment, the reward, or possibly even notoriety, is somehow noble. You've gotta earn your stripes, right?…
Is it awesome to wear team kits? Yes, but took me a long time and a trip to Italy to have this revelation. Looking good in matching jersey and shorts is cool.
In the roughly six months since launching the Velominati, we have gradually moved from covering races, rumors, and doping to pouring over the very essence of what makes ours such a special sport – its history, culture, legends, traditions, races, and its physical and cultural challenges – and how those threads fit into cycling’s colorful…
Followers of the Keepers may remember a while back that the Head Keeper, Frank, was having a dilemna about whether or not to run Nokon cables on his steed, and indeed which colours would suit said machine. I'd been running them on my previous Roubaix, mainly to get the 'Zabel-esque' shifter cable routing, with some…
The Rusty Chain award, an award going to the la grand Douche of 2009. This year’s top contenders are Rebellin, Schumacher and Di Luca.
As the year comes to a close, I find myself thinking back to the most memorable moments of the 2009 professional racing season. Overall, it was a pretty good season with some of my favorite races were won by my favorite riders; Liege was won in magnificent fashion by my boy Andy while a few…
Oh behalf of the Keepers, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here’s to a great 2010; let the season begin!
Issue 15 just arrived on my doorstop, and it is especially good and is going to take a good long time to work through all the way to the back cover. But I can tell you about the beginning, which was particularly captivating. It started with a great piece on Jeremy Hunt (written by Domestique/Journalist…
To me, there is nothing cooler than riding in awful weather. It automatically associates you with the Spring Classics, held in wet, wind, and rain, over the the worst roads you can imagine. There is no image of cycling that I love more than of a tough Belgian Pro dressed in knickers, arm warmers, cycling…