Categories: Cogal ReportDefining MomentsLa Vie VelominatusLook ProThe RulesThe Works

The Rules Goes on the Road-NYC

What’s wrong with this picture?

Here are a few lessons learned while in New York City.

I’m sure leaving a bar at one o’clock in the morning is not how the serious riders prepare for a ride with a 9 o’clock morning roll-out. I am sure.
Conversational pace for a group ride means different things to different people. Eddy could talk your ear off at 40kph.
Lezyne mini-pump owners, listen up. Grease up those aluminum threads on your pump. It’s inflating effectiveness is diminished when the inflator tube is corroded in place and the group disappears up the road.
@xyxax is the single best draft I’ve ever hunkered behind, until he wasn’t.
Signing books and interacting with strangers is better with pints on the book signing table.

The Rapha store is an excellent place to begin a ride. It’s a killer bike shop with no bikes for sale. Once in the door there are ample places to rack a bike. Behold beautiful espressos, fresh croissants, bike racing projected on a whole wall, seats, tables, a WC, and evidently some nice kit for sale too. They are welcoming to riders who just want to hang out for a coffee and watch a race. Did I mention it has two Belgian-style beers on tap? It is a beautiful place.

Saturday dawned sunny and warm. The Rapha Club-Velominati Saturday ride was on. Riders assembled, the place filled with carbon wheeled beauties, Rapha clad youth and us. The V-kit stood out in contrast to the understated Rapha colors. I outfitted Frank with the oldest and heaviest bicycle there. It was a thirty year old steel bike with heavy but aero aluminum wheels. The best part was it was geared for Roubaix when we were riding Flanders; it had a 44 tooth inner ring and a mostly inaccessible 23 tooth inner cog on the back. I was hoping it might slow him down but it didn’t, nothing does.

The ride was awesome. Some of us represented the kit better than others, let us leave it at that. Our Rapha Club leader, Rob, did a beautiful job getting thirty-plus riders out of Manhattan and eventually back, safely. He is a stud.

The book signing was heart warming; people buying The Rules and us writing something obnoxious in it, for them. Riders were coming into the store and whipping out their copies for us to sign. The New Jersey boys drove two hours to join us on the ride and buy a pile of books. It is simply amazing to me: this Velominati community which has grown across the world, all people who love to ride the bike. To meet some of them at a Keepers Tour, or Cogal or in the Rapha store, it makes this whole endeavor worthwhile.

The San Francisco Event is happening this weekend and I encourage all nearby to venture into the city for the riding and signing.

Mr T was bold enough to shoot photos while riding. Grazie for sharing.

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Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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View Comments

Ron says:

May 6 2014 at 12:28 pm

@frank

@Marcus

@frank

Why the fuck were you wearing a helmet indoors?

On such a day of days when you are presumably meant to be providing some sort of example, why Frank? Why?

Its a courtesy. I have been taught by all you bald koonts that show up to Keepers Tours and Cogals that my flowing locks, in addition to the Magnificence of my Guns, is altogether too intimidating Pre-Ride.

This is pretty goddamn hilarious. Thanks for making me laugh.

I was recently decreed as having the nicest locks in the group by my futboling mates. Most are around the same age, some even younger, and I'm the only one with a full head o' hair.
Nate says:

May 6 2014 at 12:38 pm

@Ron

@frank

@Marcus

@frank

Why the fuck were you wearing a helmet indoors?

On such a day of days when you are presumably meant to be providing some sort of example, why Frank? Why?

Its a courtesy. I have been taught by all you bald koonts that show up to Keepers Tours and Cogals that my flowing locks, in addition to the Magnificence of my Guns, is altogether too intimidating Pre-Ride.

This is pretty goddamn hilarious. Thanks for making me laugh.

I was recently decreed as having the nicest locks in the group by my futboling mates. Most are around the same age, some even younger, and I'm the only one with a full head o' hair.

The mind boggles. Futbollers either have absurd hair or none at all.

Then again, there is the eternal glory of Gert-Jan Theunisse:
ChrisO says:

May 6 2014 at 12:46 pm

@wiscot OCD, really? Those shelves are utterly random to me, in a way that I find difficult to look at.

They want to be ordered and patterned but instead they are, as my late grandmother would have said, all over the place like a madwoman's breakfast.

