Categories: La Vie VelominatusThe HardmenThe Rides

Short But Sweet

If you have to choose, choose quality over quantity

My lungs feel my favorite way my lungs can feel. Every breath I take tells me the whereabouts of each alveolus. They feel raw, like they were scraped clean and opened up anew after a period of dormancy. Every breath tells me their exact shape and depth, where my lungs end and where my diaphragm begins. I feel high, as though my freshly cleaned lungs are letting too much oxygen into the system and it’s not quite sure what to do with it other than to make everything feel more Awesome.

Cycling is, unequivocally, without question, a drug.

At my back lies a winter of frustration; my training has been behind all year with me neither having nor making the time to get the hours in that I am used to. I’ve never been a thoroughbred, but this winter I haven’t even been a donkey. I’ve been a mule. It feels good to say it out loud, actually.

“Hi, my name is Frank. I’m a mule.”

“Hi, Frank.”

I’ve always favored the 2 hour ride over one, three hours over two, four over three. The best rides are sun-up to sun-down endeavors that have me crawling into the kitchen or pub for a recovery session. On one notable occasion I got off my bike and sat at the side of the road in the pouring rain, just to contemplate how I might manage to ride up the final steep ramp to get back home. (Spoiler alert: I finally arrived at the conclusion to climb aboard my bike and pedal up the hill, something that seems a lot more obvious in hindsight than it did at the time.)

I’ve become more opportunistic in my training since arriving at some basic condition through getting my head kicked in for nine days at Keepers Tour. Since then, I cherish those small windows in my schedule that allow for a quick ride and jump at the opportunity, even if it’s just for an hour. The shorter the ride, the harder the ride. No mercy. Stop lights? Interval to the next one, like some idiot Cycleway Hero. Climb? Hit it until the lights go out. False flat into the wind? 53×11 and out of the saddle until the legs turn into Jell-O.

Today’s ride was 90 minutes. Full gas, start to finish; I was a Cat 5 on Race Day, born again. If I was stopped at a light, it was a double-down sprint to make up for lost time like a dog let off its leash trying to catch up to where it would have been if it had been loose the whole time. Everything my mind asked for, my body gave. Everything my body needed, The V provided. Today was a reminder that if quantity and quality are on offer, take them both. But if you have to pick one, quality will go a long way to make up for quantity. I’d rather ride a little every day than not ride every day. And a short ride, done right, can put you in the box just the same.

In the immortal words of The Prophet, “Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.”

Vive la Vie Velominatus.

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.

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View Comments

Teocalli says:

May 20 2015 at 2:32 am

@RobSandy

@Teocalli

@frank

@unversio

Then again I guess the riposte I’d expect to that is if you are on the drops why the f are you trying to brake?

Because when I’m on the drops it’s often when I’m descending like a demon. Or shitting myself, so a handful of brake is essential.

I can descend quite quickly due to my massive bulk but I think my imagination is too good to be a really good descender. I can picture too easily the consequences of hitting a damp manhole cover, or pothole, or loose bit of surfacing…that said, there is a local road where I touch 80kms/hr each time I descend.

I've hit 90 Km on one occasion and definitely was on the crapping self borderline to the extent that I'm not sure I want to go there again and would definitely be feathering a mitfull of lever before then.
VeloJello says:

May 20 2015 at 5:40 am

@TommyTubolare

@frank

You for real or you’re acting dumb?

I never questioned your personal set up and don’t care what rules you follow, obviously you missed that in my post. No ergos talk, 10 or 11 and how they are positioned. You added this shit later just to confuse what matters – bar angle.

But if you want to fucking pretend and lie that the angle of your bars is between 180 and 175 then fucking do it, but you’re either blind or don’t know what horizontal is.

So, Mr. Compliant, next time you make rules with your hippie friends you might consider actually following them, cause you’re clearly super fucking pissed and obnoxious when somebody points out violations.

And I’m gonna pretend that this thread never existed.

Dude, relax already. You're gunna give yourself an anuerysm.
Oli says:

May 20 2015 at 6:24 am

@frank

@unversio

One of the reasons I’m resisting going to 11spd is the levers are so long which makes you mount them very high if you align them to the bottom of the bars like Roger DeVlaemink did.