She was a nurse so I imagine she had at various times given meals to people with nervous disorders and could speak to the truth of this simile.
Ron says:

May 6 2014 at 1:34 pm

Nate - thank you for that photo. I love that hair! Lampre needs his hairnet too...pink and azure.

I grew up playing ice hockey, lacrosse, and soccer, all three of which involve some serious attention to the locks. I saw a whole lot of horror hair, such as the mullet with the stepped lines shaved into the "sideburns."

I also feel now is the time to share this - I grew a mini rat tail/mullet combo during my first year of college. On a dare, by a senior captain on the team. I wanted to let him know I didn't fuck around. I took a LOT of harassment from other teams and their fans that year.
HMBSteve says:

May 6 2014 at 2:01 pm

@Nate

@Ron

@frank

@Marcus

@frank

Why the fuck were you wearing a helmet indoors?

On such a day of days when you are presumably meant to be providing some sort of example, why Frank? Why?

Its a courtesy. I have been taught by all you bald koonts that show up to Keepers Tours and Cogals that my flowing locks, in addition to the Magnificence of my Guns, is altogether too intimidating Pre-Ride.

This is pretty goddamn hilarious. Thanks for making me laugh.

I was recently decreed as having the nicest locks in the group by my futboling mates. Most are around the same age, some even younger, and I'm the only one with a full head o' hair.

The mind boggles. Futbollers either have absurd hair or none at all.

Then again, there is the eternal glory of Gert-Jan Theunisse:

Ruh-roh. Seems to have lost the locks through natrual selection
norm says:

May 6 2014 at 3:27 pm

@Marcus

@frank

Why the fuck were you wearing a helmet indoors?

On such a day of days when you are presumably meant to be providing some sort of example, why Frank? Why?

+1 Proposed rule #96 Don't wear your helmet indoors.
Barracuda says:

May 6 2014 at 4:37 pm

@Chris

@Gianni

@ChrisO

@Gianni So what is wrong with that picture? (In reference to the caption on the main photo).

I've looked several times and don't see anything - apart from the keyboard stashed somewhat untidily on top of the magazines in the bottom shelf and what may be some of the more questionable items from Rapha's range. Don't get me wrong I love their kit, I'm just less enamoured of the shaving set and leather-bound ride journal end of the spectrum.

To me it was the incongruity between Rapha's fancy products and our book, which is full of cursing.

Rapha elicits cursing by other means - namely by placing their embro and chamois cream in identical packaging.

@Chris , correct

Ive nearly been caught out a couple of times in the early hours of the morning pre ride.

It makes me wonder perhaps if I did mix them up I might ride quicker ?
Rob says:

May 6 2014 at 6:43 pm

@Gianni

@Rob

Boy oh boy, what a great day out. The images say it all, West Side bike path, GW bridge, gravel and no car roads next to the Hudson and a beautiful spring day! Not to mention the signing, Rapha and the Gypsy Doughnut!!

so wish I could have posted up...

Gianni - hey I'm impressed your looking fit! So too fearless leader ( but the helmet in store does need explaining or new Rule?). Was there a seatpost competition between Frank, Xyxax and Gianni??

Congratulations, job well done!

I thought of you on that route. It was stunning. Frank still wins the seatpost competition, then @xyxax. I don't compete in that even, but it was fun to get Frank on the Bella for the bike's sake. Bella has not been ridden so fast in many years.

Man o man, the mighty Bella still getting a thrashing after all these years! That is a a great image for that day. And Frank must have even made it look small, no?
scaler911 says:

May 6 2014 at 8:22 pm

This whole thing: the site, the book, but mostly the people here. It just continues to blow my mind. I'm just glad someone pointed me in this direction. *Awesomeness*
meursault says:

May 6 2014 at 9:30 pm

@ChrisO

@Gianni So what is wrong with that picture? (In reference to the caption on the main photo).

I've looked several times and don't see anything - apart from the keyboard stashed somewhat untidily on top of the magazines in the bottom shelf and what may be some of the more questionable items from Rapha's range. Don't get me wrong I love their kit, I'm just less enamoured of the shaving set and leather-bound ride journal end of the spectrum.

I hear ya Chris, but I really want that Citroen H van...