@TommyTubolare

In all seriousness, having the hoods lower does little more just put pressure on the wrists. While the lead photo looks more extreme (a better angle below) having the hoods at such an angle that it feels very neutral is, in my opinion, much more effective and does fuck all to screw up the handling; it improves it, if anything.

So glad we’re talking about this stuff and not the drivel in the article!

The 'bars and levers look totally fine to me, but has anyone ever told you that your saddle is way too high?
RobSandy says:

May 20 2015 at 6:44 am

@Oli

@frank

@unversio

One of the reasons I’m resisting going to 11spd is the levers are so long which makes you mount them very high if you align them to the bottom of the bars like Roger DeVlaemink did.

@TommyTubolare

In all seriousness, having the hoods lower does little more just put pressure on the wrists. While the lead photo looks more extreme (a better angle below) having the hoods at such an angle that it feels very neutral is, in my opinion, much more effective and does fuck all to screw up the handling; it improves it, if anything.

So glad we’re talking about this stuff and not the drivel in the article!

The ‘bars and levers look totally fine to me, but has anyone ever told you that your saddle is way too high?

You have no idea of the restraint it took me not to post what you just did. You fucker.
unversio says:

May 20 2015 at 7:04 am

@frank @TommyTubolare

In Frank's unnecessary defense, ToTu you're wrong as well. 3T determines the rules on mounting their bars and I always trust 3T. The Rotundo bar set can move in a 10 degree range from absolute horizontal. [ Willy Wonka voice ] "It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You lose! Good day, sir!!"
unversio says:

May 20 2015 at 7:04 am

So shines a good deed in a weary world...
unversio says:

May 20 2015 at 7:30 am

Let's not forget that Frank did preach the gospel on Rotundo bars before the gospel was established. It took me 1.5 years to listen and see the light, but I finally left my Ergosum life behind (there was a Cinelli Eubios in there too) to find a better position in the drops. Now that I consider it, I'll move my levers up (we're talking millimeters) to a better way of life. Hallelujah!
frank says:

May 20 2015 at 8:40 am

@TommyTubolare

I think you accidentally checked your sense of humour at the door.

@Ken Ho

Oops, still uncammed.
frank says:

May 20 2015 at 8:44 am

@fenlander

Well,did a hard-ish one today into a head/side wind and the excuse of a pair of guns I have are now complaining a tad but a 7th overall Strava segment(actually for the most of the ride)means I must be doing something right.

Oh and this is how you carry a beer in style;

And drinking on the move;

So love both of those photos! I always wonder if he got a talking to by the DS the next morning?

@Daccordi Rider

@frank

Eh? I’ve got both 10 Spd (centaur) and 11 Spd (record). The levers are the same size, I measured. I like my shifters dead level thusly.

I'm talking about the old style Ergo 10spd, not the new 10spd which are basically the same body shape.

These

Vs these
frank says:

May 20 2015 at 8:47 am

@Teocalli

@RobSandy

@Teocalli

@frank

@unversio

Then again I guess the riposte I’d expect to that is if you are on the drops why the f are you trying to brake?

Because when I’m on the drops it’s often when I’m descending like a demon. Or shitting myself, so a handful of brake is essential.

I can descend quite quickly due to my massive bulk but I think my imagination is too good to be a really good descender. I can picture too easily the consequences of hitting a damp manhole cover, or pothole, or loose bit of surfacing…that said, there is a local road where I touch 80kms/hr each time I descend.

I’ve hit 90 Km on one occasion and definitely was on the crapping self borderline to the extent that I’m not sure I want to go there again and would definitely be feathering a mitfull of lever before then.

First ride on the new Café Roubaixs and new FMBs just prior to KT and started on a descent I'd never ridden before chasing a guy I'd never ridden with before. Much speed was achieved and I really had to hope ol' Dan built up the wheels properly. I ride with a V Meter, but the other guy had a Garmin that claimed 93.5kph. And I was catching up to him.